Richard Irving (born "Irving Israel", February 13, 1917) was a New York-born former actor-turned director, working specifically in the field of television. He could often be seen playing supporting roles in the films of the late 1940s and early 1950s, before eventually moving into TV directing. Some of his most-recognizable efforts including directing several episodes of Mike Hammer and the pilot for The Six-Million Dollar Man starring Lee Majors; the show it spawned turned out to be a big hit.
In 1968, Irving was hired by NBC to direct a TV-movie-of-the-week called Prescription: Murder, adapted from a stage play by William Link and Richard Levinson. The subsequent telefilm introduced the world to Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo; the story saw him attempting to nail a psychiatrist, played by Gene Barry, for the murder of his wife. The Columbo character proved to be surprisingly popular, so in 1971 NBC ordered a pilot for a potential Columbo series. Irving returned to helm this second telefilm, Ransom for a Dead Man, which starred Lee Grant alongside Falk. Ransom was also successful and so NBC hired Falk to star as Columbo on a more regular basis. The first proper episode of the show, Murder by the Book, aired later in 1971, and the rest is history.
Despite his involvement in the early days of Columbo, providing an introduction to the character and the style of the show that would be instrumental to its success, Irving never returned to work on the series proper. He continued directing episodes of other television shows until 1986, when he retired.
Richard Irving died following heart surgery in San Diego on December 23, 1990. He was 73 years old.