Biography

Richard Beck-Meyer (also known as Rick, Rich, Ricko and Rikko) was raised in Burbank, California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1947. He studied painting at California College of Arts and Crafts getting his master's in fine arts at San Jose State.

Richard was an exceptional watercolor artist, teacher, and member of both the California Watercolor Society and the Carmel Art Association. He exhibited in the Monterey/Carmel area throughout the 1950s. Richard was active in local theater designing sets for productions at the Golden Bough Circle Theatre and the Forest Theatre. His sets for Shaw's "Caesar & Cleopatra" (1964) and "Teahouse of the August Moon" (1965) were notable for their bold use of color and shape to enhance the dramatic impact of the plays. Later in the 1960s he decided to try his hand at film and used his Huntington Hartford Fellowship to attend film school at UCLA. Rick's professional credits include film editor and production designer for "The Wild Angels" (1966), "The Born Losers" (1967), "The Vendors" (1970), and "How Come Nobody's on Our Side" (1975).

Not satisfied with two art careers, Richard used the GI Bill (he had served as a Mandarin translator for the Army during the Korean War) to obtain a marriage and family therapy degree from Azusa Pacific University. Due to ever escalating licensing hours, Richard never got his license to pursue private practice, but he put his counseling skills to good use as the Special Education Coordinator for Head Start in Lake and Mendocino Counties. It gave him great pleasure to be an advocate for Special Ed students as their families negotiated with schools to obtain the best and least restrictive educational environment each district could provide for each student.

Richard spent the last 20 years of his working life wearing many hats at Community Action Agencies such as North Coast Opportunities in Lake and Mendocino Counties, Redwood Community Action Agency in Humboldt County, and the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County. In 1985 he retired and moved to San Francisco where he worked on an English translation of "Journey to the West" for television, original film treatments, poems, short stories, and researching his magnum opus, a book still waiting to be committed to paper. In January of 2016 Richard returned to Mendocino County, living in a lovely cottage just east of Fort Bragg on Highway 20.
- IMDb mini biography by: Shelley Volz