Richard Jacobson, also known as Richard Jason, was born into a wealthy family as the only child of a stockbroker and his well-to-do mother. He described himself as "second-generation nouveau riche" and a born romantic. Despite his privileged upbringing, Jason's behavior led to his expulsion from eight prep schools before he finally graduated from the Rhodes School.
Jason's father purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange for him, but he decided to sell it and enlist in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on the GI Bill. While attending a play in New York, he was spotted by actor-director Hume Cronyn, who cast him in the play "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" in 1950.
Although the play closed after a month, Jason's performance earned him a Theater World Award and a Hollywood contract with Columbia Pictures. However, he did not work for the first year under contract, during which time MGM was searching for an actor to replace Fernando Lamas in the film "Sombrero" (1953). Jason landed the role and went on to star in "The Saracen Blade" (1954) and "This Is My Love" (1954) for RKO.
Twentieth Century-Fox then signed him for the male lead in "The Lieutenant Wore Skirts" (1956),after which he was signed to a multi-picture contract. His first project under the new contract was an adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Wayward Bus" (1957),which earned him critical acclaim. He went on to star in a string of successful films and television shows, including "The Case of the Dangerous Robin" (1960) and "Combat!" (1962).
In "Combat!", Jason played the role of Lt. Gil Hanley, a cool and collected officer, and the show ran for five seasons. After the show ended, Jason returned to the stage and appeared in films in Japan and Israel. He also took on the lead role in the pilot episode of "Prudence and the Chief" (1970).
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jason continued to appear in television shows, including "Matt Houston" (1982),"Police Woman" (1974),"Murder, She Wrote" (1984),"Wonder Woman" (1975),"Fantasy Island" (1977),"Airwolf" (1984),and "Dallas" (1978). He also had a recurring role on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" (1973).
After retiring from acting, Jason kept busy by doing voice-overs for commercials and running the Wine Locker, a facility used to store fine wines under optimal conditions. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 77 in October 2000 due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
