Memories From The Set: Richard Short

By Maggie Gorman April 6, 2018 11:47 am EST

Courtesy of ABC

richard-short-666-park-avenue

Courtesy of ABC

666 PARK AVENUE

666 Park Avenue, Short's first recurring role, was a turning point in his career, "because even though it was curtailed, people in the industry who found it seem to appreciate my work in it, because it was a very, very complex role." He also regards it as his most fun role. "How often do you get to play a 117-year-old dandy?"

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Courtesy of FX

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Short remembers fondly his time on AHS' first season as a sex-shop employee. "It's just fun to be connected or play a little bit of history in one of these shows that have become sort of iconic. Even though it's not specifically my show or anything like that, it's just nice to have them in your library," he says. Not to mention, his character sold the rubber suit that surfaced many times over the course of the season.

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Courtesy of Fox

BLUE BLOODS

Short guest-starred in Season 1 of Blue Bloods as the owner of a club whose bouncer is murdured. It's not easy to sound competent when spewing terminology you've never have used before, but luckily, Short says, there were people on set to help him out. "You could be talking about taxidermy, you could be talking about plastic surgery — whatever the specialized subject may be, there's always someone there to explain to you just what the nonsense you're gobbling is. It's not always clear, but you need to make it sound like you're an expert."

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Courtesy of USA

COVERT AFFAIRS

Richard entered Covert Affairs as Annie's landlord/tattoo parlor owner. He says he enjoyed playing Reese, but notes the difficulties that can come along with crime shows. "As a guest star on a cop show, your job is to come in and say a bunch of names, places, dates, colors, times. And of course, TV being TV, it's written and handed to you on the set. I'm better at that now. I can show up and knock it out without a problem, to be honest."

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Courtesy of NBC

LAW & ORDER: SVU

It wasn't his character, lines or costume that made Short's first TV gig assisting in an investigation so enjoyable. Rather, he says, it was the experiences with SVU's cast members, who comforted him during a new adventure. "I did all my stuff with Mariska Hartigay, and she was the most open, generous, loving person to hold my hand and say welcome."

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Courtesy of HBO

VINYL

Vinyl took viewers back to the 1970s. Short says he feels incredibly proud to have been a part of this project as the lover to Olivia Wilde's Devon. "Everything on every table was completely authentic and that's the attention to detail from Scorsese and from [executive producer] Terence Winter. It's astonishing, staggering. And of course, one of the best soundtracks you're ever going to have." Short wished the show could have continued, as he praised it as "the finest television program I've been on."

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