Richard Bright (actor)

Bright was struck and killed by the driver of a tour bus on the Upper West Side in Manhattan on February 18, 2006. He was hit by the rear wheel of the bus, and pronounced dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital. The driver claimed to have been unaware of the collision until he was notified upon reaching the Port Authority in midtown Manhattan, where he was interviewed by police. Ultimately, no criminal charges were filed, though the bus driver's license was suspended for failing to yield the right of way to Bright, who had been in a marked crosswalk with the walk sign on at the time he was struck. Bright was 68 years old at that time. He was survived by his wife Rutanya Alda, son Jeremy, daughter Diane, and brother Charles.

Bright continued to make a number of both commercial and independent films, such as Jaded (1998). He also continued working on stage and in television, appearing on such shows as Law & Order, Oz, Third Watch, and The Sopranos. These later performances showed Bright using an oxygen tank in all these appearances (although he suffered from emphysema, the tanks were props for the characters).

In 1993, he had a recurring role on One Life to Live as "Moose" Mulligan, rival and former underboss to longtime arch-villain and crime lord Carlo Hesser. In 1996, he appeared in the interactive movie Ripper.

Bright played another hired killer, Chicken Joe, in Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984). His other roles include Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Rancho Deluxe (1975), Marathon Man (1976), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), the film adaptation of Hair (1979), Red Heat (1988), and Beautiful Girls (1996).

He had a supporting role in The Getaway (1972) as a con man who tries to ply his trade on Carol McCoy (Ali MacGraw), and co-starred in The Panic in Needle Park (1971), playing Hank, brother of Al Pacino's character.

In 1972, he appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of The Godfather as Al Neri, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino)'s primary enforcer and bodyguard. Michael, as the don of the Corleone family, implements a security detail that keeps Neri and Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui) close by at all times. A deleted scene from The Godfather shows former consigliere and family attorney Tom Hagen reviewing the payroll ledgers, discovering that both Neri and Lampone are being paid much more than their nominal jobs are worth. Both are soon revealed, in fact, as assassins Michael has doubling as bodyguards.

In 1965, Bright starred in poet Michael McClure's two-person show The Beard, performing first in San Francisco and later in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. In San Francisco, his female co-star Billie Dixon and he were arrested and brutally beaten by police for uttering obscenities about local politicians and simulating them in sexual acts. The ACLU represented Bright, citing First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. In the end, the charges against him were dismissed; the case was considered important for free speech in general and actors' rights in particular.

Bright began his career doing live television in Manhattan at the age of 18, and made his film debut in Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). He also worked on several movies early in his career with his friend Sam Peckinpah.

Richard James Bright (June 28, 1937 – February 18, 2006) was an American actor, well known for his role as Al Neri in the Godfather films.