You’ve seen his face. Honestly, if you watched a single hour of television between 1950 and 2011, you definitely saw it. Maybe he was the stern, religious father of Suzanne Somers on Three's Company. Or perhaps he was the guy trying to hunt down Jason Voorhees on a boat to Manhattan. Peter Mark Richman was one of those actors who didn’t just work; he haunted the airwaves for over sixty years.
But here is the thing: the man was a licensed pharmacist.
Imagine walking into a drugstore in 1951, complaining about a cough, and having a future Star Trek villain hand you a bottle of syrup. It sounds like the setup for a sitcom, but for Richman, it was his literal reality before he decided to gamble everything on the Actors Studio. He didn’t just "break into" Hollywood; he method-acted his way out of a pharmacy in Pennsylvania and into the history books as one of the most prolific character actors to ever grace the screen.
The Pharmacist Who Chose the Method
Born Marvin Jack Richman in South Philadelphia, Peter Mark didn't start out with dreams of being a movie star. His father died when he was only 16. His older brother, a pharmacist, stepped in as a surrogate father and steered him toward a "real" career. Richman followed the path, graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, and even managed a drugstore for a year.
He hated it. Or at least, he knew it wasn't his soul's work.
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In 1952, he made a move that his family genuinely thought was "meshuggener" (Yiddish for crazy). He quit his stable, high-paying pharmacy job to join a summer stock theater for $35 a week. It was at that theater where he met his wife, Helen Landess. They stayed married for 67 years. Talk about a bet that paid off.
Richman wasn't a "look at me" kind of actor. He was a Method actor. He studied under Lee Strasberg alongside legends like James Dean and Maureen Stapleton. You can see that training in his early work, like his film debut in William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion (1956). While other actors were just hitting their marks, Richman was observing the "pores in the nose" of his co-stars, trying to find the truth in the scene.
The Man Who Died Every Possible Way
If there was a trophy for "Most Creative On-Screen Deaths," Richman would have a shelf full of them. He once joked that he held an unofficial record for dying in every way imaginable. He was shot, stabbed, hung, poisoned, eaten, crushed, and even beheaded.
From Cain’s Hundred to Dynasty
In 1961, he finally got his own show, Cain’s Hundred. He played Nicholas "Nick" Cain, a former mob lawyer who turns on his bosses to help the feds. It was gritty, noir-heavy, and far ahead of its time. Although it only lasted one season, it cemented his image as the "chiseled" guy you wanted for high-stakes drama.
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Most people today, though, probably remember him for two very specific recurring roles:
- Andrew Laird in Dynasty: He played Blake Carrington's slick, reliable attorney for nearly 30 episodes.
- Reverend Snow in Three's Company: As Chrissy Snow's overprotective, ultra-religious father, he provided the perfect foil to the show's slapstick chaos.
There is a weird irony in a man who played so many villains and hard-asses being most famous for playing a man of the cloth. But that was the Peter Mark Richman magic. He could pivot from a cold-blooded killer to a concerned father without breaking a sweat.
The "Secret" Artist and the Subud Philosophy
Acting was only a fraction of who he was. Richman was a serious expressionist painter. We aren't talking about a "celebrity who dabbles." He had seventeen one-man shows. His work hangs in the permanent collection of the Crocker Museum.
He actually credited his artistic longevity to a spiritual philosophy called Subud. In fact, he added "Peter" to his professional name because of his beliefs. He felt "Mark Richman" didn't fully represent who he was becoming. Subud focuses on an "inner life" or soul, and you can see that intensity in his paintings—lots of vibrant colors and deep, emotional portraits.
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Why he still matters in 2026
In an era where we often see "influencers" trying to act, looking back at a guy like Richman is a reality check. He had 500+ credits. Think about that number. He worked in the Golden Age of TV (The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits), the era of the Great Westerns (Bonanza, Gunsmoke), the 80s glitz (Knight Rider, Matlock), and even the 90s animation boom (voicing The Phantom in Defenders of the Earth).
He represents a level of craftsmanship that is becoming rare. He was a "blue-collar" artist who viewed acting, writing, and painting as part of the same creative release.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you want to truly appreciate the range of Peter Mark Richman, don't just stick to the reruns of Three's Company.
- Watch "The Fear": This is the penultimate episode of the original The Twilight Zone. Richman plays a state trooper facing a giant alien. It’s a masterclass in acting against... well, nothing.
- Check out his art: Visit his official archive or look for his book I Saw a Molten White Light. It gives a much deeper look into the man behind the chiseled jawline.
- The Sci-Fi Crossover: If you’re a Trekkie, watch the Season 1 finale of The Next Generation, "The Neutral Zone." He plays Ralph Offenhouse, a 20th-century businessman cryogenically frozen and revived in the future. His performance as a man obsessed with his bank account in a world without money is hilarious and poignant.
Richman passed away in 2021 at the age of 93. He left behind five children and a body of work that practically serves as a roadmap for the history of American television. He proved that you can be the "bad guy" on screen while living a life full of art, faith, and a very long, happy marriage. Not bad for a kid from Philly who almost spent his life filling prescriptions.
The next time you’re channel surfing and you see a tall, handsome guy with an authoritative voice giving some hero a hard time, check the credits. It’s probably Peter Mark Richman. And now you know he’s probably thinking about what oil paints he’s going to use when he gets home.
To get started on your own deep dive, look for the 2013 documentary Crystal Lake Memories. Richman appears in it to discuss his time in the Friday the 13th franchise, offering a surprisingly candid and funny look at what it’s like for a "serious" actor to join a slasher flick late in his career.