RICHARD REEVES

August 10, 1912

Richard Reeves was born on August 10, 1912 in New York City as Richard Jourdan Reeves. 

Although he specialized in playing henchmen, gangsters and street thugs, he actually came from a well-off family; his father was a bank executive he and grew up in an upscale section of Queens, New York. He studied music in school; and then, at the age of 18, he worked as a seaman, spending much of his time in the 1930s aboard ships. Reeves served in the US Army during World War II, reaching the rank of sergeant.

He has the distinction of playing the most gangsters / thugs in TV series based on comic books. He appeared in five episodes of “Adventures of Superman” (1952), as well as appearing in a failed pilot called “The Adventures of Superboy” in 1961. He also appeared in the first episode of “Batman” (1966), although not as a villain. 

He is no relation to Steve Reeves (Goliath) or George Reeves (Superman). 

Reeves’ first appearance with Lucille Ball was as Hank, one of Ricky and Fred’s poker buddies in “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2), the second episode aired in 1951.  

Next up he played jealous husband and neighbor Bill Foster in “The Gossip” (ILL S1;E24). Bill is married to Grace, about whom Lucy makes up a story of marital infidelity. SPOILER ALERT: In the end, he is in league with Ricky to get the best of Lucy! 

His third appearance with Lucille Ball was as one of the thugs that threaten the Maharincess of Franistan in “The Publicity Agent” (ILL S1;E31, left). SPOILER ALERT! It is later revealed that he has been recruited by Ricky and Fred to impersonate an assassin and that his real name is Bill. Does this mean that Bill is Bill Foster, Grace’s husband?  If so, Reeves joins a select group of actors who played a recurring character on “I Love Lucy.”  The next time we hear of the Fosters it is Grace (Gloria Blondell) who gets the camera time, while Bill is away on business in…

“The Anniversary Present” (ILL S2;E3), where Ricky arranges to buy Lucy an anniversary gift from upstairs neighbor Grace (who works for a jeweler), but Lucy thinks the two are having an affair. Coincidentally, although Bill Foster is not in the episode, Reeves is – at least his voice is!  When jealous Lucy listens at the furnace pipe (”the snooper’s friend”) to hear Ricky and Grace talking, she also hears an argumentative neighbor lady (Barbara Pepper) calling her husband Albert (Richard Reeves) to come to lunch!  Pepper and Reeves are never seen and are not credited, but their voices are unmistakable. 

For the fourth of his eight series appearances Reeves plays a lighting technician on a ladder at the Tropicana. Although he does not have a character name, he does have a line of dialogue in “Lucy is Enceinte” (ILL S2;E10), where Lucy announces that she is expecting a baby. 

Reeves doesn’t have a character name in “The Indian Show” (ILL S2;E24) either, although he certainly has one of the funniest lines of the show. Reeves plays an actor (with a broad New York accent) hired to play a Native American in Ricky’s show. 

In “Equal Rights” (ILL S3;E4) Reeves is (for once) a good guy, playing one of New York’s men in blue in the episode’s final moments. For the first time on the show – and perhaps to make him look noticeably different – he has a mustache! 

In “The French Revue” (ILL S3;E7), Reeves is back at the Tropicana, this time as a stage hand / security guard charged with physically removing Lucy when she sneaks into the club in disguise. Reeves was likely hired for his physical size and strength, as he (and Fred Aldrich, left) have to lift Lucy off the ground. 

For his final appearance on the series Reeves breaks out of his usual casting tropes – acting a character role not relying on his size or playing a tough guy. He plays Lester Bike, host of ‘Millikan’s Chicken-Mash Hour” in “Tennessee Ernie Hangs On” (ILL S3;E29).  

Reeves was absent from seasons 4, 5, and 6 as well as all 13 episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” but kept busy on and off the Desilu lot. 

His final appearance opposite Lucille Ball was in “Lucy Drives a Dump Truck” (TLS S1;E24) in 1963. Once again he is back in blue as one of (Brewster) New York’s finest.  

In 1959 and 1960, he appeared in two episodes of “The Ann Sothern Show” produced by Desilu and filmed on the Desilu lot. 

In June 1961, he was back on the Desilu lot to film an episode of “Angel” written by Jess Oppenheimer and co-starring “Lucy” cast member Doris Singleton (Caroline Appleby). 

From 1959 to 1963, Reeves did six episodes of Desilu’s hit gangster series “The Untouchables” – all as different characters – but not all tough guys.  

He returned to wearing blue for Desilu in an episode of “Glynis” a series by Jess Oppenheimer starring Glynis Johns that last only 13 episodes in late 1963. 

He kept his uniform on for one of two appearance in “My Three Sons” filmed on the Desilu lot in 1962 and 1965. In the first he appeared with William Frawley (Fred Mertz) and in the second with Doris Singleton (Caroline Appleby).  

He died on March 17, 1967, age 54 from cirrhosis of the liver. Fittingly, his final screen appearance was posthumously playing a hit man (uncredited) in the James Bond film Casino Royale (1967).