Richard Bright was an American actor.
Biography[]
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Richard Bright first began acting at the age of eighteen, where he appeared in live television shows. He had an extensive stage career, gaining notoriety for starring in Michael McClure's The Beard; he and costar Billie Dixon were arrested for obscenity during a 1965 performance in San Francisco. Bright also pursued Shakespearean roles, appearing in a 1979 production of Richard III opposite Al Pacino.
Bright's first film was Odds Against Tomorrow, by Robert Wise. He later appeared in The Getaway, the first of several films he made with Sam Peckinpah, and costarred with Pacino in The Panic at Needle Park before playing Al Neri, in The Godfather.
He became known afterwards for playing gangsters and heavies, appearing in Sergio Leone's monolithic gangster picture Once Upon A Time in America, as well as being one of the few actors to appear in all three Godfather films and survive. Later in his career, Bright focused mainly on television, including appearances on Law and Order, Oz and The Sopranos.
In February of 2006, he was tragically killed while crossing the street, when a tour bus struck him in New York City. He was 68.
