Richard Quine

Richard Quine (November 12, 1920 – June 10, 1989) was an American actor, singer, and film director born in Detroit, Michigan, whose father was also an actor. The family relocated to Los Angeles when Quine was six years old, and he began building a performance career early, first as a radio actor who achieved minor stardom in that medium, then in vaudeville, and eventually in stage productions. His film work as a child included appearances in Cavalcade (1933), Counsellor-at-Law (1933), Jane Eyre (1934) in the role of John Reed, Dames (1934), Little Men (1934), and Dinky (1935) with Jackie Cooper, among others.

Quine departed Los Angeles for New York City to pursue stage acting, making his Broadway debut in 1939 in the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May, which ran for 59 performances. The following year he was cast as Frank Lippincott in My Sister Eileen, a hit production starring Shirley Booth. His performance in that show led directly to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

At MGM, Quine appeared opposite Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in Babes on Broadway (1941). Rooney and Quine had known each other since childhood, having previously appeared together in The World Changes (1933). Quine also appeared in Tish (1942) alongside Susan Peters, who later became his second wife, and in For Me and My Gal (1942) playing Garland's brother. Columbia borrowed him to reprise his stage role in the film version of My Sister Eileen (1942). Additional MGM credits during this period included Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942), Stand by for Action (1942), and the wartime short The Rear Gunner (1943). Walter Wanger borrowed him for the wartime propaganda drama We've Never Been Licked (1943), in which Quine received top billing.

His acting momentum was interrupted by service in the United States Coast Guard, during which he attained the rank of lieutenant and worked in the public relations department in San Diego, California. After the war, his acting career slowed considerably, with appearances in The Cockeyed Miracle (1946), Words and Music (1948), and Command Decision (1948).

Quine then pivoted toward directing, partnering with William Asher to adapt a Saturday Evening Post short story called "Leather Gloves" for Columbia Pictures. The 1948 film proved successful, and Quine was offered a long-term contract at Columbia. He continued acting briefly, appearing in the RKO noir The Clay Pigeon (1949), directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Carl Foreman, as well as No Sad Songs for Me (1950) and Rookie Fireman (1950). He also directed a series of comedy shorts at Columbia before signing a seven-year directing contract with the studio in July 1951.

His first solo feature as director was the musical comedy The Sunny Side of the Street (1951) with Frankie Laine, followed by Purple Heart Diary (1951). Quine then collaborated extensively with Blake Edwards, co-writing and directing a string of musicals including Sound Off (1952), Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1952), All Ashore (1953), and Cruisin' Down the River (1954), as well as the film noir Drive a Crooked Road (1954), all featuring Mickey Rooney in several of the productions. The two also created the television series The Mickey Rooney Show (1954–55), for which Quine served as creator and Edwards as chief writer. Quine directed the film noir Pushover (1954), which launched Kim Novak's career, and also helmed the Universal-International musical So This Is Paris (1954) with Tony Curtis. He and Edwards co-wrote the script for a musical remake of My Sister Eileen (1955), which Quine directed.

By the mid-1950s Quine had established himself as one of Columbia's leading directors. He directed The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) and Full of Life (1956), both with Judy Holliday, and Operation Mad Ball (1957) with Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs. Bell, Book and Candle (1958), featuring James Stewart, Novak, Kovacs, and Lemmon, was among his most prominent productions of the period. It Happened to Jane (1959) with Doris Day and Lemmon followed, produced by Day's company Arwin Productions.

Quine established his own production company, Quine Productions, with a financing and distribution arrangement through Columbia. The company's first film was Strangers When We Meet (1960), co-produced with Kirk Douglas's Bryna Productions and featuring Douglas, Novak, and Kovacs. Director Jean Negulesco was replaced at the last minute by Quine on The World of Suzie Wong (1960) at Paramount, starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan. He produced and directed The Notorious Landlady (1962) with Lemmon, Fred Astaire, and Novak, from a script co-written by Edwards.

Subsequent directing credits included Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Holden and Audrey Hepburn, Sex and the Single Girl (1964) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood at Warner Bros., and How to Murder Your Wife (1965) with Lemmon, co-produced between Quine Productions and Lemmon's Jalem Productions. Quine produced and directed Synanon (1965) for Columbia and later moved into television, producing and directing episodes of The Jean Arthur Show (1966). He directed Hotel (1967) for Warner Bros. and eventually directed The Prisoner of Zenda (1979).