Richard Eyer

Richard Ross Eyer (born May 6, 1945)[1] is an American former child actor who worked during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as teaching at elementary schools in Bishop, California until he retired in 2006. He is the older brother of Robert Eyer (1948-2005), another child actor of the period.[2]

Richard Eyer
Born
Richard Ross Eyer

(1945-05-06) May 6, 1945
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, schoolteacher
Years active1952-1967
Spouse(s)Laurie Lynn Seabern (1970-1983; divorced); 3 children
ChildrenSamantha Rae Eyer
Benjamin Adam Eyer
Andrew Z. Eyer

Career

Eyer played a war orphan in "Homeward Borne", an episode of Playhouse 90, August 22, 1957, on CBS.[3]

In 1960–1961, Eyer was cast in the role of the teenaged Davey Kane, son of stagecoach co-owner Simon Kane on the ABC television Western series Stagecoach West, a production of Dick Powell's Four Star Television.[4]

Eyer was a boy with "the clean-cut, all-American look" who won "personality contests" and other competitions before he made his film debut in the early 1950s. In 1956, he played the youngest Birdwell child in director William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion.[5]

In 1956, he played a boy named Chuck in Canyon River which starred George Montgomery and Peter Graves. He had the starring role in The Invisible Boy, producer Nicholas Nayfack's independent sequel to MGM's Forbidden Planet.[5]

In The Desperate Hours (1955), Eyer played Fredric March's dangerously impulsive son.[6] He also starred in the 1958 western Fort Dobbs, with Clint Walker and Virginia Mayo and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958, in which he portrayed the metallic-voiced Barani the Genie.[6]

In a 1995 interview, Eyer credited his mother for the promotion of his acting career. "It was all her work that did it. I had curly hair, freckles, and people would say what a cute kid he was and all that; so my mother entered me in some children’s personality contests, and I won one of these which had been held at the Hollywood Bowl, and I guess that one was the springboard in getting me started. After that, I was hired for some television commercials and some modeling jobs, and this led into other things ... I was around fourteen when I did Stagecoach West ... My last role was at age 21, appearing in an episode of [ABC's] Combat!."[7]

He appeared in more than one hundred episodes of various television programs, including Rod Cameron's syndicated City Detective, when he was eight years of age. Other appearances include Arrest and Trial, Stoney Burke, Mr. Novak, Wagon Train, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Father Knows Best, Gunsmoke, Lassie, Rawhide and General Electric Theater.[5]

Personal life

Eyer is divorced. He is the father of Samantha Rae Eyer, and twin sons, Benjamin Adam Eyer and Andrew Z. Eyer.[5]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1952Invasion U.S.A.Mulfory's SonUncredited
1953It Happens Every ThursdayStanUncredited
1954Ma and Pa Kettle at HomeBilly Kettle
1954The RaidLarry's FriendUncredited
1955The Desperate HoursRalphie Hilliard
1955Sincerely YoursAlvie Hunt
1956Come Next SpringAbraham
1956The Kettles in the OzarksBilly Kettle
1956Canyon RiverChuck Hale
1956Friendly PersuasionLittle Jess Birdwell
1957SlanderJoey Martin
1957Bailout at 43,000Kit Peterson
1957The Invisible BoyTimmie Merrinoe
1958Fort DobbsChad Gray
1958The 7th Voyage of SinbadThe Genie
1958Johnny RoccoJohnny Rocco
1960Hell to EternityGuy - as a Boy
1961GunsmokeTommy - befriends ex outlaw
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References
  1. "Richard Eyer". TV.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  2. "Richard Eyer Biography". autographedtoyou.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  3. "'Homeward Borne' On 'Playhouse 90' Aug. 22". Altoona Tribune. August 17, 1957. p. 14. Retrieved April 20, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Richard Eyer". TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  5. Richard Eyer on IMDb
  6. "Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  7. Classic Images - Vol. 251 - May 1996 Issue

Bibliography
  • Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 76–82. ISBN 1476613702.
  • Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 253.
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