Has the distinction of being the most popular gangsters/thugs in TV series based on comic books. He appeared in five episodes of Adventures of Superman (1952), as well as appearing in a failed pilot called "The Adventures of Superboy" in 1961. He also appeared in the first episode of Batman (1966), although not as a villain but as the doorman at the "What a Way to Go Go" nightclub. Richard also appeared on My Favorite Martian (1963), as a Picnicker in the first season episode, How to Be a Hero Without Really Trying (1963).
Served in the US Army during World War II, attaining the rank of sergeant.
Although he specialized in playing henchmen, gangsters and street thugs, he actually came from a well-off family--his father was a bank executive--and grew up in an upscale section of Queens, New York.