Richard Collins

Richard J. Collins (July 20, 1914 – February 14, 2013) was an American screenwriter and producer. His writing credits included the controversial World War II propaganda film, Song of Russia. He was blacklisted starting in 1947 after the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) identified him as a Communist in the motion picture industry. In 1951, Collins chose to cooperate with the HUAC and "name names", and was allowed to resume his career. He went on to write and produce many television programs, including Bonanza, General Electric Theater, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Remington Steele, and Matlock. His earlier marriage to blacklisted actress Dorothy Comingore, their publicized child custody battle, and their differing responses to the HUAC, were dramatized in the 1991 film Guilty by Suspicion.