David Terence Richards (2 November 1932 – 14 June 2014)[1][2] was a British actor and stuntman, best known for his appearance as the Arabian swordsman in the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark.[1] During his career, Richards worked on over 100 productions across film and television; worked in nine James Bond films; fought as a stuntman in scenes with Indiana Jones, James Bond, Luke Skywalker and Rambo; and doubled for Donald Sutherland, Tom Selleck and Christopher Lee.[1][2]
Born in South London to Welsh parents,[1][2] he served in the Welsh Guards.[1][2] After finishing his national service, in 1957 whilst working as a scaffolder, a friend from the Guards told him they needed extras with military training. After gaining the job, he was asked if he could fall off scaffolding during a riot scene, which he accepted.[1][2] In 1958 he served as a fighting extra alongside Kirk Douglas in The Vikings,[1][2] and in 1960 was a co-founder of The Stunt Register, a UK industry list of accredited stunt performers.[1][2] He also appeared in an episode of The Avengers as a Cybernaut, a murderous silver robot controlled by Peter Cushing (1967) "Return of the Cybernauts".[3]
Richards' most famous scene was as the scripted "large Arabian swordsman" in the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark.[1] Director Steven Spielberg shot the production's Cairo, Egypt-located fight scenes in the town of Kairouan, Tunisia. Richards had practiced for weeks with his heavy Arabian sword to create the scripted fight scene, choreographing a fight between the swordsman and Jones's whip.[4] However, after filming the initial shots of the scene (and with Harrison Ford suffering from dysentery), after lunch, Ford and Spielberg agreed to cut the scene down to a single gunshot, giving Jones a humorously unfair advantage.[5] It was later voted in at No.5 on Playboy magazine's list of best all-time scenes,[4] and also created a Lego character of the large Arab.[1]
Richards retired after his last performance in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, where his character beat-up Pierce Brosnan in a recording studio in Germany.[1] Richards lived his later life in Ruislip.[2] His funeral service and burial took place on 24 June 2014 at Breakspear Crematorium following his death from a sudden cardiac arrest in his sleep. [2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Flesh and the Fiends | Medical Student | Uncredited |
| 1966 | The Idol | Laborer | |
| 1966 | Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. | Resistance Member | Uncredited |
| 1967 | The Dirty Dozen | Sergeant MacIntosh Blake | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Attack on the Iron Coast | Commando | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Hammerhead | Parking Garage Thug | Uncredited |
| 1971 | The Last Valley | Norseman | Uncredited |
| 1971 | 1000 Convicts and a Woman | ||
| 1973 | Kidnapped | Mungo Campbell | |
| 1973 | The Mackintosh Man | Inmate | Uncredited |
| 1976 | Confessions of a Driving Instructor | Monks Hill Rugger Team | |
| 1978 | The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Bruce the Knife | |
| 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | Wampa | Uncredited |
| 1980 | Flash Gordon | Ming's Brute #4 | |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Arab Swordsman | |
| 1983 | High Road to China | Ginger | |
| 1985 | Red Sonja | Djart | |
| 1988 | Haunted Summer | Fletcher | |
| 1988 | The Bourne Identity | Johann | |
| 1990 | Good Girl, Bad Girl | Man | Uncredited |
| 1997 | Tomorrow Never Dies | Carver's thug | Uncredited, (final film role) |