# John Richardson (actor)
**John Richardson** (born John M. Richardson; 19 January 1934 – 5 January 2021) was an English actor whose film career ran from the late 1950s into the early 1990s. He was a male lead in Italian genre films, most notably [Mario Bava](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-bava)'s *Black Sunday* (1960) opposite [Barbara Steele](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbara-steele), but he was best known for playing the love interest of [Ursula Andress](https://www.edgepedia.org/ursula-andress) in *She* (1965) and then of Raquel Welch in *One Million Years B.C.* (1966).[1](https://tv.apple.com/sb/person/john-richardson/umc.cpc.3wjucmq5852acz08z619j7t4s)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 January 1934, Worthing, Sussex, England, UK[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/) |
| Died | 5 January 2021, age 86, from complications of COVID-19[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/) |
| Signature roles | Tumak in *One Million Years B.C.* (1966); the male lead opposite Ursula Andress in *She* (1965)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/) |
| Breakthrough | *Black Sunday* (1960), directed by Mario Bava, opposite Barbara Steele[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) |
| Career span | Small British roles from the late 1950s through the early 1990s; 41 acting credits listed by IMDb[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) |
| Marriage | Actress Martine Beswick, 1967 to 1973, divorced[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/) |
| Later life | Retired from acting in the mid-1990s and worked as a photographer[4](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168481/) |
## Early life and start in acting
Richardson was born in Worthing, Sussex, on 19 January 1934.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/) Before acting he served in the Merchant Navy; after leaving the service he joined a local amateur theater troupe, then worked professionally with theater groups across Britain and signed a two-year contract with Fox.[4](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168481/) His screen career began with small roles in British films at the end of the 1950s, including the 1959 remake of *The 39 Steps* and an uncredited role as a young man in *Tender Is the Night* (1962).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) • [5](https://www.archytele.com/person/john-richardson)
## Breakthrough in genre films
His first role of note was opposite Barbara Steele in the gothic horror classic *Black Sunday* (1960), directed by Mario Bava.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) In *She* (1965) he played the love interest of Ursula Andress; because of his voice, his lines in that film were dubbed by David Spencer, and in *The Vengeance of She* (1968) by David de Keyser.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/)
The commercial peak of his career came with Don Chaffey's *One Million Years B.C.* (1966), produced by Hammer Films, in which he played the caveman Tumak opposite [Raquel Welch](https://www.edgepedia.org/raquel-welch).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) • [5](https://www.archytele.com/person/john-richardson) He followed the path of other British actors of the period into Italian cinema, appearing in Umberto Lenzi's horror film *Eyeball* (1975), Michele Soavi's *The Church* (1989), and other productions.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) His other credits include *[On a Clear Day You Can See Forever](https://www.edgepedia.org/on-a-clear-day-you-can-see-forever)* (1970) alongside [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand), in the role of Robert Tentrees, and the science-fiction film *War of the Planets* (1977), in which he played Captain Fred Hamilton.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/)
The 1960s were his busiest decade, with 11 films, out of a filmography running from *Bachelor of Hearts* (1958).[6](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/person/john-richardson)
## James Bond consideration
According to director Peter R. Hunt, Richardson was briefly considered to play [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) in *On Her Majesty's Secret Service* (1969), alongside other candidates including [Adam West](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-west) and [Roy Thinnes](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-thinnes); the role went to George Lazenby.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/)
## Personal life and retirement
Richardson married the actress [Martine Beswick](https://www.edgepedia.org/martine-beswick) in 1967; the marriage ended in divorce in 1973.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/) His great passion was collecting automobiles, and he sometimes agreed to appear in a movie only if an automobile was included in the contract.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) Films he made in the 1980s convinced him to retire from acting completely, and he left the profession in the mid-1990s to work as a photographer, a field in which he was noteworthy and about which he showed more interest than in revisiting his film career.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/) • [4](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168481/)
He died on 5 January 2021 from complications of COVID-19, at the age of 86, two weeks short of his 87th birthday.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/)
## Other people of the same name
The name John Richardson is shared by several unrelated film figures, and databases sometimes conflate them. A different John Richardson is a British special effects artist, son of effects artist Cliff Richardson, noted for work on James Bond films and productions such as *The Omen* (1976), *Superman* (1978), and *Aliens* (1986).[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_richardson) John J. Richardson (1888–1942) was an American-era silent and early [sound film](https://www.edgepedia.org/sound-film) actor, and John Henry Richardson is a contemporary American actor and filmmaker.[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724633/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724604/)
## References
1. [John Richardson, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/sb/person/john-richardson/umc.cpc.3wjucmq5852acz08z619j7t4s)
2. [John Richardson – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/bio/)
3. [John Richardson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724623/)
4. [John Richardson, elCinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168481/)
5. [John Richardson: Movies, TV Shows & Biography, Archytele](https://www.archytele.com/person/john-richardson)
6. [John Richardson: Movies & Box Office, What's After the Movie](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/person/john-richardson)
7. [John Richardson, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_richardson)
8. [John J. Richardson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724633/)
9. [John Henry Richardson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0724604/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames N to R*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license