It all started on the Isle of Long, in the little town of East Williston, once described by The Village Voice as “a WASP enclave that thinks it’s in Iowa.”  There, Richard’s love for acting and the arts was cemented by his first appearance onstage, as “Nathan” in (you guessed it) NATHAN AND THE PEDDLER in the 1st Grade.   Teen years were spent apprenticing in summer stock, at such venues as Showcase Playhouse (fictionalized in the 2003 feature, CAMP) and the Monticello Tentarena.

 After graduating (Phi Beta Kappa, ahem) from Cornell,  Richard headed for the Big Apple, where, in addition to performing in a score of plays Off-Off-(Off)-Broadway,  he partnered with composer Stephen Flaherty (RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, SEUSSICAL), writing songs which he performed on the NYC cabaret circuit, at such clubs as Don’t Tell Mama and The West Bank Café.  While in NY, he also appeared on the daytime dramas AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT.

 After moving to the City of Angels, Richard continued to appear onstage in numerous 99-Seat productions, as well as in the West Coast premiere of JOINED AT THE HEAD at the Pasadena Playhouse, working with such notables as Debbie Allen and Matthew Barney along the way.  He was an original cast member/co-creator of the long-running hit, GRANDMA SYLVIA’S FUNERAL.  

 His early film and television experiences include THE ADDAMS FAMILY, with Raul Julia and Angelica Huston, as well as 1st AND TEN, with…  O.J. Simpson (!).  To date, Richard has appeared in over 100 feature films and prime-time episodics, , from THE GOLDEN GIRLS (in which he first came to the public’s attention as “Young Stan”) to his recurring role on CBS’ THE AGENCY.  Other notable appearances include THE WEST WING, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE and the pilot episode of THIS IS US.  Current and forthcoming features include VHYES, produced by Tim Robbins, and THE PROM, with James Corden and Meryl Streep.

 In addition to his onscreen work, Richard has worked extensively with improv and sketch comedy groups on both coasts, and for many years performed his unique brand of stand-up at such clubs as THE ICE HOUSE and THE COMEDY STORE, and for such organizations as True Majority and The World Can’t Wait.  He is a member of L.A.'s oldest storytelling collective, The Story Salon, and regularly performed his original stories around Los Angeles at the Bang Comedy Theatre, the Fake Gallery, and Every Picture Tells a Story, among other venues. 

Also offscreen, Richard has contributed the voices for such roles as “Grandpa Splaat,” in the series, ROBOSPLAAT (by the creators of RUGRATS).  His dubbing skills have been employed for many Netflix features and series, as well as for feature films from Russia, China, Norway, Italy, etc.

 In 2012, he launched his production company, Misery Loves Co., whose inaugural production was his multi-media one-man show, SMALL PARTS, which previewed to unanimous acclaim and returned as part of the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and a subsequent run at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood. See it here.

 In 2016, in response to the Presidential election, Richard formed the Creatives Collective Corps., dedicated to creating internet content to promote political and social change through work that is funny/provocative/enlightening.  To date, the Collective has produced several videos, which can be viewed on its YouTube channel.

 He is currently in production for his original short film, THE MIRACLE OF YOU, and recently revived the script-reading salon he founded in the 90s, The Drama Club, with a benefit Zoom performance of their inaugural reading, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, which raised funds for The Center for Disaster Philanthropy.  See The Drama Club’s Facebook page here.

 His writing credits (don’t worry, we’re almost done) include television (SWEETHEARTS - w/Charles Nelson Reilly, THE WORLD THROUGH CELEBRITIES’ EYES – The Travel Channel), periodicals (Esquire, Vogue, The Village Voice,) and theater.  A workshop of his play, MYSTERIES OF THE RAINFOREST with the late Estelle Getty was produced by Michael Patrick King (SEX IN THE CITY).  He has completed the requisite number of unproduced screenplays, as per California Civil Code, section 38-41.