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
Known For
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Special Guest Director
Ivanhoe
(1952)
Director
Jailhouse Rock
(1957)
Director
Tarzan's New York Adventure
(1942)
Director
Vengeance Valley
(1951)
Director
Fun in Acapulco
(1963)
Director
Tarzan Escapes
(1936)
Director
Knights of the Round Table
(1953)
Director
Athena
(1954)
Director
The Thin Man Goes Home
(1944)
Director
Quentin Durward
(1955)
Director
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
(1941)
Director
The Prisoner of Zenda
(1952)
Director
Tarzan Finds a Son!
(1939)
Director
Black Hand
(1950)
Director
Above Suspicion
(1943)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
Fast and Fearless
(1924)
Director
Bringin' Home the Bacon
(1924)
Director
Thundering Romance
(1924)
Director
On the Go
(1925)
Director
Tearin' Loose
(1925)
Director
College Days
(1926)
Director
Josselyn's Wife
(1926)
Director
The Fighting Cheat
(1926)
Director
Twisted Triggers
(1926)
Director
Ridin' Rivals
(1926)
Director
Double Daring
(1926)
Director
The Roaring Rider
(1926)
Director
The Desert of the Lost
(1927)
Director
Tearin' Into Trouble
(1927)
Director
The Ridin' Rowdy
(1927)
Director
The Meddlin' Stranger
(1927)
Director
The Ballyhoo Buster
(1928)
Director
The Valley Of Hunted Men
(1928)
Director
The Flyin' Buckaroo
(1928)
Director
Vultures of the Sea
(1928)
Director
The Vanishing West
(1928)
Director
Border Romance
(1929)
Director
The King of the Kongo
(1929)
Director
The Bachelor Girl
(1929)
Director
The Fatal Warning
(1929)
Director
The Lone Defender
(1930)
Director
Under Montana Skies
(1930)
Director
The Thoroughbred
(1930)
Director
Wings of Adventure
(1930)
Director
The Utah Kid
(1930)
Director
The Dude Wrangler
(1930)
Director
King of the Wild
(1931)
Director
Wild Horse
(1931)
Director
Grief Street
(1931)
Director
The Lady from Nowhere
(1931)
Director
Forgotten Women
(1931)
Director
The Devil Plays
(1931)
Director
Neck and Neck
(1931)
Director
The Sky Spider
(1931)
Director
The Lawless Woman
(1931)
Director
Murder at Dawn
(1932)
Director
Cross-Examination
(1932)
Director
The King Murder
(1932)
Director
The Midnight Lady
(1932)
Director
Probation
(1932)
Director
Women Won't Tell
(1932)
Director
Slightly Married
(1932)
Director
Beauty Parlor
(1932)
Director
The Secrets of Wu Sin
(1932)
Director
Thrill of Youth
(1932)
Director
Escapade
(1932)
Director
Forgotten
(1933)
Director
Murder on the Campus
(1933)
Director
Notorious But Nice
(1933)
Director
Rainbow Over Broadway
(1933)
Director
A Man of Sentiment
(1933)
Director
I Have Lived
(1933)
Director
Strange People
(1933)
Director
Green Eyes
(1934)
Director
Secret of the Chateau
(1934)
Director
City Park
(1934)
Director
Stolen Sweets
(1934)
Director
The Quitter
(1934)
Director
Cheating Cheaters
(1934)
Director
Strange Wives
(1934)
Director
Last of the Pagans
(1935)
Director
Tarzan Escapes
(1936)
Director
The Voice of Bugle Ann
(1936)
Director
Double Wedding
(1937)
Director
Night Must Fall
(1937)
Director
Dangerous Number
(1937)
Director
Lest We Forget
(1937)
Director
Three Loves Has Nancy
(1938)
Director
The Toy Wife
(1938)
Director
Man-Proof
(1938)
Director
Love Is a Headache
(1938)
Director
The First Hundred Years
(1938)
Director
The Crowd Roars
(1938)
Director
Tarzan Finds a Son!
(1939)
Director
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
(1939)
Director
The Earl of Chicago
(1940)
Director
Wyoming
(1940)
Director
20 Mule Team
(1940)
Director
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
(1941)
Director
The Bad Man
(1941)
Director
Barnacle Bill
(1941)
Director
Tarzan's New York Adventure
(1942)
Director
Joe Smith, American
(1942)
Director
White Cargo
(1942)
Director
Apache Trail
(1942)
Director
Above Suspicion
(1943)
Director
Cry 'Havoc'
(1943)
Director
Three Hearts for Julia
(1943)
Director
The Thin Man Goes Home
(1944)
Director
Two Girls and a Sailor
(1944)
Director
Thrill of a Romance
(1945)
Director
Her Highness and the Bellboy
(1945)
Director
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
(1945)
Director
Fiesta
(1947)
Director
This Time for Keeps
(1947)
Director
On an Island with You
(1948)
Director
A Date with Judy
(1948)
Director
Challenge to Lassie
(1949)
Director
Malaya
(1949)
Director
The Sun Comes Up
(1949)
Director
Big Jack
(1949)
Director
Black Hand
(1950)
Director
Three Little Words
(1950)
Director
Vengeance Valley
(1951)
Director
The Unknown Man
(1951)
Director
It's a Big Country
(1951)
Director
The Great Caruso
(1951)
Director
Ivanhoe
(1952)
Director
The Prisoner of Zenda
(1952)
Director
Carbine Williams
(1952)
Director
Knights of the Round Table
(1953)
Director
The Girl Who Had Everything
(1953)
Director
All the Brothers Were Valiant
(1953)
Director
The Student Prince
(1954)
Director
Athena
(1954)
Director
Quentin Durward
(1955)
Director
Bedevilled
(1955)
Director
The Prodigal
(1955)
Director
Jailhouse Rock
(1957)
Director
Tip on a Dead Jockey
(1957)
Director
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
(1957)
Director
The House of the Seven Hawks
(1959)
Director
Killers of Kilimanjaro
(1959)
Director
The Honeymoon Machine
(1961)
Director
The Tartars
(1961)
Director
The Horizontal Lieutenant
(1962)
Director
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Special Guest Director
Fun in Acapulco
(1963)
Director
Follow the Boys
(1963)
Director
The Golden Head
(1964)
Director
That Funny Feeling
(1965)
Director
The Truth About Spring
(1965)
Director
The Last Challenge
(1967)
Director
The Scorpio Letters
(1967)
Director
Acting
Burn 'Em Up Barnes
(1921)
Stephen Thompson
Three O'Clock in the Morning
(1923)
Clayton Webster
Flames of Desire
(1924)
Dick Langton
Writing
On the Go
(1925)
Writer
Tearin' Loose
(1925)
Writer
Double Daring
(1926)
Writer
The Ridin' Rowdy
(1927)
Writer
The Desert of the Lost
(1927)
Writer
The Ballyhoo Buster
(1928)
Writer
The Valley Of Hunted Men
(1928)
Writer
The Flyin' Buckaroo
(1928)
Writer
Editing
Production