Richard Garrick

Who was Richard Garrick?

Richard Garrick was a director and actor. He was born Richard Thomas O'Brien in the townland of Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland. His father, James E. O'Brien, was a master tailor in that town, counting among his clients Lord Waterford as well as other nobility and landed gentry. In 1882, James left Portlaw for the United States. He landed in the town of North Adams, Massachusetts, where there were cotton mills and the need for a clothesmaker. Two years later, his wife Johanna and children followed.

In 1898, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a Corporal in Company M, U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment stationed in Miagao, Iloilo, in the Philippines in 1900 during the Philippine-American War. When he returned to North Adams, he worked for a time in his father's tailor shop, then struck out on his own.

He ventured to New York City where he landed roles in stage productions, among them The Boys of Company B, The Flag Lieutenant, The Fourth Estate and The Monkey's Paw. By 1912 Garrick was in Los Angeles and became a charter member of The Reel Club.