A student of the famed Lee Strasbourg Method Actor's Studio, Bradford has appeared alongside most of Hollywood's big guns from the 1960's onwards including Brando, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Sean Connery and Steve McQueen.

Born on the 10th November 1937 in Tyler, Texas, Bradford was raised in Conroe and attended school in San Antonio from the 8th grade through to his graduation. He then went to Texas A & M college on a football scholarship until injury finished his dreams of becoming a football star. Undeterred, Richard transferred to Texas University hoping to become a professional baseball player, but was again thwarted by a technicality in U.S. school rules which prevented him from being able to do so. He had not accquired enough semester hours and was ineligible for the baseball team and therefore would have to take a year out. It was then when he tried his hand at acting.

He was a great fan of Marlon Brando & James Dean and in turn became a fan of "method" acting and thought he would be able to emulate his great heroes. His only worry at this stage, which turned out to be no hindrance at all was his hair. By the age of 16 Richard's hair had begun to turn to it's eventual trademark grey, and he thought it would be a problem in the acting world, but decided it was a losing battle so decided against attempting to dye it.

In 1957 he applied to and was accepted into the New York - Berghoff Studios and took odd jobs to pay his way through the classes. When he saved up enough money he applied for entrance into the Lee Strasbourg Method Actor's Studio where his heroes Brando & Dean had studied. He was accepted into the Srasbourg school in 1962.

Richard spent 2 years studying there and started to get roles on Broadway and progressed onto TV where he got his first role in an episode of Gunsmoke entitled "Sanctuary". He started to make a name for himself, and with a combination of his premature grey locks and his sublime acting ability was getting himself noticed in the right places.

After meeting with him, the director Arthur Penn cast him in a small role in a film he was making with Sam Spiegel called The Chase (1966) and starring Marlon Brando, Robert Redford & Jane Fonda. Early into making the film, Penn decided to give Richard a far meatier role than the one originally selected for and so it was that Richard played one of the main roles, that of Damon Fuller a ruthless young banker.

It was whist watching Richard's powerful portrayal of Fuller, that head of ITC, Lew Grade, decided that he had found the lead for his new action series Man In A Suitcase, the tale of an ex C.I.A. agent, McGill, falsely accused of treason, forced to hire his services out to whoever would employ him, living out of his battered suitcase travelling all over the world.

Again Richard received rave reviews for his realistic portrayal of McGill and the series was highly acclaimed by critics and the viewing public alike but all was not well behind the scenes. Always a perfectionist, Bradford got a reputation for being awkward by fellow performers and crew members of M.I.A.S. and he was not liked generally, and this, combined with carrying the responsibility for the success of the show and trying to make it better than it was, resulted in Richard returning to the US at the end of the first series, and refusing to return for season 2! He had a complete break and seemed to disappear off the face of the earth.

He resurfaced 2 years later in 1969 alongside Edward G. Robinson as Dr Joe Bannon, in U.M.C. which was a pilot movie for a popular TV series, The Medical Center, which starred Chad Everett in Bradford's role of Dr Bannon. Over the next few years Bradford appeared in many TV guest roles including parts in The High Chapparal, The Waltons, Marcus Welby M.D., Mannix & Kojak all highly rated programmes on American TV.

He returned to the big screen in 1976 in the film Missouri Breaks alongside Marlon Brando (again) and Jack Nicholson. He added to his impressive repertoire with roles in Enemy of The People (1978) alongside Steve McQueen, and Goin' South (1978) again alongside Nicholson.

He has since maintained a balance of small screen and silver screen appearances most notably on TV in several episodes of Cagney & Lacey as Marin Zibiskie & Midnight Caller as Mel King the father of station boss Devon King and on the big screen in The Untouchables (1987) with Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia & Sean Connery.

In 1982 he played alongside Frederic Forrest in the film Hammett with Forrest playing Dashiell Hammett and Richard playing a character called Detective Bradford. He has also received favourable reviews in Milagro Beanfield War (1988), & Internal Affairs (1990) with Richard Gere & Andy Garcia.

One of his more recent films is The Man From Elysian Fields (2001) where he once more appears with Andy Garcia & also Mick Jagger.

But, it will always be McGill, the Man In A Suitcase that Richard Bradford will be best remembered for, and that isn't a bad legacy to leave behind when the time comes for the boy from Texas who thought that his hair turning grey when he was sweet sixteen would prove to be a problem.