David Richards
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
(written from a Production point of view)
David Merrill Richards (12 June 1946 – 11 June 2009; age 62) was an American actor who played the Markalian dockmaster in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "The Seventh". He made several appearances in film and television, but he worked primarily in theater.
Richards was born in Denver, Colorado. He was adopted, and eventually graduated from Arvada High School. His early acting credits included films such as A Patch of Blue (1965), Sandy the Seal (1969), and Mr. Horatio Knibbles (1971). During the 1965-66 television season, he played outlaw Jim Younger on the ABC western series The Legend of Jesse James, created by Samuel A. Peeples.
In 1979, Richards was seen in the BBC TV movie Rebecca, as was William Morgan Sheppard. That same year, Richards began performing for the Country Dinner Playhouse (CDP) in Boulder, Colorado. Due to his alcoholism, however, he was fired soon after. He was rehired two years later, having overcome his alcoholism, and he continued performing at the CDP and at many other Colorado theaters until 1995.
During the early 1990s, he also appeared in a number of TV productions that were being filmed in Colorado, including the series Father Dowling Mysteries and The Young Riders (the latter of which starred Anthony Zerbe) and three Perry Mason movies. His first Perry Mason, 1991's The Case of the Fatal Fashion, starred Diana Muldaur.
During his time with the Country Dinner Playhouse, Richards performed in productions of such plays as Annie, Inherit the Wind, and a series of Agatha Christie mysteries. In 1995, Richards left Colorado for Los Angeles, California and became more productive in film and television. He made appearances on such television series as Seinfeld (working with Jason Alexander, Charles Emmett, and Heidi Swedberg), Party of Five (with Scott Grimes, Aaron Lustig, and Brenda Strong), and The Parkers (with Robert DoQui). He was also seen in two episodes of ER: one in 1995 with Lily Mariye and Catherine MacNeal, and another in 2001 with James Cromwell, Lily Mariye, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael McGrady, Amy Wheaton, Michelle Bonilla, and Marcelo Tubert.
Richards' has also guest starred in television series such as The Legend of Jesse James (1966), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1967, with David L. Ross), Father Dowling Mysteries (1990, with Steven Culp), Seinfeld (1996, with Jason Alexander, Charles Emmett, and Heidi Swedberg), Party of Five (1996, with Brenda Strong and Aaron Lustig), and ER (1995 and 2001, with Lily Mariye and Catherine MacNeal in the previous one and James Cromwell, Lily Mariye, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael McGrady, Amy Wheaton, Michelle Bonilla, and Marcelo Tubert in the latter one).
Perhaps his best known television role is that of fashion Sid Garber, whom he played for nearly four years on CBS' long-running daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. He was also known for narrating several episodes of the E! Entertainment Television reality series, The Simple Life. In additions, Richards had roles in a few feature films, including Legend of the Spirit Dog (1997) and Right at Your Door (2006).
In addition to his continued work in film and television, Richards often returned to Colorado to perform in various stage productions. On 11 June 2009, one day before his 63rd birthday, Richards died of cardiac arrest caused by complications from leukemia.[1]
