His interest turned from law to theater after he began acting in amateur productions at the Carleton Club and a millionaire offered to sponsor a touring company headed by Richman.

His work on Broadway began with portraying Horst von Neuhoff in The Countess Gucki (1896) and ended with playing Grandfather Trenchard in And Stars Remain (1936).

[3] Richman served as both star and director for the company's first play, David Gray's Gallops, which premiered on February 12, 1906.

[4] In Hollywood, Richman often played supporting roles as a dignified authoritarian figures like General Tufto in the first Technicolor film Becky Sharp (1935) and Judge Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938).

[1] On December 1, 1940, Richman died in the Brady Nursing Home in The Bronx, New York, aged 70.