Biography
A child prodigy from New Zealand, Ra Hould (born Richard Arthur Hould) began his long screen career as a sort of poor man's
Freddie Bartholomew at Republic Pictures, for whom he starred in
Dangerous Holiday (1937). He basically played himself, a ten-year-old violinist, and several commented on his likeness to MGM's Bartholemew, Variety opining: "Likeness may bring Hould attention for a time but will probably react against his chances in the end." When Bartholomew became entangled in a contract dispute with Metro, Hould replaced him in
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937), earning above-title billing along with
Judy Garland and
Mickey Rooney. The studio changed his name to Ronald Sinclair and under that moniker he went on to portray Edward IV as a boy in Universal's quasi-horror show
Tower of London (1939) and Jasper King, the rich boy in Columbia's
Five Little Peppers series (1939-1940). Adolescence, however, reared its ugly head and Hould/Sinclair eventually found a new career as a film editor. From 1954, he worked closely with maverick producer/director
Roger Corman and low-budget director Bert I. Gordon, editing such camp classics as
Swamp Woman (1955),
The Amazing Colossal Man (1957),
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1958), and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide