Richard Young | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 17, 1955 Kissimmee, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1971–1996 |
Richard Young (born December 17, 1955) is an American character actor, independent filmmaker, screenwriter, photographer and artist. Active from the early 1970s, he gained prominence starring in the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Other feature films appearances include: The Ice Pirates (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) and An Innocent Man (1989).
Born in Kissimmee, Florida in 1955, Young grew up in a conservative environment on military bases. At twelve years old, his father bought him a Leica camera and taught him lighting basics which helped him become the main photographer for his high school's newspaper. At age 18, he worked as a longshoreman in Alaska before attending the University of Washington on a pre-dentistry program for two years. While at University he worked as a free-lance photographer for extra money until he quit pre-dentistry to head for California to try to make it as a cameraman.[1]
In the early 1970s, Young found work with New World Pictures as crew for Roger Corman, however, the failure of an actor to appear resulted in Young starring in Night Call Nurses.[1][2] While acting, he received offers to guest star on prime-time television and joined Beverly Hills Playhouse theatre group. Young found a variety of work from both film and television including appearing in Kung Fu with William Katt and Gary Busey, Flamingo Road with Morgan Fairchild, Knight Rider and the Cheers episode 'Love Thy Neighbor'. In 1979, Young and John Chesko, along with Brenda Venus, filmed American novelist Henry Miller, resulting in the film Dinner with Henry Miller. A short thirty minute cut was released by Brenda Venus in 1984, however, over 2 hours of footage exist that is owned and being produced by Young who has yet to formally release the finished film, one of Miller's final film appearances.[1]
By the mid to late 1980s, Young had established himself as both a leading actor in television and film, appearing in Final Mission (1984). It was when Young met Steven Spielberg on the set of Amazing Stories whilst filming "Alamo Jobe" that the seed of Young playing the inspiration for Indiana Jones was formed in Spielberg's mind. In 1989, he was cast as 'Garth' or 'Fedora' in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. However, despite appearing in lead roles he became disillusioned with the industry in 1995 and left to pursue his photography career.[1]
In the mid 1990s, Young was hired as cameraman for a documentary about a young woman who had come from the Bosnian War to make a new life in the US. During the filming, the crew found out that the family had gone missing in Croatia - so Young, the crew and the young woman went to the war zone to find the surviving members of her family.[1]
As of 2018[update], Young resides in the Pacific Northwest in Seattle, Washington and is the owner of Silverwing Images where he creates fine art photography.[1]