Background
Paul was born in Los Angeles, California.
Paul was born in Los Angeles, California.
He was near completion of his Doctor of Philosophy in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, but gave up his career as a therapist to become a full-time performer.
He was able to imitate most American and many foreign dialects. He had a tenor voice and trained with Lee Sweetland. Richard had a Bachelor of Arts in public affairs from Claremont Men"s College and an Master of Arts in psychology from California State University, Los Los Angeles
Richard Paul was nicknamed "Pige Paul" by Slim Pickens while filming an episode of The Love Boat (1977) after local pigeons anointed a new suit jacket.
In 1980 he guest starred in the American Broadcasting Company comedy "One In A Million" which only aired for one season. Richard was also a frequent panelist on Match Game from 1978 to 1982.
From 1977 to 1979 he portrayed Mayor Teddy Burnside in Carter Country, and later played the recurring character of Cabot Cove Mayor, Sam Booth, in Murder, She Wrote. He was cast as Bob Halyers in the "Clean Up Radio Everywhere" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati (1978) because of his resemblance to Review
Jerry Falwell. Paul played Falwell himself twice: once in Fall From Grace, a Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker television movie made in 1990, and then in The People versus
Larry Flynt in 1996. Paul was in the cult classic film Eating Raoul (1982), written and directed by Paul Bartel. Also in 1982, he co-starred on the short-lived sitcom Herbie, the Love Bug.
He also appeared in Bartel"s short film, The Secret Cinema, a paranoid-delusional, fantasy masterpiece of self-referential cinema, which was part of the Amazing Stories series on television
Paul also appeared in Not for Publication, written and directed by Bartel. Paul was married for 30 years until his death on Christmas day in 1998 at home in Studio City, California, due to cancer at age 58.