Why does Richie scream out his lines? Did the producers think that was funny, or did the boy who played Richie do that on his own? I saw this topic on the LITB board, in a post about June Cleaver and Laura Petrie.


Oh, and I have the name Richie Cunningham in my name, but that's another Richie. He's from Happy Days. :D

I noticed that too. Also the lack of concentration shows on his face.
My guess? Unlike the kids in, My Three Sons, Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, The Brady Bunch, or The Andy Griffith Show, Larry Matthews (who played Richie) was not really an actor.

Steve

:D And people wonder why he didn't get more airtime? You know, this is bad to say about a kid, but Richie really annoyed me. There was a smugness about him-- he couldn't even refrain from grinning when he delivered his lines. It was as if he was saying "Yeah, I suck, but I got the job!" But whether he was good or bad, it was a wise choice to not make him central in most episodes. As has been said, TDVDS was *not* about kids. It didn't need that kind of cuteness factor; it was enough to have them allude to a child (making the family complete) without making him the centerpiece.

The only episode that I believe used him to best effect was the one where Richie and Freddie were to be on a commercial Rob directed. They were both horrible, and it seemed kind of a tongue in cheek thing that they were acknowledging that yes it was true, the kids really weren't that good, but it wasn't any big deal because you didn't see them much.

I can't remember where I heard or read this, but apparently, The DVD Show used three cameras when filming their episodes...and apparently, some kids (Larry Matthews included) can sort of get "unnerved" by the presence of so many cameras, that it really effects their acting and their ability to deliver lines...I'm not sure whether that really applies here, but I do remember hearing that somewhere...of course, Larry probably was not a very good actor to begin with anyway, so the extra cameras certainly didn't help that situation...I always did kind of wonder how he got that job...I mean, everyone else was just so perfectly cast, one wonders why they picked Larry to play Ritchie...but, as has been pointed out, luckily, he was never the focus of the show...if he was, it certainly wouldn't have been the classic that it is..

Originally posted by TVLanFan
I can't remember where I heard or read this, but apparently, The DVD Show used three cameras when filming their episodes...and apparently, some kids (Larry Matthews included) can sort of get "unnerved" by the presence of so many cameras, that it really effects their acting and their ability to deliver lines...I'm not sure whether that really applies here, but I do remember hearing that somewhere...of course, Larry probably was not a very good actor to begin with anyway, so the extra cameras certainly didn't help that situation...I always did kind of wonder how he got that job...I mean, everyone else was just so perfectly cast, one wonders why they picked Larry to play Ritchie...but, as has been pointed out, luckily, he was never the focus of the show...if he was, it certainly wouldn't have been the classic that it is..

Wherever you heard/read the reference to the cameras (and other factors, I'm sure) and their effect on child actors, it's interesting and sounds reasonable.

As noted by you and Sawgrass Steve, Larry Matthews was not an actor. I believe this was stated in one or more documentaries about TDVDS. Casting a non-professional in the role of Richie Petrie was intentional. (I don't recall if it was the wish of Sheldon Leonard, Carl Reiner or both.) I guess they wanted a "natural" kid.