Actor
Profile
(Most of this info is courtesy of researcher extraodinaire Theresa Melton, without whom this page would not have been possible!)
Full name: James Gilbert
Richardson III
Birthdate: August 22, 1945, Gainesville, Florida
Date of Death: February 20, 1983, Rock Creek near Mammoth, California, due to a
fall while skiing.
James G. Richardson was the son of a prominent Florida political family. His father, James G. Richardson, Jr., was a professor at the University of Florida, served as Florida Secretary of Community Affairs under Governor Claude Kirk, and also served as Mayor of Gainesville. He grew up in Gainesville, and received his BA from Duke University in 1966. He served in Vietnam for thirteen months as a member of a helicopter medical evacuation team, and eventually returned to Florida and received his Master’s degree from the University of Florida in 1971. After working in New York for a while, he was signed as a Universal contract player and eventually moved to California, where he settled in Santa Monica. He appeared in several TV shows and movies, including Adam 12, Sierra, Emergency!, Columbo, Meteor, One on One, and others. While mountain climbing at Yosemite in 1975, he fell 45 feet, fracturing his left arm, collarbone, and eight ribs; the accident also left him with continuing back problems. While recuperating, he became interested in writing. He ended up writing two Emergency! scripts that were filmed, along with material for PBS and at least one short play. He continued to work as an actor until his death at age 37.