Richard Eastham
Actor · Died July 10, 2005, aged 89 · Opelousas, Louisiana, USA
Another in the long line of 1950s and 1960s character actors whose face was oh-so familiar but not the name, Richard Eastham was originally headed for a musical career. He was born Dickinson Swift Eastham in Opelousas, Louisiana, on June 22, 1916. A student at Washington University, he was gifted with a fine sturdy baritone and performed with the St. Louis Grand Opera in the days before World War II. After finishing his wartime four-year army service, Eastham moved to New York and studied at the American Theatre Wing. H Richard's musical peak came after understudying singer Ezio Pinza as plantation owner "Emile DeBecque" in "South Pacific", sharing the stage in the role with the likes of Mary Martin and (later) Janet Blair while using the name Dickenson Eastham. He also co-starred in an Ethel Merman production of "Call Me Madam" in the early 1950s and made his minor non-singing film bow with Merman in the Fox film musical There's No Business Like Show Business (1954). His TV debut came with a musical appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show") in 1949. A strong, masculine presence with slick blond hair and prominent cheekbones, he changed his stage name to "Richard Eastham" and switched gears to film and TV acting in the late 1950s, shifting quite easily from playing men of integrity to outright heavies in crime stories and westerns. Although he was an erratic presence in films, he made solid appearances in Man on Fire (1957), Disney's Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960) and That Darn Cat! (1965), Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966), Murderers' Row (1966), Tom Sawyer (1973) and McQ (1974), among others. TV would be a different story altogether. A frequent guest on Perry Mason (1957) as both prosecutor and suspect, he appeared with great regularity on such series as Bat Masterson (1958), Ripcord (1961), Bonanza (1959), The F.B.I. (1965), Kojak (1973), Barnaby Jones (1973) and The Waltons (1972). As a regular, he introduced and narrated the western series Tombstone Territory (1957); played "Red Wilson" in the daytime soap Bright Promise (1969); appeared as "Gen. Phil Blankenship" on Wonder Woman (1975) starring Lynda Carter; and joined the Falcon Crest (1981) cast in his last recurring TV role as "Dr. Howell". Long settled in Los Angeles and was married to his wife, Betty Jean, for 60 years until her death in 2002, he suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his final years and died from complications at age 89 on July 10, 2005.
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Biography from IMDb.
- June 22, 1916
- July 10, 2005 (aged 89)
- Opelousas, Louisiana, USA
- Actor
- 25 on Motif · 48 credits in all
Known for
What are Richard Eastham's films like?
Across their 9 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 5
Light 6 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 2 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0
Gentle 5 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 3
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Mentoras The Editor and Narrator in Tombstone Territory (1957)
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Richard Eastham's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 25 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Roku Channel (8).
Subscription and free streaming for Richard Eastham's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
48 credits, 25 with a Motif page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Tales of the Gold Monkey (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1982)
Motif score: 73rd percentile of all films
Falcon Crest(1981)
Motif score: 19th percentile of all shows
Conquest of the Earth(1980)
Motif score: 27th percentile of all films
Condominium (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1980)
Galactica 1980(1980)
Motif score: 7th percentile of all shows
Hart to Hart (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1979)
Salvage (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1979)
Run, Jimmy, Run (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1978)
Quincy, M.E. (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1976)
Motif score: 84th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Wonder Woman(1975)
Motif score: 55th percentile of all shows
Baretta (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1975)
Doubletalk (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1975)
The Missiles of October(1974)
Motif score: 95th percentile of all films
McQ(1974)
Motif score: 49th percentile of all films
Kojak(1973)
Motif score: 62nd percentile of all shows
Motif score: 38th percentile of all films
Motif score: 19th percentile of all films
Tom Sawyer(1973)
Motif score: 57th percentile of all films
Barnaby Jones(1973)
Motif score: 51st percentile of all shows
The Streets of San Francisco (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1972)
The Waltons(1972)
Motif score: 72nd percentile of all shows
McMillan & Wife(1971)
Motif score: 60th percentile of all shows
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1971)
Cannon (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1971)
Silent Night, Lonely Night (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1969)
The Bill Cosby Show (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1969)
The Mod Squad (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1968)
Adam-12(1968)
Motif score: 75th percentile of all shows
The Invaders (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1967)
Murderers' Row(1966)
Motif score: 38th percentile of all films
Motif score: 33rd percentile of all films
That Darn Cat!(1965)
Motif score: 73rd percentile of all films
The F.B.I. (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1965)
The Barbara Stanwyck Show (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1960)
The Aquanauts (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1960)
Motif score: 70th percentile of all films
Bonanza(1959)
Motif score: 69th percentile of all shows
Bat Masterson(1958)
Motif score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Tombstone Territory(1957)
Motif score: 74th percentile of all shows
Perry Mason(1957)
Motif score: 96th percentile of all shows
Man on Fire (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1957)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1956)
Heidi (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1955)
Motif score: 58th percentile of all films
The Wonderful World of Disney (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1954)
The Six Men (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1951)
Career shape
Star power in the 89th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 48 titles from 1951 to 1982; peak year 1973.
Biggest box office
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Highest rated
That Darn Cat! (1965)
Most popular right now
Wonder Woman (1975)
Film career
Peak 1973 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 1 Motif title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1954Screen debut· There's No Business Like Show Business
- 1973Career best· Battle for the Planet of the Apes
- 1975Career best· Wonder Woman
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Richard Eastham's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 57th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 58th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th13
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
13 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser13
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the acting 56/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 67, detractors 32. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Richard Eastham work with?
People who share at least 2 of Richard Eastham's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bill Walsh shares the most, 2.
Writers
- Bill WalshShared titles: That Darn Cat! (1965), Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960)See all 2 shared titles with Bill Walsh
Actors
- Noah KeenShared titles: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Tom Sawyer (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Noah Keen
- Roddy McDowallShared titles: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), That Darn Cat! (1965)See all 2 shared titles with Roddy McDowall
Composers
- John WilliamsShared titles: Tom Sawyer (1973), Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966)See all 2 shared titles with John Williams
Producers
- Arthur P. JacobsShared titles: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Tom Sawyer (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Arthur P. Jacobs
- Frank Capra Jr.Shared titles: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Tom Sawyer (1973)See all 2 shared titles with Frank Capra Jr.
- Walt DisneyShared titles: That Darn Cat! (1965), Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960)See all 2 shared titles with Walt Disney
