Richard LeMar Derr was born in Norristown, PA, on June 15 1917 as child of Walter Rodman Sr. and Martha Kulp (b. Nov 10. 1883). Richards' grandmother was a Mennonite. Reportedly Richard made "headline news" five hours later, when his father bought a Liberty Bond in his name. By the age of five his father had learned Richard how to make martinis: "The best in town."

Their father died around 1926. Derr's mother and 7 years older brother Rodman were left to support the household. Richard and his brother made a pact. Richard would go to work after school to earn money to help send Rodman to college. Once Rodman was established, he would return the favor. After graduating, though, Rodman got married, and "forgot" the agreement to help his brother out. (Williams)

When he attended Stewart Junior High, "his voice deepened and awkward lankiness gave way to square-jawed, blond good looks." Derr proved to be popular in school. He auditioned for leading roles in plays and was awarded them, edited the school newspaper, was Vice President of his Senior Class, President of the Honor Society, and "Mayor" of the school. "I was always playing George Washington in some pageant or other but before I undertook the part of George I served my apprenticeship as Robin Washington, George's half brother, until my nose got big enough to handle the leading role." He graduated two years early, at the age of 16.

After graduating from Norristown High School (Pennsylvania) in 1933, he held a banking position of clerk at a Norristown bank. He studied with the American Institute of Banking, completing a 4 year course in 3 years. For three years he kept on acting with "The Dramateurs," a Norristown amateur little theatre group, doing standard "little theatre" plays of the period.
 

Pursuing his goal to be a professional actor, Derr became a student of Jaspar Deeter - the director/educator of the Hedgerow Theater, a repertory theatre in nearby Moylan, Pennsylvania. and honed his craft there for three years (1938-40, in the evenings. Daytimes, he still worked at the bank.)

His acting career blossomed after appearing with Joe E. Brown in Elmer the Great and with Walter Hampden's Richelieu at the Maplewood, N.J. summer theater. Richard Derr was appearing in the six-hour version of George Bernard Shaw's Man And Superman when he was seen by the New York agent Maynard Morris.

Morris got parts for Derr in various plays, and finally he got his "big break." He'd gone to the 20th Century Fox studios in New York to "feed cues" to an actress - it was her screen test. But when Daryl Zanuck saw this screen test in Hollywood - it was Derr whom he liked. Derr signed a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. He boarded a train for Hollywood on Thanksgiving Day. He was met at the train station in Pasadena by studio personnel, and taken to an apartment in Westwood, near the studio. Derr soon bought a car, a new yellow Plymouth convertible, for $450, which he paid off in three months with his new salary. He was 24. It was 1942.

During World War II, Derr enrolled in the US Army Air Corps, and flew three years as a navigator on flights between between Miami, Brazil and Africa, for the Air Transport Command. Out of uniform and back in Hollywood he took up the threads of romance with Anne Baxter where they left off. When he departed for the Air Corps Anne accompanied him as far as Arizona. John Hodiak, was the second suitor who eventually married Baxter in 1946.

Returning to Hollywood, Derr began to appear in "A" pictures - such as Secret Heart (1946), The Bride Goes Wild (1948), Luxury Liner (1948), and Ingrid Bergman's Joan of Arc (1948).

After 2 weeks in the hospital his mother Martha Derr died on April 9. 1947 in Los Angeles, due to pancreatic cancer.