Richard Webb

Richard Webb was the actor who played Lieutenant Commander Ben Finney in the  episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. He was born in Bloomington, Indiana.

Webb is perhaps most recognized as the star of the 1950s science fiction television series Captain Midnight. He was also the star of the short-lived syndicated adventure series Border Patrol, which aired in 1959. Webb is also remembered for his supporting roles in such critically-acclaimed films as Out of the Past (1947) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).

In the 1940s, Webb appeared in several movies in the film noir genre, most notably This Gun for Hire (1942, with Marc Lawrence), The Big Clock (1948), and the aforementioned Out of the Past, in which he played the supporting role of Jim. Some of his other film credits during the 1940s included Sullivan's Travels (1941), O.S.S. (1946, with John Hoyt), and the role of Sir Galahad in the Bing Crosby musical version of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949). Webb played this same character in the 1954 film Prince Valiant.

Webb appeared as himself in the 1947 musical comedy Variety Girl. This film starred regular TOS actor DeForest Kelley. He and Kelley later worked together on the 1965 western film Town Tamer.

Webb had roles in numerous westerns during the 1950s, including Carson City (1952) and Three Hours to Kill (1954; with Whit Bissell). Also during the 1950s and into the 1960s, he appeared on such western television series as Colt .45 (with Bill Erwin), Maverick, Rawhide, Cheyenne, and Gunsmoke. For the latter, he worked on two episodes directed by Marc Daniels: one with Leonard Nimoy, and another with Michael Ansara, Jonathan Lippe, and Kenneth Mars.

Outside of Star Trek and Captain Midnight, Webb's science fiction credits include the starring role in 1950's The Invisible Monster and a supporting role alongside fellow TOS guest actor Robert Walker in 1972's ''Beware! The Blob''. He also guest-starred on an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, on which Arch Whiting was a regular, and appeared in the ABC Movie of the Week Time Travelers, directed by Alexander Singer.

Webb's other film credits include Distant Drum (1951), This Woman Is Dangerous (1952, with Sherry Jackson), Artists and Models (1955), Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967), and The Gay Deceivers (1969). Some of the other television shows on which Webb has guest-starred are The Fugitive, Perry Mason, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, and an episode of I Spy with Peter Duryea and Roy Jenson.

Webb retired from acting after portraying the role of General Rawlings on the daytime drama series Days of Our Lives. He became an author, writing four books on psychic phenomena and the occult. In 1993, having been suffering from a long-term, enervating respiratory illness, Richard Webb committed suicide. He was 77 years old.

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Richard Webb