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{{short description|American film director, producer, and screenwriter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{more footnotes|date=August 2011}}
'''Richard J. Collins''' (July 20, 1914 – February 14, 2013) was an American producer, director and screenwriter prominent in Hollywood during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He worked on several notable television programs including ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[General Electric Theater]]'', ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'' and ''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]''. He was married to actress [[Dorothy Comingore]] from 1939 until 1945.
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Richard J. Collins was born on July 20, 1914, in New York City. He attended various schools in New York, Los Angeles and Paris, including the [[Browning School]], Lycee Janson de Sailly, and [[Beverly Hills High School]]. Collins also attended [[Stanford University]] for a term and a half before moving back to New York with his family. In 1936, Collins took classes for six months with the
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Collins' first position was as a script reader at [[Columbia Pictures]], where he stayed for a few months before he was offered a junior writer position at [[20th Century Fox|Fox]]. During the 1930s, Collins would work for some of the biggest studios in Hollywood, including [[RKO Pictures]], [[Universal Studios]], [[Paramount Pictures]], [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and [[Warner Bros.]] He wrote or co-wrote many screenplays during this period, including some that would get him in trouble with HUAC in later years, like ''Song of Russia''. He had a successful film career up until the Hollywood 19 were called to testify before HUAC in October, 1947. At that time he agreed with the rest of the so-called unfriendly witnesses to plead the First Amendment Rights of free speech. Only Ten of the nineteen were called and it wasn't until 1951 that Collins was called to testify before HUAC. By this time his politics had changed and he agreed to testify becoming one of the first "friendly witnesses."▼
▲In 1935, Collins returned to Los Angeles where he took a job at [[Bloomingdale's]] while looking for a way into the movie and television industry. His' first position was as a script reader at [[Columbia Pictures]], where he stayed for a few months before he was offered a junior writer position at [[20th Century Fox|Fox]]. During the 1930s, Collins would work for some of the biggest studios in Hollywood, including [[RKO Pictures]], [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], [[Paramount Pictures]], [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and [[Warner Bros.]] He wrote or co-wrote many screenplays during this period, including some that would get him in trouble with HUAC in later years, like ''[[Song of Russia]]''.{{citation
==HUAC and the blacklist controversy==▼
Collins admitted to formerly being a member of the [[Communist Party]], the [[Hollywood Anti-Nazi League]], [[Writers' Mobilization]], the [[Joint Anti-Fascist Committee]], and the [[Progressive Citizens of America]]. He ultimately named 26 of his colleagues some of whom were close friends. Despite his past, Collins claimed that he stopped paying his Communist dues in 1939. Collins became infamous for naming people he knew to be in the Communist Party, even former friends. Despite being heavily involved in the Communist movement in the 1930s, when he attended four to five meetings a week, he professed that he no longer followed their doctrine and never saw anything he did as an effort to undermine the security of the [[United States]].▼
▲===HUAC and the blacklist controversy===
==Later career==▼
Collins had a successful film career up until the Hollywood 19 were called to testify before HUAC in October, 1947. At that time he agreed with the rest of the so-called unfriendly witnesses to plead the First Amendment Rights of free speech. Of the nineteen, only ten (the "[[Hollywood Ten]]") were called and it wasn't until 1951 that Collins was called to testify before HUAC. By this time his politics had changed and he agreed to testify becoming one of the first "friendly witnesses."{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
After clearing his name in front of the HUAC, Collins was hired by Walter Wagner to write "Haji Baba" and then "Riot In Cell Block 11" which was directed by Don Siegel. He wrote the treatment for the famous cult film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" which he said was based on his experience with the Communist Party and with HUAC. He also wrote screenplays for "Pay or Die", "Spanish Affair" and "The Badlanders". Later he wrote for television, including "General Electric Theater", "87th Precinct", Remington Steele". In 1963 he became a television producer for the TV series "Breaking Point", followed by "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater''. His big break came when he became Producer of the hit television series "Bonanza. In 1976, he was the [[executive producer]] of the short-lived [[CBS]] western series ''[[Sara (U.S. 1976 TV series)|Sara]]''. The final major production that he worked on was the series ''[[Matlock (TV series)|Matlock]]'' in the 1980s.▼
▲Collins admitted to formerly being a member of the [[Communist Party USA]] (CPUSA), the [[Hollywood Anti-Nazi League]],
▲===Later career===
▲
==Death==
Collins died at the age of 98 on February 14, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|author=[[Ronald Bergan]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/20/richard-collins |title=Richard Collins obituary | Film | guardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian |date= February 20, 2013|accessdate=February 21, 2013 |location=London}}</ref> He is survived by his son Michael Collins and daughter Judith Collins.
==Screenplay credits (incomplete)==
* 1939: ''[[Rulers of the Sea]]'' (co-story and co-screenplay with Frank Cavett and [[Talbot Jennings]])
* 1940: ''[[One Crowded Night]]'' (co-screenplay with [[Arnaud d'Usseau]])
* 1941: ''[[Lady Scarface]]'' (co-screenplay with Arnaud d'Usseau)
* 1943: ''[[Thousands Cheer]]'' (co-screenplay with [[Paul Jarrico]])
* 1944: ''[[Song of Russia]]'' (co-screenplay with Paul Jarrico)
==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{IMDb name|0172628}}▼
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-richard-collins-20130215,0,7312511.story Obituary – LA Times]▼
*Box 4, Folder 3, Richard Collins Papers, Ax 691, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
*Box 4, Folder 9, Richard Collins Papers, Ax 691, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
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*Box 6, Folder 17, Richard Collins Papers, Ax 691, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
*Box 6, Folder 18, Richard Collins Papers, Ax 691, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
*[
*Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh. ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946–Present''. New York: Ballantine, 2007. 137.
*Rosenzweig, Roy. [http://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/20thcentury/regulatingtelevision/index.php "Exploring U.S. History | Regulating Television"]. Center for History and New Media. July 13, 2011.
*United States Congress. Communist Infiltration of Hollywood Motion-picture Industry : Hearing
▲==External links==
▲* [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-richard-collins-20130215,0,7312511.story Obituary – LA Times]
▲* {{IMDb name|0172628}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Richard J.}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:American film producers]]▼
[[Category:American film directors]]▼
[[Category:People from New York City]]▼
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Browning School alumni]]
[[Category:Beverly Hills High School alumni]]
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