Richard C. Sarafian

American film director and actor (1930–2013)

Richard C. Sarafian

Born|

Richard Caspar Sarafian[1]

(1930-04-28)April 28, 1930

New York City, New York, U.S.

Died| September 18, 2013(2013-09-18) (aged 83)

Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Alma mater| New York University
Occupation(s)| Film director, writer, actor
Years active| 1952–2007
Spouse| Helen Joan Altman
Children| 5, including Deran and Tedi

Richard Caspar Sarafian (April 28, 1930 – September 18, 2013) was an Armenian-American film director and actor.[2] He compiled a versatile career that spanned over five decades as a director, actor, and writer. Sarafian is best known as the director of the 1971 film Vanishing Point and the classic The Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll".[3][4]

## Biography

[edit]

Sarafian was born in New York City on April 28, 1930, to Armenian immigrants.[1] He studied pre-law and pre-med at New York University and was a poor student, but changed over to studying film, at which he excelled. He left college to join the United States Army, in which he served as a reporter for an Army news service.[5] While stationed in Kansas City, Missouri during the Korean War (1950–1953) he met the future Hollywood director Robert Altman, and the two became friends.[4][6]

Sarafian worked with Altman on industrial films and married Altman's sister, Helen Joan Altman. He also acted in a local play Altman directed.[6] His television career began in the early 1960s in Kansas City as Altman's assistant.[5][6] Sarafian soon began to direct television shows, and in 1963, he scored one of his great successes as director of the "Living Doll" episode of The Twilight Zone. His first feature film was Andy in 1965. His greatest success as a feature film director came with Vanishing Point, an existential road movie that followed a man driving a white Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours; critics disliked the movie, but it became a cult hit.[6]

Besides The Twilight Zone, Sarafian's directing credits on television included episodes of Gunsmoke and Batman. In addition to Andy and Vanishing Point, he directed a number of feature films, including Run Wild, Run Free in 1969, Man in the Wilderness in 1971, and The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing in 1973. In his film acting career, he played a gangster in Bugsy in 1991, Paul Castellano in Gotti, and a hitman in Bulworth in 1998, and in 2001 he voiced the animated God Beaver character in Dr. Dolittle 2.[6] On television, he played a coffee shop owner as a regular member of the cast of the 1985–1986 sitcom Foley Square.[7][8]

## Personal life

[edit]

Sarafian and Helen Altman Sarafian married, divorced, and remarried; she died in 2011. They had five children, including actor Richard Sarafian Jr., actor/director Deran Sarafian, special effects expert Damon B. Sarafian, screenwriter Tedi Sarafian, and Catherine Sarafian.[6][9]

## Death

[edit]

Sarafian died at the age of 83 in Santa Monica, California, on September 18, 2013, of pneumonia, which he contracted while recovering from a broken back.[6][10]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Director

Year  | Title  | Director  | Writer  | Producer

|
|
|
|

1962  | Terror at Black Falls | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
1965  | Andy | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
1969  | Run Wild, Run Free | Yes  | No  | No
1970  | Fragment of Fear | Yes  | No  | No
1971  | Vanishing Point | Yes  | No  | No
Man in the Wilderness | Yes  | No  | No
1973  | Lolly-Madonna XXX | Yes  | No  | No
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing | Yes  | No  | No
1976  | The Next Man | Yes  | Yes  | No
1979  | Sunburn | Yes  | No  | No
1981  | Gangster Wars | Yes  | No  | No
1984  | The Bear | Yes  | No  | No
1986  | Eye of the Tiger | Yes  | No  | No
1987  | Street Justice | Yes  | No  | No
1990  | Solar Crisis[a] | Yes  | No  | No

1. ^ Credited as Alan Smithee

Actor

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1956  | The Magic Bond |  | Short
1976  | The Next Man | Gregory Zolnikov  | uncredited
1984  | Songwriter | Rodeo Rocky  |
1986  | Alien Predator | Capt. J.J. Wells  | voice, uncredited
1987  | Street Justice | Taxi Driver  |
1989  | To Die For | Bartender  |
1991  | Bugsy | Jack Dragna |
1992  | Ruby | Proby  |
1994  | Gunmen | Chief Chavez  |
Roadflower | Trucker  |
1995  | Don Juan DeMarco | Detective Sy Tobias  |
The Crossing Guard | Sunny Ventura  |
1996  | Bound | Gino Marzzone  |
1998  | Bulworth | Vinnie  |
1999  | Blink of an Eye | Erlik  |
Blue Streak | Uncle Lou  |
2000  | Picking Up the Pieces | Wino  |
2001  | Dr. Dolittle 2 | God Beaver  | voice
2002  | Hitters |  |
2003  | Masked and Anonymous | President  |
2007  | Reeling | Teeth  | voice, short

### Television

[edit]

#### TV series

[edit]

Director

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

1961  | Maverick | episode: "The Forbidden City"
Bronco | episode: "Guns of the Lawless"
Surfside 6 | episode: "Count Seven!"
The Roaring 20's | episode: "Blondes Prefer Gentlemen"
1961–1962  | Lawman | 22 episodes
Cheyenne | 2 episodes
1962  | Hawaiian Eye | 2 episodes
1962–1963  | The Dakotas | 3 episodes
The Gallant Men | 9 episodes
77 Sunset Strip | 3 episodes
1963  | Redigo | episode: "Lady War-Bonnet"
The Great Adventure | episode: "Six Wagons to the Sea"
The Twilight Zone | episode: "Living Doll"
Bonanza | episode: "The Waiting Game"
1963–1965  | Ben Casey | 3 episodes
1964  | Dr. Kildare | episode: "An Exchange of Gifts"
1965  | Slattery's People | 4 episodes
The Wild Wild West | 2 episodes
Convoy | episode: "Lady on the Rock"
The Long, Hot Summer | episode: "Home Is a Nameless Place"
The Big Valley | episode: "Winner Lose All"
The Wackiest Ship in the Army | episode: "The Stowaway"
1965–1968  | Gunsmoke | 4 episodes
1966  | The Trials of O'Brien | episode: "Alarums and Excursions"
Batman | 2 episodes
Jericho | 5 episodes
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | episode: "The Romany Lie Affair"
1966–1968  | I Spy | 8 episodes
1967  | Iron Horse | episode: "Consignment, Betsy the Boiler"
The Guns of Will Sonnett | 3 episodes
Cimarron Strip | episode: "The Battle of Bloody Stones"
1967–1968  | The Danny Thomas Hour | 2 episodes
1968  | Premiere |
1975  | Doctors' Hospital | episode: "One of Our Own"
1981  | The Gangster Chronicles | miniseries
Shannon | 2 episodes
1982  | The Mississippi | episode: "The Mississippi"
1985  | Wildside | 3 episodes
1990  | Zorro | episode: "Zorro: The Legend Continues" (unaired TV pilot)

Actor

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1985–1986  | Foley Square | Spiro Papadopolis  | 14 episodes
1989  | Wiseguy |  | episode: "Le Lacrime D'Amore: Part 2"
1990  | MacGyver | Caspar Kasabian  | episode: "Bitter Harvest"
1997  | Michael Hayes | Restaurant Owner  | episode: "Retribution"

#### TV movies

[edit]

Director

* Shadow on the Land (1968)
* One of Our Own (1975)
* The African Queen (1977)
* A Killing Affair (1977)
* Disaster on the Coastliner (1977)
* The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980)
* Splendor in the Grass (1981)
* Liberty (1986)

Actor

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1986  | Long Time Gone | Omar  |
Liberty | Philbert Evans  |
1993  | Sex, Love and Cold Hard Cash | Abe  | Uncredited
1996  | Miami Hustle | Henry Kronfeld  |
Gotti | Paul Castellano |

## Awards

[edit]

* Nominee, Gold Hugo, Best Feature Film – Chicago International Film Festival (The Next Man) (1976)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Chawkins, Steve (September 18, 2013). "Richard C. Sarafian dies at 83; directed cult film 'Vanishing Point'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
2. ^ Patten, Dominic (January 1, 1970). "Richard Sarafian Dies - Director Of Iconic Film 'Vanishing Point'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
3. ^ Greenspun, Roger (March 25, 1971). "Vanishing Point (1971) A Lot of Speed and Loads of Hair". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
4. ^ a b Gilbey, Ryan (September 20, 2013). "Richard C Sarafian obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
5. ^ a b Dyess-Nugent, Phil (September 18, 2013). "R.I.P. Richard C. Sarafian, director of Vanishing Point". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Chawkins, Steve (September 23, 2013). "Richard C. Sarafian, Hollywood Director, Dies at 83". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
7. ^ McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 293.
8. ^ Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition, New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 364.
9. ^ "Richard C Sarafian". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
10. ^ "Richard C. Sarafian, Director of 'Vanishing Point,' Dies at 83". The New York Times - Art. September 22, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Richard C. Sarafian at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Richard C. Sarafian

* Terror at Black Falls (1962)
* Andy (1965)
* Shadow on the Land (1968)
* Run Wild, Run Free (1969)
* Fragment of Fear (1970)
* Vanishing Point (1971)
* Man in the Wilderness (1971)
* Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
* The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)
* One of Our Own (1975)
* The Next Man (1976)
* The African Queen (1977)
* A Killing Affair (1977)
* Sunburn (1979)
* Disaster on the Coastliner (1979)
* The Gangster Chronicles (1981)
* Splendor in the Grass (1981)
* The Bear (1984)
* Liberty (1986)
* Eye of the Tiger (1986)
* Street Justice (1987)
* Solar Crisis (1990)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
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People|

* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC

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