Actor/director Richard Benedict was born Joseph Sciurba in Sicily. He
came to the US with his family when he was seven. He was a prizefighter
before journeying to Hollywood to break into the movies. His stocky,
somewhat menacing appearance got him tough-guy and henchman roles,
although he did get the occasional second lead. His best-known role was
as Leo Minosa, the man trapped in an abandoned mineshaft in
Billy Wilder's tough look at unscrupulous
journalism and how legitimate tragedies are turned into a media circus
in Reporter des Satans (1951). In
1962 he began directing, and though he turned out a few features, the
majority of his directing work was in series television.
