Leading Men Richard Denning
Creature From The Black Lagoon/ Mark Williams
Mr. And Mrs. North (TV)/ Jerry North
Hangman's Knot/ Lee Kemper
Target Earth/ Frank Brooks
Per Quinlan's Film Stars:
Tall, fair haired, breezy, athletic American actor with a natural smile who served a crowded apprenticeship before war service, but whose leading man career afterwards was confined to almost entirely to second features. He found some popularity on TV series in the 1950's, and later lived for many years in Hawaii.
He was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger at Poughkeepsie, NY in 1914.
Denning was best known for starring in science fiction films in the 1950's.
He made his film debut in 1937 in the film Hold 'Em navy in 1937.
Military service during World War Two disrupted his acting career, but after he returned it would be another year and a half before Paramount Studios offered him any film roles.
He and his family lived in a mobile home parked between Malibu and Palm Springs. His period of unemployment ended when he was hired to star on the radio opposite Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband.
He married Evelyn Ankers in 1942 who was one of the first movie "Scream Queens" and she was making films at this time.
Denning restarted his film career again in the film Black Beauty in 1946 moving along into some crime dramas and then into science fiction leads.
Some of the film roles of Richard Denning were:
Hold 'Em Navy (1937) as Midshipman Jepson
The Buccaneer (1938) as Captain Reid
Her Jungle Love (1938) as Pilot
You And Me (1938) as Salesman
The Texans (1938) as Cpl. Parker, CSA
Campus Confessions (19380 as Buck Hogan
King Of Alcatraz (1938) as Harry Vay
Illegal Traffic (1938) as Silk Patterson
Ambush (1939) as Police Garage Mechanic
Persons In Hiding (1939) as Powder
King Of Chinatown (1939) as Protective Association Henchman
Sudden Money (1939) as Johnny Jordan
Union Pacific (1939) as Reporter
Some Like It Hot (19390 as Mr. Weems
Undercover Doctor (1939) as Frank Oliver
The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) as Fred
Grand Jury Secrets (1939) as Murph
Million Dollar Legs (1939) as Hunk Jordan
The Star Maker (1939) as Assistant Dance Director
Television Spy (1939) as Dick Randolph
Geronimo (1939) as Lt .Larned
Emergency Squad (1940)as Dan Barton
Parole Fixer (1940) as Bruce Eaton
The Farmer's Daughter (1940) as Dennis Crane
Seventeen (19400 as Jack
Queen Of The Mob (1940) as Charlie Webster
Those Were The Days! (1940) as Briggs
Golden Gloves (1940) as Bill Crane
North West Mounted Police ( 1940) as Constable Thornton
Love Thy Neighbor (1940) as Joe
Adam Had Four Sons (1941) as Jack Stoddard (older)
West Point Widow (1941) as Lt. Rhody Graves
Beyond The Blue Horizon (1942) as Jackra The Magnificent
The Glass Key (1942) as Taylor Henry
Quiet Please: Murder! (1942) as Hal McByrne
Ice-Capades Review (1942) as Jeff Stewart
Black Beauty (1946) as Bill Dixon
The Fabulous Suzanne (1946) as Rex
Seven Were Saved (1947) as Capt. Allan Danton
Caged Fury (1948) as Blaney Lewis
Lady At Midnight (1948) as Peter Wiggins
Unknown Island (1948) as John Fairbanks
Disaster (1948) as Bill Wyatt
No Man Of Her Own (1950) as Hugh Harkness
Harbor Of Missing Men (1950) as Jim "Brooklyn" Gannon
Double Deal (1950) as Buzz Doyle
Flame Of Stamboul (1951) as Larry Wilson
Insurance Investigator (1951) as Tom Davison
Secrets Of Beauty (1951) as Dr. John Waldron
Week End With Father (1951) as Don Adams
Okinawa (1952) as Lt. Phillips
Scarlet Angel (1952) as Malcolm Bradley
Hangman's Knot (1952) as Lee Kemper
Target Hong Kong (1953) as Mike Lassiter
The 49th Man (1953) as Chief Investigator Paul Reagan
The Glass Web (1953) as Dave Markson
Jivaro (1954) as Jerry Russell
Battle Of Rogue River (1954) as Stacy Wyatt
Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) as Mark Williams
Target Earth (1954) as Frank Brooks
Air Strike (1955) as Commander Stanley Blair
The Magnificent Matador (1955) as Mark Russell
Creature With The Atom Brain (1955) as Dr. Chet Walker
The Gun That Won The West (1955) as Dakota Jack Gaines
The Crooked Web (1955) as Frank Daniel
Day The World Ended (1955) as Rick
The Oklahoma Woman (1956) as Steve Ward
Girls In Prison (1956) as Reverend Fulton
Million Dollar Manhunt (1956) as Major Gregory Keen
Naked Paradise (1957) as Duke Bradley
The Buckskin Lady (1957) as Dr. Bruce Merritt
An Affair To Remember (1957) as Kenneth Bradley
The Black Scorpion (1957) as Hank Scott
The Lady Takes A Flyer (1958) as Al Reynolds
Desert Hell (1958) as Sgt. Major Pierre Benet
Twice Told Tales (1963) as Jonathan Maulie
Alice Through The Looking Glass (1966-TV) as Alice's Father
I Sailed To Tahiti With An All Girl Crew ( 1968) as The Commodore
The Asphalt Cowboy (1980-TV) as Charles Van Heuran
Richard Denning starred in the following TV series:
Mr. & Mrs. North ( with Pamela Britton) as Jerry North ( 1952 - 1954)
The Flying Doctor as Dr. Greg Graham (1959)
Michael Shayne as Michael Shayne (1960-1961)
Hawaii Five-O as Governor Paul Jameson - in a recurring role (1968 -1980)
Denning also appeared on television in such programs as Cavalcade Of America, Schlitz Playhouse Of Stars, Cheyenne, TV's Reader's Digest, Celebrity Playhouse, Crossroads, Lux Video Theater, The Ford Television Theater, General Electric Theater, Going My Way, Karen . I Spy and McCloud
Richard Denning was married to actress Evelyn Ankers from 1942 until her death in 1985. He remarried to Patricia Leffingwell from 1986 until his death in 1998.
Richard Denning passed away in 1998 at age 84 from a heart attack.
I always enjoyed this actor especially in the TV series Mr. & Mrs. North and the films The Creature From The Black Lagoon, Unknown Island, The Black Scorpion, Day The World Ended, Hangman's Knot, Creature With The Atom Brain, Target Earth, The Buckskin Lady, Jivaro and The Battle Of Rogue River.
Louie The Movie Buff