Jeff Richards
Actor · Died July 28, 1989, aged 64 · Portland, Oregon, USA
Jeff Richards, born Richard Mansfield Taylor in Portland, Oregon, was a graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington. Upon graduation he was ready to embark on a career in professional baseball when he entered the Navy in June of 1943. During World War II, he served as a radio technician until his discharge in 1946. After the war, he returned to baseball and immediately signed on with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. The Beavers farmed Jeff to the Salem Senators, but fate intervened and a torn ligament forced him into an extended leave-of-absence from the sport. While recuperating, Jeff decided to try his hand at acting. During the war, he and a group of his fellow servicemen visited Paramount Movie Studios. While there a talent scout spotted Jeff in the crowd, called him aside, and told him to come and see him when he got his discharge. The agent remembered him and setup a screen test. Jeff was signed to a contract, but was not given any work. After his time with Paramount, he was offered a contract by Warner Brothers Studios. In the meantime, however, Jeff was still playing baseball and also receiving offers from both the New York Yankees and the Dodgers, then still playing in Brooklyn. So Jeff had the chance to make a choice that many American boys dreamed of making--whether to be movie star or a professional baseball player. Jeff signed with the contract with Warners and then enrolled at the University of Southern California to pursue a degree in business administration. Jeff attended USC on a full-time schedule and also joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Jeff organized a chapter five-piece band and played fraternity dances and club socials. He was still playing baseball, but his decision had been made--he was going to be an actor. Warners began using him in small, uncredited roles in such films as The Girl from Jones Beach, filmed in mid-1948, but not released until a year later, in mid-1949. In it he appears, with another young hopeful, Dale Robertson, as a pair of lifeguards, showing off their physiques wearing only minimal swimming attire in the Jones Beach sequence. Robertson's hairy chest was left intact, but Richards' trademark torso was forced to undergo complete waxing before he could appear in front of the cameras. On loan-out to Columbia he actually got to play baseball on screen in the William Bendix comedy Kill the Umpire (1950). Next signing with MGM, Jeff was a member of MGM's Lucky Dozen--a group of young and upcoming stars of the 1950s. He was groomed for the rugged, John Wayne-type roles and the two actors has much in common-both were big men, athletically inclined, had similar personalities, and they were both members of Sigma Chi. During the course of his film career, Jeff acted in over 40 films, playing with some of the biggest stars of the 1950s and 1960s. His most significant role was a one of the Pontipee brothers in MGM's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), co-starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel. He poured on the sex appeal as Buck Winston, the object of interest of just about every female member of the cast of the re-make of The Women (1939), now re-titled The Opposite Sex (1956). After leaving MGM, for two seasons, he successfully played the title role for 28 episodes of the TV series Jefferson Drum (1958). After retiring from acting in 1960, he returned to the big screen one last time as Kallen in Waco (1966), perhaps as a favor to or from his old friend from MGM, the star of the film, Howard Keel. Jeff Richards died on July 28, 1989.
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Biography from IMDb.
- November 1, 1924
- July 28, 1989 (aged 64)
- Portland, Oregon, USA
- Actor
- 16 on MovieCove · 28 credits in all
What are Jeff Richards' films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits 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 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
Light 8 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0
Gentle 6 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 6 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 2
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet3
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 Jeff Richards' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Jeff Richards' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits 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
28 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page.
Goldy 2: The Saga of the Golden Bear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Waco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Secret of the Purple Reef (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Adventures in Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Island of Lost Women (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Rawhide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Born Reckless(1958)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Behind Closed Doors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Jefferson Drum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Don't Go Near the Water(1957)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
The Opposite Sex(1956)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Meet Me in Las Vegas(1956)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
It's a Dog's Life(1955)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Marauders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Many Rivers to Cross(1955)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Crest of the Wave(1954)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Big Leaguer(1953)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Code Two (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Above and Beyond(1952)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Desperate Search(1952)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Angels in the Outfield(1951)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
The Tall Target(1951)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Kill the Umpire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Cheaper by the Dozen(1950)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Johnny Belinda(1948)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Career shape
Star power in the 77th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 28 titles from 1948 to 1986.
Biggest box office
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Highest rated
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Film career
- 1948Screen debut· Johnny Belinda
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 Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jeff Richards' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 16 titles divides audiences: 7 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser7
- Broadly Agreed5
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 74, detractors 43. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; 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 Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove 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 Jeff Richards work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jeff Richards' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dorothy Kingsley shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Dorothy KingsleyShared titles: Don't Go Near the Water (1957), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Angels in the Outfield (1951)See all 3 shared titles with Dorothy Kingsley
- George WellsShared titles: Don't Go Near the Water (1957), Angels in the Outfield (1951)See all 2 shared titles with George Wells
Actors
- Russ TamblynShared titles: Don't Go Near the Water (1957), Many Rivers to Cross (1955), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)See all 3 shared titles with Russ Tamblyn
- Keenan WynnShared titles: Don't Go Near the Water (1957), Angels in the Outfield (1951)See all 2 shared titles with Keenan Wynn
Cinematographers and editors
- Robert J. BronnerShared titles: Don't Go Near the Water (1957), The Opposite Sex (1956)See all 2 shared titles with Robert J. Bronner
- Ben LewisShared titles: Many Rivers to Cross (1955), Big Leaguer (1953)See all 2 shared titles with Ben Lewis
- Paul VogelShared titles: It's a Dog's Life (1955), Angels in the Outfield (1951)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Vogel
Producers
- Jack CummingsShared titles: Many Rivers to Cross (1955), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)See all 2 shared titles with Jack Cummings
