The Gadsden
Times
11/26/2019
Gadsden native Richard
Lockmiller, a singer and actor, died Saturday at his home in Duvall,
Washington, according to longtime friend M.D.
Garmon of Rainbow
City. He was 82.
A 1955 graduate of Gadsden High School, Lockmiller attended Auburn University and served in the U.S. Army.
After his discharge, he joined forces with Jim Connor in the folk music duo Richard and Jim, with Lockmiller on guitar and Connor on banjo.
They were regulars on Birmingham TV and at the Lowenbrau House in Homewood, and branched out to the top East Coast folk clubs, including the Gaslight and the Bitter End.
Richard and Jim toured Europe, and made a recording in England that led to a contract with Capitol Records. They also made two appearances on ABC’s “Hootenanny.”
Their first Capitol recording session was in 1963, for the album “Folk Songs and Country Sounds.” The late Steve Young, a former Gadsden resident and noted singer/songwriter, played guitar on the recording and provided some original songs for the tracklist.
Two years later they recorded “Two Boys from Alabama” for Capitol in Nashville, with backing from Young and old-time fiddler Monk Daniel of Boaz.
Richard and Jim ultimately broke up as an act, and Lockmiller joined a country rock group called Stone Country along with Young. They had one album on RCA and appeared in the film “Skidoo” with Carol Channing.
Lockmiller’s acting credits included numerous films and TV shows in the 1970s and ’80s, including featured roles in “Outlaw Blues,” “Jackson County Jail” and “Rattlers,” and TV appearances in “Little House on the Prairie,” “Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Gunsmoke,” “Barnaby Jones” and “The Jeffersons.”
After retiring from acting in the 1990s, Lockmiller moved from Los Angeles to Duvall, a Seattle suburb. He worked several years as a real estate appraiser,
He reunited with Connor in 1984 to host the BIGMEN’s Folk and Bluegrass Festival at Noccalula Falls, which was held annually for five years.
Lockmiller regularly attended Gadsden High School’s annual reunions.
He is survived by his wife, Ann; son, Will; and three grandchildren.
A 1955 graduate of Gadsden High School, Lockmiller attended Auburn University and served in the U.S. Army.
After his discharge, he joined forces with Jim Connor in the folk music duo Richard and Jim, with Lockmiller on guitar and Connor on banjo.
They were regulars on Birmingham TV and at the Lowenbrau House in Homewood, and branched out to the top East Coast folk clubs, including the Gaslight and the Bitter End.
Richard and Jim toured Europe, and made a recording in England that led to a contract with Capitol Records. They also made two appearances on ABC’s “Hootenanny.”
Their first Capitol recording session was in 1963, for the album “Folk Songs and Country Sounds.” The late Steve Young, a former Gadsden resident and noted singer/songwriter, played guitar on the recording and provided some original songs for the tracklist.
Two years later they recorded “Two Boys from Alabama” for Capitol in Nashville, with backing from Young and old-time fiddler Monk Daniel of Boaz.
Richard and Jim ultimately broke up as an act, and Lockmiller joined a country rock group called Stone Country along with Young. They had one album on RCA and appeared in the film “Skidoo” with Carol Channing.
Lockmiller’s acting credits included numerous films and TV shows in the 1970s and ’80s, including featured roles in “Outlaw Blues,” “Jackson County Jail” and “Rattlers,” and TV appearances in “Little House on the Prairie,” “Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Gunsmoke,” “Barnaby Jones” and “The Jeffersons.”
After retiring from acting in the 1990s, Lockmiller moved from Los Angeles to Duvall, a Seattle suburb. He worked several years as a real estate appraiser,
He reunited with Connor in 1984 to host the BIGMEN’s Folk and Bluegrass Festival at Noccalula Falls, which was held annually for five years.
Lockmiller regularly attended Gadsden High School’s annual reunions.
He is survived by his wife, Ann; son, Will; and three grandchildren.
LOCKMILLER,
Richard (Richard A. Lockmiller)
Born: 1937, Gadsden, Alabama,
U.S.A.
Died: 11/23/2019,
Duvall, Washington,
U.S.A.
Richard Lockmiller’s
westerns – actor:
How the West Was Won (TV) – 1979 (Beecher)
Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1979 (Jacob, Rawlings)
Gunsmoke (TV) – 19??
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