Richard Eastham

Richard Eastham (born Dickinson Swift Eastham; June 22, 1916 – July 10, 2005) was an American actor of stage, film, and television, a concert singer known for his deep baritone voice, and an inventor.

Richard Eastham
Born	Dickinson Swift Eastham June 22, 1916 Opelousas, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	July 10, 2005 (aged 89) Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Resting place	Oak Grove Cemetery in Bel-Nor, Missouri, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Washington University in St. Louis
Occupation	Film, television and stage actor
Spouse(s)	Betty Jean Eastham ​ ​ (m. 1942; died 2002)​

Early years

Eastham's birth name was chosen in honor of Miss Helen Dickinson Swift, one of his mother's college classmates.[1] He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest K. Eastham, and he attended Soldan High School.[2]

Career

On Broadway, Eastham was understudy for Ezio Pinza in South Pacific, eventually replacing Pinza on stage. His performance was so well received that he was made the male lead for a two-year national tour of the musical.[3] His other Broadway plays included Medea and Call Me Madam.[4] Eastham and co-star Janet Blair, in their original roles, headed another tour of South Pacific in 1965.[5]In 1981 he appeared as Wesley Northridge on the "The Waltons" The Lumberjack (TV Episode 1981)

Prompted by his playing of a guitar in The Sound of Music, Eastham invented a device for stringing a guitar, with 31,000 of them sold in the first three weeks that they were available.[2]

Personal life

Eastham married Betty Jean Van Allen, who was his high school classmate.[2]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	There's No Business Like Show Business	Lew Harris
1957	Man on Fire	Bryan Seward
1960	Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus	Colonel Sam Castle
1965	That Darn Cat!	Supervisor Newton
1966	Not with My Wife, You Don't!	General Milt Walters
1966	Murderers' Row	Dr. Norman Solaris
1973	Tom Sawyer	Doc Robinson
1973	Battle for the Planet of the Apes	Mutant Captain
1974	McQ	Walter Forrester
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957-1958	Tombstone Territory	Harris Claibourne / Narrator	91 episodes
1967-1973	Bonanza	Tom Yardley / Stanton	2 episodes
1976-1977	Wonder Woman	General Phil Blankenship	13 episodes

References

1. "Richard Eastham's kin to attend stage hit in body". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 25, 1950. p. 17. Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Gardner, Dorothy (March 14, 1966). "He's Stringing Along With the Times". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 45. Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Richard Eastham -- Inventor, Actor". Daily World. Louisiana, Opelousas. February 21, 1975. p. 49. Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Richard Eastham". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
5. Scott, John L. (September 17, 1965). "'South Pacific' Returns; It's Still an Enchanted Evening". The Los Angeles Times. p. 74. Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Richard Eastham at Find a Grave
• Richard Eastham at IMDb
• Richard Eastham at the Internet Broadway Database (as Dickinson Eastham)