Kane Richmond

Who was Kane Richmond?

Kane Richmond was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character Lamont Cranston in The Shadow films in addition to his leading role in the successful serials Spy Smasher and Brick Bradford.

Richmond was born Fred Bowditch in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s to pursue a career in acting. He received his first film roles in 1929, appearing in Song of Love, followed by Their Own Desire, both of which were uncredited. In 1930 he had two more uncredited roles, then landed the lead role in the boxing serial The Leather Pushers, an eleven film series that ran into 1931. From the remainder of 1931 through 1939 Richmond appeared in fifty films, many of which were cliffhangers, serials, and B-movies. He was married in 1934 to actress Marion Burns. The marriage lasted until his death. They had 2 children.

In The Devil Tiger, Director Clyde E. Elliott allowed his star, Richmond, to fight a 25 foot python. Richmond hated doubles and had insisted on playing the scene himself. The actor succeeded in holding the snake's snapping mouth away from his face while struggling to free himself from the triple coils around his body. At the height of the struggle, the heroine, Marion Burns, runs in and saves the hero from the python. Burns had to fight the snake too, in order to get at Richmond's pistol, with which she was supposed to shoot the python.