Director
Richard Thorpe
130 years · Hutchinson, Kansas, USA · 143 films
Richard Thorpe (February 24, 1896 - May 1, 1991) was an American film director. Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and onstage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more than one hundred and eighty films. The first full length motion picture he directed for MGM was Last of the Pagans (1935) starring Ray Mala. After directing The Last Challenge in 1967, he retired from the film industry. He died in Palm Springs, California in 1991. Thorpe is also known as the original director of The Wizard of Oz. He was fired after two weeks of shooting, because it was felt that his scenes did not have the right air of fantasy about them. Thorpe notoriously gave Judy Garland a blonde wig and cutesy "baby-doll" makeup that made her look like a girl in her late teens rather than an innocent Kansas farm girl of about thirteen. Both makeup and wig were discarded at the suggestion of George Cukor, who was brought in temporarily. Stills from Thorpe's work on the film survive today. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Thorpe has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Best known for
Filmography 143
The Scorpio Letters
1967 · Director, Producer
The Last Challenge
1967 · Director, Producer
On fuboTV
That Funny Feeling
1965 · Director
The Truth About Spring
1965 · Director
The Golden Head
1964 · Director
On Kanopy
Fun in Acapulco
1963 · Director
On Hoopla
Follow the Boys
1963 · Director
The Horizontal Lieutenant
1962 · Director
The Honeymoon Machine
1961 · Director
The Tartars
1961 · Director
The House of the Seven Hawks
1959 · Director
Killers of Kilimanjaro
1959 · Director
Tip on a Dead Jockey
1957 · Director
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
1957 · Director
Jailhouse Rock
1957 · Director
On Fawesome
Quentin Durward
1955 · Director
The Prodigal
1955 · Director
Bedevilled
1955 · Director
Athena
1954 · Director
The Student Prince
1954 · Director
On HBO Max
Knights of the Round Table
1953 · Director
All the Brothers Were Valiant
1953 · Director
The Girl Who Had Everything
1953 · Director
The Prisoner of Zenda
1952 · Director