list_text=          Actor Richard Todd's innate power and dash proved a perfect fit for Disney's chivalrous, high-adventure movies "The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men" in 1952, "The Sword and the Rose" in 1953 and "Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue," which in 1954, was selected as the Command Performance Film in England.
          Long before Mel Gibson starred in Braveheart, Film Critic Bosley Crowther described Richard in the New York Times as "handsome as the kilted and bonneted Rob, simply a splendid idealization of the hero ..."
		  All three motion pictures were produced in England with blocked funds that Disney had been unable to get out of the country since World War II.  While some questioned Disney's presence overseas, the actor felt it perfectly appropriate.
		  After all, he pointed out to a Los Angeles Times reporter in 1953, "They're British stories!"
		  Born June 11, 1919, to a British army officer, Richard grew up in Ireland, India, and England.  He attended a London drama school, where his natural acting ability upstaged his initial intent to playwright.  He worked with various repertory companies, including the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park, where he played opposite Vivienne Leigh in "Shakespeare's Twelfth Night," and founded the Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1939.
		  Soon after, World War II interrupted his career.  Richard, who served in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and the Parachute Regiment, was among the first wave of parachutists dropped onto the beaches of Normandy for the D-Day Invasion.  He also participated in the Battle of the Bulge and Rhine crossing operations.
		  By 1946, Richard was a ready-made hero for post-war movies.  His role with Ronald Reagan in "The Hasty Heart" in 1949, won him critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, including an Academy Award nomination and British National Film Award.  The next year, he was cast by Alfred Hitchcock with Jane Wyman and Marlene Dietrich in "Stage Fright".  His other films include "Lightning Strikes Twice" directed by King Vidor, "The Virgin Queen" with Bette Davis and "A Man Called Peter" directed by Henry Koster.
		  Richard was particularly well-suited for war-themed motion pictures.  Among them, "The Dam Busters" with Michael Redgrave, "D-Day the Sixth of June" with Robert Taylor, "The Longest Day" directed by fellow Legend Ken Annakin, and more.
		  Richard recalled his transition from mostly war films to Disney medieval fare with bemused affection, saying the "Robin Hood roles" were "where my image was all daring deeds, until my swash began to buckle a bit."
		  By the late-1960s, he returned his focus to his first love, the stage, performing in productions, including Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband".  Among his small screen roles, Richard Todd costarred as himself in the 1996 television movie "Marlene Dietrich: Shadow and Light".&