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Richard Eastham, one of the many familiar faces of 1950s and 1960s character actors whose name often eluded recognition, originally pursued a career in music.
Born Dickinson Swift Eastham on June 22, 1916, in Opelousas, Louisiana, he studied at Washington University and possessed a strong baritone voice. Before World War II, he performed with the St. Louis Grand Opera. After serving four years in the army during the war, Eastham moved to New York to study at the American Theatre Wing.
His musical career highlight was understudying Ezio Pinza as Emile DeBecque in "South Pacific," sharing the stage with stars like Mary Martin and Janet Blair, performing under the name Dickenson Eastham. He also co-starred with Ethel Merman in the early 1950s production of "Call Me Madam" and made a minor non-singing film debut alongside Merman in the 1954 Fox musical There's No Business Like Show Business. His television debut was a musical performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1949.
With a strong, masculine look, slick blond hair, and prominent cheekbones, he adopted the stage name Richard Eastham and transitioned to film and TV acting in the late 1950s. He smoothly shifted from playing honorable men to villains in crime dramas and westerns. Though his film appearances were sporadic, he delivered solid performances in Man on Fire (1957), Disney's Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960), That Darn Cat! (1965), Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966), Murderers' Row (1966), Tom Sawyer (1973), and McQ (1974), among others.
Eastham had a more consistent presence on television. He frequently appeared on Perry Mason (1957) as both prosecutor and suspect and was a regular guest on shows like Bat Masterson (1958), Ripcord (1961), Bonanza (1959), The F.B.I. (1965), Kojak (1973), Barnaby Jones (1973), and The Waltons (1972). He narrated and introduced the western series Tombstone Territory (1957); played Red Wilson on the daytime soap Bright Promise (1969); portrayed Gen. Phil Blankenship on Wonder Woman (1975) starring Lynda Carter; and had his final recurring role as Dr. Howell on Falcon Crest (1981).
Having settled in Los Angeles, Eastham was married to his wife, Betty Jean, for 60 years until her passing in 2002. He battled Alzheimer's disease in his later years and died from related complications at age 89 on July 10, 2005.
