Silvia Richards
Silvia Richards was a screenwriter who worked on a number of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including the film noir Ruby Gentry and the Western Rancho Notorious. She also wrote for television in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Films
Richards wrote, co-wrote, or is credited for the original story on the following:
- 1952 Ruby Gentry (screenplay)
- 1952 Rancho Notorious (original story)
- 1951 Battle of Powder River (screenplay)
- 1947 Secret Beyond the Door... (screenplay)
- 1947 Possessed (screenplay)
HUAC hearings
Her work was interrupted by the McCarthy Hearings. She was called in as a friendly witness for HUAC (the House on UnAmerican Activities Committee) but claimed that she went along with HUAC because she feared for the well being of her two young sons. Her action helped to cause a divorce from her husband, screenwriter Robert L. Richards, who would not testify for the Committee. Robert Richards was blacklisted and forced to write under various pseudonyms for the remainder of his career.
Later life
Following her divorce from Richards, Silvia married screenwriter A. I. (Buzz) Bezzerides, himself a victim of the McCarthy-era blacklist.[1] She assisted him in developing his writing ideas but stopped writing on her own. She died in 1999, while Bezzerides lived until 2007.[1]
References
- 1 2 Ronald Bergan. "AI Bezzerides". London: The Guardian, February 6, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/feb/06/guardianobituaries.obituaries Accessed January 25, 2012.
External links
Silvia Richards at the Internet Movie Database