Richard Kelton

Kelton was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. After briefly attending Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in 1963, he transferred to The University of Kansas, earning his bachelor's degree in drama 1966, and then his Masters' two years later, in 1968. He returned briefly in 1973 to appear in a campus production. He made his way to California where he made his debut playing "Bud" in an episode of Gunsmoke. In 1967, he made his film debut with a small part in the movie In Cold Blood (1967) as Nancy's boyfriend. Soon after arriving in California with his wife in 1970, he got guest-starring roles in The Young Rebels and The Waltons.

Soon afterwards, he made his TV movie debut as "Lieutenant Charring" in Wild Women (1970). He continued in numerous other guest starring roles and movie roles. He also played the role of "Nick" in the Broadway revival of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? in 1976.

After returning to California in 1976, he had a guest-starring role on ABC-TV's Charlie's Angels. He played the role of alien science officer "Ficus Pandorata" on the short-lived NBC-TV science fiction series Quark (1978). Later that year he was invited back to The University of Kansas to give a short seminar on films.

Kelton died of accidental carbon monoxide asphyxiation due to a faulty heater in his trailer while filming the NBC-TV miniseries Centennial, in which he was to have co-starred. Universal Studios, which produced the TV miniseries, was fined $720 for the failure to provide a proper ventilation system for the trailer to which Kelton had retreated to rehearse his lines.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19790111&id=SrIzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZzIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=2179,5119653&hl=en%7Ctitle=Universal |title=Universal Studios fined after carbon monoxide kills actor |agency=United Press International (UPI) |newspaper=Lodi News-Sentinel |location=Lodi, California |date=January 11, 1979 |access-date=March 16, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19790111&id=Z90hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pqAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5117,21982&hl=en |title=Studio Fined In Death |agency=Associated Press (AP) |newspaper=Reading Eagle |location=Reading, Pennsylvania |date=January 11, 1979 |accessdate=March 16, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?%20nid=2199&dat=19781201&id=l4MyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_eYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6595,436896&hl=en |title=Actor's death evokes mourning |agency=United Press International |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |location=Lawrence, Kansas |first=Ward |last=Harkavy |date=December 1, 1978 |accessdate=March 16, 2016}}

His alma mater, KU, established the Richard Kelton Memorial Fund in December 1978 to aid student actors in their professional acting aspirations. The fund still exists today in the form of the Richard Kelton Memorial Scholarship, that provides scholarships for undergraduate students majoring in theatre with an emphasis in acting.{{cite web |url=https://theatredance.ku.edu/richard-kelton-memorial-scholarship |title=Richard Kelton Memorial Scholarship |website=Department of Theatre & Dance |publisher=The University of Kansas |language=en |date=June 11, 2013}}

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Category:1943 births

Category:1978 deaths

Category:Male actors from Lincoln, Nebraska

Category:People from Miami, Oklahoma

Category:Male actors from Oklahoma

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male stage actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:Accidental deaths in Colorado

Category:Deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning

Category:20th-century American male actors