Biography
Broadway actor Richard Gaines made his initial film appearance as Patrick Henry in
The Howards of Virginia (1940). Gaines is best-known to modern audiences as
Jean Arthur's stuffy suitor C. J. Pendergast in
George Stevens'
The More the Merrier (1942). Less pompous but no less dignified were his performances as George Washington in DeMille's
Unconquered (1947) and Professor Jackson in
Flight to Mars (1953). Either by accident or design, Richard Gaines made most of his last screen appearances at MGM, playing DAs, doctors and other briskly professional types. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide