Richard Talmadge
Richard Talmadge (born Sylvester Alphonse Metz; 3 December 1892 – 25 January 1981) also known as Sylvester Metzetti,[1] Ricardo Metzetti,[2] or Sylvester Ricardo Metzetti,[3] was a German-born American actor, stuntman and film director.[4][5]
Early life
Born in Germany in 1892, Talmadge arrived in Hollywood in 1910 and began his career as a stuntman (including a stint with Douglas Fairbanks) before becoming an actor himself. He began starring in silent action pictures in 1921, and began producing his own vehicles in 1923. His last silent feature, The Poor Millionaire (1930), was the very last silent production filmed in Hollywood (except for two Charlie Chaplin silent features that were released well after the advent of sound).[3]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Alberta_Vaughn_and_Richard_Talmadge_share_a_cigar_in_The_Live_Wire_%281935%29.jpg/220px-Alberta_Vaughn_and_Richard_Talmadge_share_a_cigar_in_The_Live_Wire_%281935%29.jpg)
Richard Talmadge spoke fluent English, but with a German accent that became obvious when talkies arrived. Still acting as his own producer, he began starring in lower-budgeted features. His accent didn't matter much in these pictures, which had Talmadge in almost constant motion, doing spectacular stunts throughout the films. During the Depression he gave up his production company and signed with a major studio, Universal Pictures, where he starred in the 12-chapter serial Pirate Treasure (1934). Independent producers Bernard B. Ray and Harry S. Webb then signed Talmadge for a series of action features, with titles emphasizing Talmadge's breakneck speed: Never Too Late, Step on It, The Live Wire, etc. These were his last starring efforts.
Talmadge then began working behind the cameras as assistant director, stunt coordinator, and director.[6] His later work included How the West Was Won, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Casino Royale.[7]
Personal life
He was the stepfather of American polo pioneer and Polo's Grande Dame Sue Sally Hale. His brothers, Otto and Victor Metzetti, both had success as stunt performers, and were members of the vaudeville troupe the Flying Metzettis,[8] (or the Five Metzettis[9]) who were the first to perform the quadruple back somersault[10] in 1917, at Barnum and Bailey's, with Richard as voltiguer.[11] The family was close, with brothers Otto, Victor, and Leon working on the Richard Talmadge productions of the 1930s.
Death
Talmadge died of cancer at the age of 88 on 25 January 1981, in Carmel, California. He is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, his grave marked with the name "Richard Metzetti Talmadge".[5]
Selected filmography
- Taking Chances (1921).
- The Unknown (1922)
- The Cub Reporter (1922)
- Wildcat Jordan (1922)
- Lucky Dan (1922)
- Danger Ahead (1923)
- Let's Go (1923)
- On Time (1924)
- American Manners (1924)
- Stepping Lively (1924)
- Laughing at Danger (1924)
- In Fast Company (1924)
- The Prince of Pep (1925)
- The Fighting Demon (1925)
- Youth and Adventure (1925)
- Tearing Through (1925)
- The Wall Street Whiz (1925)
- Jimmie's Millions (1925)
- The Mysterious Stranger (1925)
- The Blue Streak (1926)
- The Better Man (1926)
- Doubling with Danger (1926)
- The Night Patrol (1926)
- The Merry Cavalier (1926)
- The Cavalier (1928)
- The Bachelor's Club (1929)
- Sonny Boy (1929)
- The Poor Millionaire (1930, his last silent feature)
- Yankee Don (1931, his first sound feature)
- Scareheads (1931)
- Speed Madness (1932)
- Get That Girl (1932)[12]
- Pirate Treasure (1934, serial)
- The Fighting Pilot (1935)
- Now or Never (1935)
- The Live Wire (1935)
- Never Too Late (1935)
- Step on It (1936)
- The Speed Reporter (1936)
- Black Eagle (1948)
- Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950)
- Border Outlaws (1950) (director)
- Project Moonbase (1953) (director)
- I Killed Wild Bill Hickok (1956) (director)
- Casino Royale (1967) (director) (uncredited)
References
- ^ "The obituary of Richard Talmadge states he was born Sylvester Metzetti in Switzerland in 1892. Other sources state, Ricardo Mazetti was born in Munich, Germany, in 1896, of Italian-Swiss parents. Twenty Years of Silents gives the year of birth as 1898. The Milwaukee Journal of October 1941 stated he was 47 at the time, which would take his birth back to 1894. Since he was 88 when he died on January 25, 1981, the 1892 date is doubtlessly [sic] the correct date."George A. Katchmer (1991). Eighty Silent Film Stars: Biographies and Filmographies of the Obscure to the Well Known. McFarland. p. 918. ISBN 978-0-89950-494-0.
- ^ Cinemateca - Issue 27 - Page 7
- ^ a b Filmarama: The flaming years, 1920-1929. Scarecrow Press. 1 September 2002. p. 514. ISBN 978-0-8108-1008-2.
- ^ Gene Scott Freese (2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910sÐ1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 1993. ISBN 978-1-476-61470-0.
- ^ a b Allan R. Ellenberger (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-786-40983-9.
- ^ Harold N. Pomainville (2016). Henry Hathaway: The Lives of a Hollywood Director. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-442-26978-1.
- ^ Richard Talmadge at the Turner Classic Movies
- ^ Gene Scott Freese (2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-786-47643-5.
- ^ "Vaudeville News 5 November 1920 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections".
- ^ Guinness Book of Records [full citation needed]
- ^ "La bascule | BnF / CNAC".
- ^ "Get That Girl (1932) PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD". 3 November 2013 – via PizzaFlix Youtube channel.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Richard Talmadge at IMDb
- Richard Talmadge at Find a Grave
- Richard Talmadge at AllMovie