Richard Rosson
Richard Rosson (April 4, 1893 – May 31, 1953) was an American film director and actor.
Richard Rosson

Motion Picture Classic · Motion Picture Classic Vol. III No. 1 (September, 1916) M.P. Publishing Co., Brooklyn, New York · Public domain
- Name
- Richard Rosson
- Born
- 4 April 1893
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, U.S.
- Died
- 31 May 1953
- Place of death
- Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Film director, actor
- Spouse
- Vera Sisson (m.1916)
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3561346 · wikipedia · Richard Rosson
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Richard Rosson • Born — 4 April 1893 • Birthplace — New York City, New York, U.S. • Died — 31 May 1953 • Place of death — Pacific Palisades, California, U.S. • Occupation — Film director, actor • Years Active — 1911–1943 • Spouse — Vera Sisson (m.1916) • Relatives — Arthur Rosson (brother) Harold Rosson (brother) Helene Rosson (sister)
Documentary record
Richard Rosson lived from 4 April 1893 to 31 May 1953 and is documented in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Richard Rosson was born on 4 April 1893 in New York. Richard Rosson died on 31 May 1953 in Pacific Palisades.
Career
Career
Rosson's first directorial effort was the 1926 American black and white silent comedy film Fine Manners, initially directed by Lewis Milestone for Famous Players–Lasky/Paramount Pictures. After an argument with actress Gloria Swanson, Milestone walked off the set, leaving the film to be completed by Rosson, who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an assistant director to Allan Dwan. The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed Her Father's Keeper in 1917 with his brother Arthur Rosson, won him a long-term contract with Famous Players–Lasky.
Personal life
Personal life
Rosson was the younger brother of director Arthur Rosson; his younger sister Helene became a movie actress, and his younger brother Harold became a well-known director of photography who won the first Academy Award for color cinematography. Richard Rosson died from suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning at his home in Pacific Palisades, California at the age of 60. A year later, Rosson's wife, Vera Sisson, committed suicide by barbiturate overdose. On May 1, 1939, Rosson was arrested on a charge of espionage in Vienna, Austria, with his wife and two other British nationals, by the Gestapo, allegedly for filming military hardware. They were held in solitary confinement for 34 days and released.
Selected director filmography
Selected director filmography
• Her Father's Keeper (1917) • Fine Manners (1926) • Shootin' Irons (1927) • The Wizard (1927) • Road House (1928) • Dead Man's Curve (1928) • Scarface ("co-director" of retakes) (1932) • West Point of the Air (1935) • Hideaway (1937) • Apache Trail (uncredited) (1942) • The Getaway (uncredited) (1942) • Corvette K-225 (1943)
Selected actor filmography
Selected actor filmography
• Richelieu (1914) • The Pretty Sister of Jose (1915) • The Old Cobbler (1916) • Cassidy (1917) • A Case at Law (1917) • The Haunted House (1917) • Madame Sphinx (1918) • The Ghost Flower (1918) • Alias Mary Brown (1918) • Peggy Does Her Darndest (1919) • The Poor Boob (1919) • Playthings of Passion (1919) • For Those We Love (1921) • Beating the Game (1921) • Her Face Value (1921) • Always the Woman (1922)
Places
Named by the record
Places
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New York City.
Birth place
Pacific Palisades.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Richard Rosson”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3561346: Richard Rosson
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Richard Rosson, revision 1362760461 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Fine Manners (1926). The New York Times. 2012.
- 2.Joseph R. Millichap. Lewis Milestone. Twayne Publishers. 15, 31. 1981. 0-8057-9281-3.
- 3.Lawrence J. Quirk. The films of Gloria Swanson. Citadel Press. 202. 1984. 0-8065-0874-4.
- 4.Grace Kingsley. Tony will be in it. Los Angeles Times. September 28, 1926.
- 5.Ellenberger, Allen R. Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. 150. May 1, 2001. 978-0786450190.
- 6.Erickson, Hal. Richard Rosson > Overview. AllMovie. 1953-05-31.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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