Richard Derr

Q: When did Richard Derr die?

Richard Derr died on May 8, 1992.

Q: How old was Richard Derr when they died?

Richard Derr was 74 years old at the time of death.

Q: What was Richard Derr's cause of death?

The cause of death of Richard Derr was pancreatic cancer.

Richard Derr (June 15, 1917^{[citation needed]} – May 8, 1992) was an American actor who worked with stage, movie, and television drama, performing in both supporting and main roles.

Early years

Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Derr graduated from Norristown High School in 1933. While he worked as a bank clerk, he acted with a little theater group in Norristown.

Derr served in the Army Transport Service for three years during World War II.

Acting career

Derr was a life member of the Actors Studio. He had several main roles in stage dramas. In 1955, he sang in the main role for the Broadway musical Plain and Fancy. His other Broadway credits include Dial M for Murder (1952), Invitation to a March (1960), Maybe Tuesday (1957), A Phoenix Too Frequent (1949), and The Closing Door (1949).

In movies, Derr was primarily a character actor. However, he had the main role in George Pal's 1951 science fiction movie from Paramount Pictures, When Worlds Collide. Derr later had the main role in The Invisible Avenger (1958), a movie based on the radio show and pulp magazine character The Shadow. The character also served as the basis for two television pilot episodes, neither of which was developed into a series.

During the 1950s, most of Derr's work was in television. On November 21, 1950, he co-featured in "The Perfect Type" on Armstrong Circle Theatre. In 1959, he was the host of Fanfare, a summer dramatic anthology series by NBC-TV. In 1965, he played the role of Dr. Dwyer in the three-part serial "The Adventures of Gallegher" for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, and later made appearances in Barnaby Jones, in two episodes of Star Trek, and in the 1976 miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man Book II.