Quite the Character: Peter Mark Richman P’51

By Carol R. Cool

Peter Mark Richman P’51

If you’re in your 30s you probably recognize him from Beverly Hills 90210. In your 40s, from Santa Barbara or Dynasty. In your 50s, from appearances on Mission Impossible or The Virginian. And if you’re in your 60s, you might recognize him as mob lawyer Nick Cain from Cain’s Hundred.

But if you’re old enough, you may actually remember sitting beside him at Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (PCPS) and catching him on the TV between classes. Dean Linwood F. Tice allowed a TV in the hallway so students could watch Peter Mark Richman P’51 in Papa Pietro’s Place, the first TV show premiering out of Philadelphia in 1950.

How did the pharmacy student end up with an award-winning acting career that has spanned decades with roles in over 500 television shows and movies? In reality, the acting came first.

Richman was a star football player, the captain and fullback who led South Philadelphia High to win the city championships in 1944. But he also had a creative streak. He was scouted to play college ball, but only at places that offered a business degree. Richman wanted to be in theatre.

A high school teacher had told him his voice was great for radio, and so at the age of 16 he began acting radio roles on WCAU, WFIL, and KYW. Desiring to be a radio announcer, at 19 he went to Atlantic City for a job. “I failed the audition,” Richman said, “because I couldn’t correctly pronounce Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.”

After a short stint in the navy during World War II, Richman returned to Philadelphia, playing football in the now-defunct Eastern Pro Conference. In his second season playing in the very rough eastern Pennsylvania league, Richman received a very serious leg injury that wrapped up his football days.

Richman’s older brother, the late Harry Richman, was a pharmacist who had graduated from PCPS in 1932. In high school Richman had worked as a soda jerk and cashier in his brother’s pharmacy. His brother appealed to Dean Tice on Richman’s behalf, and he was accepted into PCPS in 1947, after attending night school to bolster his grades.

Richman’s high school art interest showed up in pharmacy notes he illustrated to make the information easier to remember, which enticed others to study with him. “I had a very profound education that made me a rather well-rounded gentleman who knows a lot of things,” said Richman. “I still have my chemistry and pharmacy books so I can check things out when I play roles. But my actual drawings and notes were recently sent to the University at the request of President Philip Gerbino.”

Even with his rigorous studies, Richman continued his theatre work. Noticed in a play on Rittenhouse Square, he was asked to audition for Papa Pietro’s Place. Richman was cast as the young love interest of Papa’s daughter. But his acting career didn’t slow down his graduation from PCPS. His yearbook is inscribed by Dean Tice, “To my only student on TV.”

After graduation in 1951, Richman spent a year managing a drugstore in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and took the Pennsylvania state boards. He was still doing summer theatre and, knowing he would someday be performing in New York, he also took the New York state boards, living with Jack Klugman in NYC while he did so. He still has pharmacy licenses in New York and Pennsylvania!

A $35-a-week summer theatre job at Grove Theatre in Nuangola, Pennsylvania, pulled him away from pharmacy forever. He was hired as second lead, but after three weeks the first lead was fired and he became the leading man. His leading lady, Helen Landess, became his leading lady for life. They’ve been married for 57 years and have five children, four of whom are UCLA graduates in creative fields—two in theatre and two in music. (Their son Lucas is the conductor of the Knoxville, Tennessee, and Bangor, Maine, symphony orchestras.) And they have five talented grandchildren.

Richman went on to do national TV and theatre work and is still going strong six decades later. “I’ve had the opportunity to play opposite so many wonderful actresses. Anne Baxter, Teresa Wright, June Allyson, Jane Wyman, and Cloris Leachman, as well as Sophia Loren in The Black Orchid, where I played the love interest of Anthony Quinn’s daughter.” His favorite film was his first, when famed director William Wyler brought him to Hollywood for Friendly Persuasion with Gary Cooper.

Other movie roles include those in Friday the 13th, Part VIII, and The Naked Gun 2½. In 2009, Richman starred in the short film The Desperate, playing an imprisoned Jewish physician who must choose to operate on a Nazi officer’s son or be executed on the spot. The film has won 31 awards, including Best Short at the California Independent Film Festival.

Richman also wrote and starred in the one-man play 4 Faces playing four men in crisis and how they handle their tangential relationship to God. Richman won a Drama-Logue performance award in 1995 for the show and has since independently produced it on film. In 2009, he starred in the play The Value of Names about a black-listed writer.

A dedicated father and husband, Richman recently enjoyed a unique family experience. He just finished filming After the Wizard, based on another book by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author Frank Baum. Richman’s wife Helen, son Orien, and son-in-law Loren Lester also had roles in the film. “I suppose you might say we’re a show-biz family,” said Richman.

“I must say, my education as a pharmacist has been extremely useful as a board member for 28 years of the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which runs the health and retirement home for the industry. My perspective is a bit deeper.”

To catch up on all of Richman’s roles, visit his website at www.petermarkrichman.com.

Peter and his wife Helen in their California home. Photos courtesy of Simon Cherpitel.

Comments

[Dr. Laura Wechsler]

Great article on your life, Peter Mark....Besides a Very Happy Birthday...Love, Laura and Alan

[Edward Lozzi]

A wonderful article about a wonderful man.....a modern day Renaissance Man with so many artistic talents....