Richards was born to Sidney "Sid" Klein, a stockbroker, and his wife, Shirley, and was raised just off the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
[1] Richards won an Arthur Godfrey talent search, then appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and at the Copacabana.
[2] Richards won the Best Picture Academy Award for Chicago, having optioned film rights to Miramax in 1991.
Known to throw lavish parties, he was close to Chita Rivera,[2][4] who hosted a tribute to Richards on April 8, 2013, at the Edison Ballroom to benefit the center.
[8] He was also notable for physically assaulting "Stuttering" John Melendez at an event in 1996 while the latter was working for The Howard Stern Show.