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Richard Moss was born on July 5th 1950 in Derbyshire England. The younger of two sons born to Margaret Hannah and Thomas Fredrick Donald Moss, Richard was educated at Sterndale school near Buxton, and later in Australia and New Zealand.
He studied mechanics at the Auckland Technical Institute and was set for a career mending earth moving equipment, when a burning desire to study his great passions of opera and theatre led to travel and study in the arts. Richard studied voice with Pacini and Milverton Carta, and acting at the Bailey Academy of Dramatic Art (Auckland NZ) with Gil Cornwall LGSM, who introduced him to the classics, a three years study of Shakespeare and Chekhov, a grounding in the techniques of Konstantin Stanislavsky, and the ideas of Jerzy Grotowsky.
Mr Cornwall was more than a teacher and a mentor, he was also a powerful guiding light at one of life's major crossroads and his influence continues to light the path to this day. "When I first met Gil, I thought Ibsen was a brand of fountain pen."
Richard won second prize in the National Trinity College Shakespeare and Dickens awards in the year that talented and beautiful Jill Ellis Smith (Ellie Smith) was the winner, thus making proxime accessit so much sweeter.
It was as a radio actor at the NZBC that Richard entered the profession, playing the tiny part of a soldier in a radio play for school children, entitled Young Tom's Drum, and written by Millie Evans; in this tiny part of the unnamed soldier, he had but one line of dialogue, whilst thumping another soldier on the nose, he said "Take that then", thus beginning a seven year run as a radio actor, soon moving from B player to A player status, and eventually to many leading roles, a number of serialised radio dramas, many short story readings, and collecting three Mobil Radio awards along the way.
Children's theatre played a large part in his career when he joined the Auckland Independent Theatre, first as an actor, and later as actor/assistant director under the theatre's founder, director and principle writer Kevin J Wilson. It was at this theatre in 1971, that a Christmas play written and directed by Ian Mune, and entitled Pinocchio's Traveling Circus, featured Richard as Mr Fireater the Circus Master. Following a long and successful run at the theatre, the entire production of Pinocchio' was up-taken by Television New Zealand and produced as a special telecast for children, this was to be the beginning of a love affair with television and film which has lasted to this day. Films include, Convict King, Prisoners, Winners and losers, Kangaroo, The Far Country, Palate on the floor, Sleeping Dogs, Hercules Returns, The Craic, On The Day, Mystery Crash, Vigilante, Joker Game and many others.
As with many actors, theatre is the first love for Richard, who's professional theatre history includes plays such as Shakespeare's Richard the third (Edward IV, Duke of Norfolk) King Lear (Knight, Edgar,) Loves Labours Lost (Lord Dumain) Othello(Cassio, Othello)Eduardo Manet's The Nuns (Sister Angela) Edward Bond's Summer (The German) Steel Rudd's On Our Selection (Dad) Tom Stoppard's On The Razzle (Coachman and Foreign Gentleman) Noel Coward's Fallen Angels (Freddie) Eric Idle's Pass The Butler (Hugo) Tudor Gates' Who Saw Him Die, in which he understudied the magnificent British actor Lee Montague in the role of Jack Robbin. "Thank goodness I never had to go on, Lee Montague is a giant among stage actors and would have been one hell of an act to follow." Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie (Tom Wingfield) Dylan Thomas' Under milk Wood [over 100 performances](First voice and Rev Eli Jenkins) Kevin J Wilson's Cigalo the Clown (Mr Flagpole) an adaptation of The Sorcerer's Apprentice (The Sorcerer) John Guare's House Of Blue Leaves (Military Policeman) A South African double bill Over the Hill and Under the Oaks by Paul Slabolepszy, two beautifully written plays on a political theme by Kevin Summers, Salvation Jane (Ted Mulhany) and The Empty Say (Bill Files)and a play for the Dylan Thomas Centenary, A Seance with Dylan Thomas (David Pugh) Australian national tour of Ghost Stories written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman ( Watchman Tony Mathews)
Three times married,Richard Moss is the father of two daughters and two sons, has five granddaughters, one grandson, and lives in Melbourne Australia with his wife Lindy. He continues to act, write, study the craft, and to apply his voice to various commercials, characters and narrations.
