Bill Richmond (writer)
Encyclopedia
Bill Richmond is an American film and television comedy writer and producer, as well as a musician, actor and composer. He co-wrote the screenplays to numerous popular films that starred Jerry Lewis
. These films included The Nutty Professor
, The Errand Boy
and The Ladies Man
. He also made cameo appearances in some of Lewis' films as well, such as a piano player in The Patsy. Later in his career he wrote and/or produced for numerous television shows, including Laugh-in, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Carol Burnett Show
, I Dream of Jeannie
, Welcome Back Kotter, Three's Company
, The John Larroquette Show
,Wizards and Warriors
, All in the Family
, Blossom
and Kate & Allie
.
He won three Emmy Award
s for his writing work (shared) on The Carol Burnett Show for the years 1974, 1975 and 1978.
Born in Kentucky, Richmond grew up in Rockford, Illinois
. Following military service as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II, Bill decided to pursue his dream of being a jazz musician by moving to Los Angeles. He became a journeyman drummer, working through the latter 1940's and the 1950's for the likes of Frank Sinatra
, Peggy Lee
, Harry James
, Les Brown
and Nelson Riddle
. By the late 1950's, tiring of the grind, Richmond was looking to retire from music and try something new. It was at this point that Jerry Lewis asked him to join his band; Bill wasn't eager to take on another long-term drumming gig, but he realized that this could be a golden opportunity to try his hand at comedy writing. Already well known backstage for his wit, Richmond began pitching gag ideas to Lewis, who quickly moved him out from behind the drum kit and into the writers' room.
His first project for Lewis was The Ladies Man, and his co-screenwriter was Mel Brooks
. However, Brooks and Lewis soon had a clash of temperament and Brooks quit the film, leaving Richmond to collaborate alone with Jerry on the screenplay. He worked with Lewis on several more films in the Sixties, along with writing for two of Jerry's network television series. The pair reunited to co-script Cracking Up
in 1983.
Richmond has appeared in small roles as an actor in several films and television shows, most notably a silent role as "Stan Laurel
" in The Bellboy
, a part which he reprised in a short filmed message which Jerry privately made for the real Laurel that year.
Richmond has retired from screenwriting and now lives in Calabasas, California
.
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
. These films included The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
, The Errand Boy
The Errand Boy
The Errand Boy is a 1961 American comedy film directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis.-Plot:Paramutual Pictures decides that they need a spy to find out the inner workings of their studio. Morty Tashman is a paperhanger who happens to be working right outside their window. They decide that...
and The Ladies Man
The Ladies Man
The Ladies Man is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount.-Plot:...
. He also made cameo appearances in some of Lewis' films as well, such as a piano player in The Patsy. Later in his career he wrote and/or produced for numerous television shows, including Laugh-in, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
, I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
, Welcome Back Kotter, Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, The John Larroquette Show
The John Larroquette Show
The John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 to 1996. The show, created by Don Reo, was a vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on Night Court. The series took place in a seedy bus terminal in St. Louis, Missouri and focused on the...
,Wizards and Warriors
Wizards and Warriors
Wizards & Warriors is a platforming video game developed by UK-based company Rare for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was published by Acclaim and released in North America in December 1987 and in Europe on January 7, 1990. It was also released in Japan by Jaleco on July 15,...
, All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, Blossom
Blossom
In botany, blossom is a term given to the flowers of stone fruit trees and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring...
and Kate & Allie
Kate & Allie
Kate & Allie is an American television situation comedy which ran from March 19, 1984 to May 22, 1989. Kate & Allie first aired on CBS as a midseason replacement series and only six episodes were initially commissioned, but the favorable response from critics and viewers alike easily convinced CBS...
.
He won three Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for his writing work (shared) on The Carol Burnett Show for the years 1974, 1975 and 1978.
Born in Kentucky, Richmond grew up in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
. Following military service as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II, Bill decided to pursue his dream of being a jazz musician by moving to Los Angeles. He became a journeyman drummer, working through the latter 1940's and the 1950's for the likes of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Harry James
Harry James
Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
, Les Brown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
and Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
. By the late 1950's, tiring of the grind, Richmond was looking to retire from music and try something new. It was at this point that Jerry Lewis asked him to join his band; Bill wasn't eager to take on another long-term drumming gig, but he realized that this could be a golden opportunity to try his hand at comedy writing. Already well known backstage for his wit, Richmond began pitching gag ideas to Lewis, who quickly moved him out from behind the drum kit and into the writers' room.
His first project for Lewis was The Ladies Man, and his co-screenwriter was Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
. However, Brooks and Lewis soon had a clash of temperament and Brooks quit the film, leaving Richmond to collaborate alone with Jerry on the screenplay. He worked with Lewis on several more films in the Sixties, along with writing for two of Jerry's network television series. The pair reunited to co-script Cracking Up
Cracking Up
For the movie, see Cracking Up .Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr...
in 1983.
Richmond has appeared in small roles as an actor in several films and television shows, most notably a silent role as "Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
" in The Bellboy
The Bellboy
The Bellboy is a 1960 comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jerry Lewis. The film was released on July 20, 1960 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The movie opens with a movie studio executive introducing the movie...
, a part which he reprised in a short filmed message which Jerry privately made for the real Laurel that year.
Richmond has retired from screenwriting and now lives in Calabasas, California
Calabasas, California
Calabasas is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California in the western United States. It is located in the hills in the southwestern San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains between Woodland Hills, Agoura Hills, West Hills, and Malibu, California. As of the 2010 census, the city...
.