  richard long (december 17, 1927 &ndash; december 21, 1974) was an american actor better known for his leading roles in three abc television series, including the big valley, nanny and the professor, and bourbon street beat. he was also a series regular on abc's 77 sunset strip from 1960-62.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051247/fullcredits/ ==background== long was the fifth of six children born in chicago, to sherman d. long, a commercial artist who operated his own studio, and dale mccord long. the family settled in evanston, where long attended grammar school. he attended waller high school in chicago and evanston township high school. in 1944, the family relocated again, to hollywood, california, and long attended hollywood high school for his senior year. long said that as a teenager he had "no intention of becoming an actor. i took senior drama class because it was a snap course, and i needed the credit for my english requirement".richard long official tribute page at hollywood high school, long caught the eye of a talent scout from universal-international by accident. casting director jack murton gave a ride to a couple of students and asked them if a school play was scheduled. the boys told murton about the excellent male lead actor, richard long. ==film roles== in 1946, long was cast in his first film, tomorrow is forever as drew, the son of claudette colbert and orson welles. the role had been unfilled for months, and producers selected long who most closely matched the credentials required.brian's drive-in theater; accessed march 10, 2014.  early in his career, long appeared in several films as a juvenile lead, including four of the nine ma and pa kettle pictures. he was cast as tom kettle, the eldest son of the characters played by percy kilbride and marjorie main. his second film was the [[or
1927_births 1974_deaths 20th-century_American_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_male_television_actors American_military_personnel_of_the_Korean_War Cardiovascular_disease_deaths_in_California Deaths_from_myocardial_infarction Hollywood_High_School_alumni Male_actors_from_Chicago,_Illinois Male_actors_from_Evanston,_Illinois Male_actors_from_Los_Angeles,_California People_from_the_Greater_Los_Angeles_Area Warner_Bros._contract_players