Richard Martin (actor)

This article is about the American actor. For the British actor, see Richard Martin (British director).

Richard Martin
Born	(1917-12-12)December 12, 1917 Spokane, Washington
Died	September 4, 1994(1994-09-04) (aged 76)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1942 - 1960
Known for	Chito Rafferty character
Spouse	Elaine Riley (1946 - 1994)

Richard Martin (December 12, 1917 – September 4, 1994) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Chito Rafferty, the Irish-Mexican western comedy relief sidekick of Tim Holt and Robert Mitchum, among others. Before their pairing, Martin originated the role in the 1943 film Bombardier.

Early life

Martin was born in Spokane, Washington. His family moved to a Mexican neighborhood in West Hollywood, California, where he learned to imitate his friends. He began in films by working as a receptionist for MGM. When a friend made a bet with his agent that the agent couldn't get Martin an actor's contract, Martin's agent won the bet. He became a prolific contract player for RKO Pictures in 1942, often appearing unbilled. It was there his Chito Rafferty character was born.

Career

Hollywood's World War II films often featured many ethnic American enlisted men, and Martin first played Rafferty as a contemporary air crewman in Bombardier. He soon repeated the role in the western Nevada opposite Robert Mitchum. He appeared opposite a few other stars in RKO westerns.

Post-WWII

After the war, Martin left RKO and essayed the main role in the last Universal Pictures film serial The Mysterious Mr. M, as well as the title role in the 1947 Cinecolor western The Adventures of Don Coyote. When Tim Holt, back from the war, was hired by producer Herman Schlom to star in a Western series, the two pondered whom they could get for a sidekick, and Schlom recalled Martin's Rafferty character from Nevada. Martin returned to RKO in the same year in his first appearance alongside Holt in Under the Tonto Rim, the first of 29 films they did together that were initially based on stories by Zane Grey.

As B westerns and exclusive studio contracts gradually ended in the 1950s, Martin found himself out of work and unable to find any due to his ethnic characterisation. He became an insurance salesman, coming back for one last western, Four Fast Guns, in 1960.

Chito Rafferty

Martin originated the Mexican-Irish character of Chito Rafferty, whose full name was "Chito Jose Gonzales Bustamonte Rafferty", in 1943's war film Bombardier.

The character went on to appear in a further 34 films, all of them westerns: 1944's Nevada and 1945's West of the Pecos, both of which starred Robert Mitchum; 1945's Wanderer of the Wasteland, which starred James Warren; 1946's Sunset Pass and 1947's Code of the West, in which the role was not played by Martin but by John Laurenz; then a further 29 films, all of which featured Chito Rafferty as the sidekick to a different hero, always played by Tim Holt: Thunder Mountain, Under the Tonto Rim and Wild Horse Mesa in 1947, Western Heritage, The Arizona Ranger, Guns of Hate, Indian Agent and Gun Smugglers in 1948, Brothers in the Saddle, Riders of the Range, Rustlers, Stagecoach Kid, The Mysterious Desperado and Masked Raiders in 1949, Storm Over Wyoming, Rider from Tucson, Dynamite Pass, Border Treasure, Rio Grande Patrol and Law of the Badlands in 1950, Saddle Legion, Gunplay, Pistol Harvest, Hot Lead and Overland Telegraph in 1951, and Trail Guide, Road Agent, Target and Desert Passage in 1952.

The character, particularly in the films with Tim Holt's character, was presented as a loyal sidekick and ladies' man who was afraid to commit to long term relationships with the women to whom he was attracted. Typical plot lines showed Chito flirting with either the female lead character, or supporting character, at the beginning of the film, only to run away from a romantic commitment at the end.

Personal life

Martin met his wife, former fashion model and actress Elaine Riley, on a film set in Carmel, where a scheduled four-day shoot stretched to three weeks because of fog. He was married to Riley from 1946 until his death. They worked together only once, in Rider from Tucson (1950), but were regarded as one of Hollywood's happiest couples. When Howard Hughes cancelled Martin's contract at RKO in 1953, he left Hollywood to set up an insurance business. The couple had no children.

Quotes

The Irish in me is for fight; the Mexican for love

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1942	Call Out the Marines	Marine Corporal in Café	Uncredited
	Mexican Spitfire at Sea	Steward	Uncredited
	My Favorite Spy	Nightclub Patron	Uncredited
	The Mayor of 44th Street	Office Clerk	Uncredited
	Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost	Epping's Chauffeur	Uncredited
	Thundering Hoofs	Man at Dance	Uncredited
	The Big Street	Minor Role	Uncredited
	The Falcon's Brother	Steamship Official	Uncredited
	Army Surgeon	Soldier-Patient	Uncredited
	Seven Days' Leave	Soldier	Uncredited
	Seven Miles from Alcatraz	Second Radio Operator	Uncredited
	Red River Robin Hood	Robbed Rancher's Son	Uncredited
1943	Hitler's Children	Gestapo Man	Uncredited
	Ladies' Day	Sox Player	Uncredited
	Bombardier	Chito Rafferty
	The Leopard Man	Raoul Belmonte	Uncredited
	The Falcon in Danger	George Morley
	The Adventures of a Rookie	Bob Prescott
	The Iron Major	David 'Davie' Cavanaugh
	Gangway for Tomorrow	Jules	Uncredited
	Tender Comrade	Mike Dumbrowski
1944	Marine Raiders	Pfc. Jimmy Fowler
	Nevada	Chito Rafferty
1945	Having Wonderful Crime	Lance Richards
	Wanderer of the Wasteland	Chito Rafferty
	West of the Pecos
1946	The Bamboo Blonde	Jim Wilson
	The Mysterious Mr. M	Detective Lieutenant Kirby Walsh
1947	The Adventures of Don Coyote	Don Coyote
	Thunder Mountain	Chito Rafferty
	Under the Tonto Rim	Chito Rafferty
	Wild Horse Mesa	Chito Rafferty
1948	Western Heritage	Chito Rafferty
	The Arizona Ranger	Chito Rafferty
	Guns of Hate	Chito Rafferty
	Indian Agent	Chito Rafferty
	Gun Smugglers	Chito Rafferty
1949	Brothers in the Saddle	Chito Rafferty
	Rustlers	Chito Rafferty
	Stagecoach Kid	Chito Rafferty
	Masked Raiders	Chito Rafferty
	The Mysterious Desperado	Chito Rafferty
1950	Riders of the Range	Chito Rafferty
	Dynamite Pass	Chito Rafferty
	Storm Over Wyoming	Chito Rafferty
	Rider from Tucson	Chito Rafferty
	Border Treasure	Chito Rafferty
	Rio Grande Patrol	Chito Rafferty
1951	Law of the Badlands	Chito Rafferty
	Saddle Legion	Chito Rafferty
	Gunplay	Chito Rafferty
	Pistol Harvest	Chito Rafferty
	Hot Lead	Chito Rafferty
	Overland Telegraph	Chito Rafferty
1952	Trail Guide	Chito Rafferty
	Road Agent	Chito Rafferty
	Target	Chito Rafferty
	Desert Passage	Chito Rafferty
	The Raiders	Felipe de Ortega
1957	Hell Bound	Dock Worker	Uncredited
1960	Four Fast Guns	Quijano

External links

• Richard Martin at IMDb