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Richard Carlson Publicity Photo from "The Last Command"

American movie actor Richard Carlson (April 29, 1912- November 21, 1977) was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota. In the 1930s Carlson appeared on the Broadway stage after studying and teaching drama in Minnesota. His first film role was in 1938 (David O. Selznick's The Young in Heart). He worked as a freelance actor, appearing in many different film studio works, beginning in 1939 when he moved to California. Before the war, he appeared mostly in comedies and dramas

Like many actors, Carlson served in World War II, interrupting his acting career. After returning he found it difficult to win new roles, and his future in Hollywood remained in doubt until 1948. In that year, Carlson was cast in two low-budget film noir releases, Behind Locked Doors and The Amazing Mr. X. Despite this, real success in Hollywood eluded him until 1950, when he co-starred with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger in the highly successful jungle adventure film King Solomon's Mines, shot on location in Africa.

Carlson slowly began to rebuild his career, finding work in the newly emergent science fiction and horror 'B' films of the 1950s. He appeared in a number of horror and science fiction films, starring a bevy of Hollywood's most beautiful co-stars, including three 3-D films: The Maze (1953) and the classics It Came from Outer Space (1953) with Barbara Rush, The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) with Julia Adams, and The Magnetic Monster (1954). His success in the genre led him to the director's chair for the 1954 sci-fi film Riders to the Stars, in which he also starred.

Advertisment for "I Led Three Lives"

The 1950s proved a busy time for Carlson. He continued to direct, this time in television and documentary films. He also was the star of the television series I Led Three Lives from 1953-1956. Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans remember Carlson in the 1960 horror film Tormented. His last film was the Elvis Presley/Mary Tyler Moore film, Change of Habit (1969). His last acting role was in a television episode of Cannon in 1973.

For his contribution to the television industry, Richard Carlson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6333 Hollywood Blvd.

Carlson died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1977. He was buried in Los Angeles National Cemetery, in West Los Angeles.