Short Biography of Rex Tarzan Richards

This is a story a truly amazing story of an unsung hero who over the past few months has become a hero of mine.
Let me first tell you how all this started. I have been working for the past eight months in two little villages called Crosskeys and Pontywaun. Set in the heart of Gwent, they now sit pretty between pine clad and green grass mountains. I say now as they have recovered their beauty from being squeezed amongst the blacken coal slag heaps of the mining industry. The rivers are clear, the trout can be eaten and the fresh linen washing can now be pegged and dried on the line without the threat of speckled dust.

My job title is rather long winded; I work for Groundwork Caerphilly as an Environmental Regeneration Coordinator. The purpose of my role is assisting the local authority and the community to spend grant money on environmental enhancements around the Parishes. Nearly 1 million pound is allocated, and with the guidance of the communities, we want to spend every penny of it in the right places, otherwise it goes back to Europe and these deprived villages will never see the likes again. Anyway part of the spend must go into Artwork and Heritage, this meaning remembering the history, depicting it through the workshops with schools, colleges and community groups. Thus given those who live and growing up in the area a sense of history, pride and ownership as some of the historic facts and ideas are incorporated into Sculptures, Murals and so on…

I met with a local historian called Graham Osborne, to find out what had happened in the past, he gave me all the normal mining and iron history, the disasters and hardships... You find it’s the same story in nearly every little town throughout the Welsh valleys. I was trying to focus more on the people, the characters, the heroes and legends; it’s getting so passé all the mining remembrances you see around the place, and tends to lend a sense of depressiveness. I feel it’s time to move on and give communities something different. Unfortunately the historian couldn’t help me, he said there wasn’t anyone apart from the Italian Café owner who made the most wonderful goats milk ice cream of any relevance in the area.

So I was stuck, until I spoke to my 83 year old Auntie Ivy about there not being anyone renowned or famous that had a connection with Crosskeys. I explained that all I really wanted was some juicy info to pass onto the artist's that are involved in doing art commissions in the area. Aunt said ' what do you mean, Tarzan was from
Crosskeys!' I thought then my poor Aunt had succumbed to senile dementia! But she babbled on about some guy call Rex Richards.

Well I got into work the following Monday and done some searching on the Internet and to my disbelief I started to unravel in snippets Rex’s remarkable life. This guy was a championship diver, strong swimmer and fitter than a butchers dog. He played rugby for Wales and auditioned for a part as Tarzan in America! He didn’t get the part, but was offered a part in another production called the WILD WOMEN OF WONGO. His named also linked to his Nephew Julian Richards, who was so it says inspired into the film industry by his Uncle Rex. Julian was now a respected film director in his own right and produced a number of successful low budget horror films. He had also worked for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks set up in America. The more I learnt the more I wanted to know, but there was very little to go on, I needed to investigate further! So I sent a few emails around to the connections I had made around the villages, in the hope someone could help enlighten me further.

Immediately Dai Thomas, a life long member of Crosskeys Rugby Club, contacted me. Dai could remember seeing Rex play. As a young boy he use to sell match programmes and can recall streams of women flocking to the ground just to see Rex play on the hallowed ground of the Pandy. Dai told me he use to make quite a bit of profit, as these groupies would ask if Rex was playing, when he said ‘yes’ they would be in such a rush to get to the best seat they wouldn’t wait for their change. Dai said Rex was won of his all time greats; he loved watching this larger than life character play. He knew about the Wongo film Rex made and had a few years earlier attempted to screen it at the club to celebrate 50 years since Rex got his Welsh cap. He couldn’t get past the film industry red tape in screening for public viewing. So unfortunately he had to cancel. I agreed that I would try and help him with this and asked him to try and find out if there was any of the Richards family still alive.

I had a few weeks before arranged an art workshop for a sculpturist called Michael Johnson; luckily he requested to work with the older generation, as he could learn a lot more about the history of the area. This would be a perfect opportunity for me to attend and ask questions. In the meantime, I carried on with the regeneration programme.

Then came the day of the workshop, Michael had been in touch with St Catherine’s Community himself and requested that the people attending bring along old relics from the past. When I had the chance I mentioned the name Rex Richards, the old people’s faces beamed with this name that was blasted from the past. All of them had fond memories and admiration for the way he played rugby, carried himself in society and also his physical statue. One lady told me she was absolutely besotted by Rex and use to melt when he came into her fathers Café every Tuesday night after training. Yes, it was the same café of the infamous goats milk ice cream. Anna the young Italian daughter was around 16 at the time, she said that she had never set eyes on anyone since who could come close in looks and body to Rex. Another man popped in and said that the women of Crosskeys were like bees round a honey pot when Richards was about. They use to flock to Pandy Park on a Saturday, not to watch the Rugby, but just to gaze in lustful adoration towards Rex. This gentleman was quite glad when Rex left for America; it gave him more freedom with the female sex. I was also told that Rex use to High Dive in aqua shows during the summer months and a few of the locals paid a trip to Bournemouth. When I asked if he had any family in the area, no one came forward.
When I asked the group about his nickname Tarzan, many said that it came from a combination of his diving background, rugged looks and muscular physique. I left these lovely people a little wiser, but still was still intrigued to find out more.

A few days later I received a call from Dai, he told me he had been asking around and found out that Rex had a brother called Bill and he living in Newport, Dai had his telephone number, so I immediately rang, gave my background and arranged for us to meet up the following week, Dai was came along as a representative of the rugby club.

When we arrived Bill made us really welcome in his lovely home, situated in a very nice area of Newport. Firstly we explained our interests, knowledge so far and our aims, Bill offered us both a glass of wine and said he would start at the beginning.

In the 1930’s the Richards family lived at 1 Crown St, Maindee, Newport, which was then Monmouthshire now Gwent. Five brothers and one sister were born to the Milkman father and a business minded Mother. She was always coming up with ideas to bring extra money into the household, and invented and sold her very own wax furniture polishes to the surrounding neighborhood. Her scope later had effect on the rest of the boys, as some went on to successfully run their own businesses. Anyway, Rex was born on the 4th of February 1934. The mother was the boss of the house and kept the discipline, she had to with five boys running around. The boys were sent to Stow Hill School and actively took part in everything they could.

In 1938 a brand new art deco swimming pool opened just around the corner of the family home in Victoria Avenue. This was heaven to the parents, as scores of children flocked to find their water wings at the then state of the art pool.
The baths was a regular hang out for the Richards clan; they spent every spare time they had there, the main attraction was the three diving boards, the highest being 5 metres was Rex’s favourite after having caught sight of early Tarzan movies at the local Odeon, this was his release, he would shut his eyes at the top of the board and he could be in jungle diving of a huge waterfall. Under the guidance of Bill Cambrey who was the baths manager at the time and ironically eventually became a player and coach at Crosskeys RFC, the young Rex would spend hours perfecting his diving and making his physical stature stand out through the enduring exercise.

Then the fateful day came, a day, which sealed Rex Richard’s destiny and sculptured his dreams forever more, the aqua show arrived in Newport town!

Bill first gave me an account of what an aqua show was about in that era. In the 40’s & 50’s during the summer months, people would flock to all the seaside resorts around Britain. Each resort had they own lidos and open-air baths, normally on the promenade and near the tides edge. Aqua shows would tour all the major resorts and were the main attraction for the whole of the family; it had everything that a circus could offer in water. Clowns would make big splashes; there was singing and dancing, along with beautiful girls synchronizing swimming. To bring the show to a finale, the high diver was the man who brought the tense show to it’s climatic end, with his protruding chest and roar like a lion, people would gasped in frenzied excitement, awaiting the thunderous splash and safe return from the hidden depths.

When the Aqua show arrived in Newport, Rex and Bill were transfixed, this was their world, they were their hero’s and they quickly showed the shows cast the self-taught diving skills they had perfected. After seeing this, nothing was quite the same for the two boys, things changed, ambitions were instilled in both, Rex’s was the high diver and Bill was always the entertainer.

Once the show left town, Rex disappeared with it, without parental permission. He was soon tracked down and brought back by the police. No sooner home, he was gone again, then again, until after the fourth time his parents give up and granted him leave until the aqua season finished. He done another stint the following year, he also knew then that the seasonal diving shows in America lasted a lot longer and travelled throughout the vast country, but he had to put this on hold for a while.

Once he got home, Rex was called up to do his National Service and was enlisted into the South Wales Borderers, stationed in Crickhowell. He was then sent to Germany. Whilst in the army Rex got involved with every sport that come his way, this included swimming, water polo, boxing, rugby and also the beloved diving. Bill told me that when Rex went to try and join the diving team, the Sergeant Instructor took one look at his size and physic told him he was too big and there would be no water left in the pool. That was until Rex got up on the board, flew down with the grace of a falcon and glided into the water like a dolphin, making just a few ripples. It wasn’t long before Rex became the Inter Services Diving Champion. Inter Service meant he was the best out of all the armed forces, no one could come close to him when it came to diving. He also started boxing and was soon knocking people out left, right and centre. At around this time Rex reputedly fought and beat a Heavyweight boxer by the name of Dick Richardson, who was also from Newport. In 1960 Dick became the European Heavyweight Champion when he beat Hans Kalbfell by way of TKO in the thirteenth round. Dick went on to unsuccessfully fight the great Henry Cooper, getting knocked out in the fifth round on both occasions. This just proves what a great all round athlete Rex Richards was at this time, anything he tried his hand at he gave 100% and had the determination to be the winner.

Rex would proudly send his trophies and medals home to his Mam and Dad, who would adorn them along with the other boy’s achievements proudly on the mantelpiece and walls for all who visited to see! A regular visitor to the family home was Jack Woods, a wide boy, Arthur Daley sort of character, who done a bit of business with Rex’s mother. Jack had his fingers in many pies and apparently not just his fingers; one of his pies was that he was a scout for Crosskeys RFC. When he visited the house on this occasion, he noticed a picture of Rex on the wall; his eyes lighted up when seen how big, fit and awesome he had matured into, and immediately enquired to the mother when Rex was being released from his army service. He was informed that it finished that summer and Jack said he would like to have a chat with Rex about playing a bit of rugby for Crosskeys.

No sooner had Rex returned home and Jack was knocking on the door, his grooming and persuading manner convinced Rex to start pre-season training ready for the season coming. Rex took to rugby like a duck to water and was installed straight into the first team. Rex enjoyed the physical contact and clearly had the edge over other players because of his stamina and fitness. He told his brother Bill, ‘Rugby was quite a simple game to play, you just get the ball and run straight towards the line.’ I can imagine the faces of the opposition seeing this man mountain steaming towards them, it must have been terrifying. Jonah Lomu changed the face of Rugby in the 1990’s when he’d steamrolled over players; he was then considered the first global superstar of rugby union. I have heard many accounts of Rex in a line out in his own half, leaping like a salmon to take the ball, and then running almost the whole length of the pitch to score a try. There was no doubt from reading all the press articles of that era that when Rex was playing, Crosskeys RFC was a force to be reckoned with.
In 1956, at the age of 21, Rex’s marauding style of play soon came to the attention of the Welsh Rugby Union selectors who were still reeling after a previous defeat against Ireland. The next match against France was the last match of the five nation’s tournament, the pressure was on and they needed to make amends. Rex hadn’t even played a full season of club rugby in Wales! But the selectors had recognized he was a flier with the fire and energy who would never cease to run after the ball. After a 2 hour-long debate they took a remarkable risk of selecting him outside his normal position of second row forward into the role of loose head prop. A position Rex had never played in before. From my understanding, Rex was not happy about this! Which is very understandable, it’s difficult even for a player of considerable promise and talent to play his first international in one of the most specialized positions in the scrum. Rex was use to playing in the loose, picking up the ball and driving towards the touchline! All the newspapers headlined ‘Tarzan Picked for Wales!’ So much so an American lawyer, tried to sue him for using Tarzan’s name, Rex took it in his stride and informed that he never signed or used the Tarzan name and it was other people who had nicknamed him. Even with all this pressure, on the day Rex made a solid performance and held his own in what was said to be very scrappy match, which resulted in a 5-3 victory to Wales. All the family went back to family home after the match and celebrated his achievement and victory. This was the only time Rex played for Wales, after his debut Rex was in demand by many other clubs, Newport RFC tried to poach him, as they had done with many of Crosskeys previous stars, he was also allegedly offered £10,000 to go North, but Rex stayed true and played out until the end of the season with the Keys. That summer he left to follow other dreams & ambitions he had in America.
To this day Rex ‘Tarzan’ Richards is the last player from Crosskeys RFC to gain a cap for Wales, his cap was donated to the club and now takes pride of place in a glass cabinet nestled prominently in the cosy bar.
To myself, playing rugby or any sport for Wales just once, would have been the pinnacle of a career, the proudest moment of life. Many a common man would have sat back on his laurels after doing this, accepting pints from strangers, while wallowing in an egotistical comfort zone.
Bill explained, that Rex was proud and happy he’d played for his country, but it was not the be all and end all, it was not everything he wanted in life, he said that Rex was not the type of person who would brag about his achievement and he had very little ego. He had far greater enjoyment in entertaining others and making them happy than himself.
I think there is one thing certain, if Rex Richards had stayed in Wales and carried on playing rugby is the position he was good at, with his determination he would have become a legend. Immortalized by our passionate rugby nation but I don’t think Rex would have been happy with this, his feet itched far too much for foreign shores and new challenges.
Rex boarded the boat for America and sailed off into the great unknown. Once there he headed south to the warmer climates of California looking for work. The beach scene in Malibu was the Mecca for the young beautiful people who would ride the breaks of the crashing white waves. This era kicked off a cultural revolution of bohemianism, surf music and sun worshipping that reached all around the globe.
This was quite a contrast to the industrial backdrop of South Wales, the cold winters and driving rain. Rex would have been in his elements, with his ready-made body, good looks and cool charisma he must have soon slotted in. It wasn’t long before the money ran out and for accommodation he took to sleeping in a hammock underneath coconuts tree. Bill told me, Rex would have to make sure the large husks were removed before he got his head down, because if one fell it could easily kill a man. Rex would fish for food and eat the coconuts for sustenance. He also made and sold his own suntan lotion from the coconut oil and other supplements. He would fill the discarded empty bottles with his own potion and sell it to the masses of sunbathers who would flock there. Just like his mother, he had the instinct to see a niche in the market.
It didn’t take long before he ambled down the West coast and crossed the border into Mexico. Being a diver, he would have heard long before about the clavadistas (cliff divers) of Acapulco. Rex would have been yearning for this challenge but this diving came with more danger then ever before.
This exciting modern day sport now requires a sound technical education and extensive training before one takes the plunge. Apart from this you needed courage, self-confidence, extraordinary physical control and possess the ability to make quick decisions. All this was needed for anyone brave or crazy enough to take on this extreme pastime. Rex had all these attributes in abundance! He was fearless even though this was a different terrain altogether.
The young mainly Mexican cliff divers, practice for years until they are ready to fling themselves off the highest precipice. Timing must be perfected to coincide with an incoming narrow churning channel of seawater just 12ft deep. With clenched fists they fly themselves down from over 130ft (40m), reaching speeds of 50mph.The plunge takes just 3 seconds. If the timing is out, they smash into the rocky seabed below or fall back into the cliff on the way down. Many divers have been seriously injured, paralysed and have died from Cliff Diving. It can have a huge physical impact on the human body if they are not in peak condition. Many former divers suffer from punctured eardrums, twisted, sprained shoulders and spinal problems.
When Rex arrived in Acapulco, it was the cool hangout for all the glitterati of the time. It was the start of the swinging 60’s, Sinatra was there, Sammy Davis Jr, Brigitte Bardot, Rocky Marciano, the list can go on and on, in the medias eyes you weren’t anybody unless you hung out in Acapulco. In the evenings all these stars use to hang out at The La Perla Supper Club in the EL Mirador Hotel; they could sit, dine and drink fine wine while over looking the cliffs and the divers. In the nights the divers use to carry flamed torches. After the dive’s they would go up to the hotel for drinks and they would often get generous tips for their acts of bravery. Many people believe Elvis dived from the top when he made the film ‘Fun in Acapulco’ in 1963, but let me put the record straight, it was filmed in Hollywood and a stand in diver was used for the big final scene. The divers today see themselves as elite athletes and not just tourist attractions.
Rex did not need the years of extensive training he had done his apprenticeship back at Stow Hill swimming baths and the coastal aqua shows. It wasn’t long before Rex was hurling himself off the highest points and gaining notoriety for his feats. He was also making connections in the entertainment and film industry.
Rex soon after joined a travelling water show, which went from coast to coast across America. He covered 10,000 miles, driving his British Sports Car. They would set up a sealed water tank, get the local fire department to fill it with water, Rex would then climb up a very tall swaying ladder and fly down into this tiny vat of water below. The crowds loved it and it gave Rex an income for the time being. He was now rated as one of the top ten divers in the U.S.A.
Rugby never faded from Rex even though he was across the pond; despite his busy schedule in 1957 he found time to represent Ontario against the touring Barbarians side, his job that day was to mark the towering English forward R.W.D Marques, Cliff Morgan was also playing, Ba-Ba’s won 52-0 and didn’t lose a match on the whole tour. Years later, Rex started his own team in New York and along with a few other ex-pats; use to play other teams around America. So much was his dedication he would travel up to 400 miles to play games and train; he also took on the role of manager, coach, player and even washed the kits! This same year he also found time to fit in a deer-hunting holiday in the State of Maine. This Welsh pioneer was certainly living his life to it’s complete maximum and was not wasting anytime at all.
The film industry soon beckoned, Rex auditioned along with another 1000 candidates for a new colour Tarzan movie. He was short listed down to the final two, in the end Rex lost out to Gordon Scott, who had experience in playing Tarzan a few years before. While auditioning he was spotted by another director, who offered him the part as King Wongo in The Wild Women of Wongo. This is now regarded as being in the top 10 of the worst Hollywood movies of all time. Yet still in today’s age it’s become a cult classic amongst people who enjoy this genre, and has picked up several Golden Turkey Awards over the years.
We have to remember that at this time the production of different films were being churned out of Hollywood on almost a daily rate. For instance between 1950 and 1970 there was 17 Tarzan movies produced! Many of these bombed at the box office.
There were plenty of other bit parts that come his way and he can be seen in the Jerry Lewis film The Bell Boy, Rex is diving in the background in one scene. He also did a television series with the great competitive swimmer and iconic movie star Esther Williams. Bill recalled a story of when Rex played an Indian brave in The Last of the Mohicans, he said Rex was doing a forest scene in the Hollywood studios, he said all the trees were made out of rubber, the Indian brave had to pick up a disarmed gun and fire it at the enemy, when Rex fired the imitation gun it made such a load bang, he flew back and knocked down the whole forest!
When he became more financially secure he settled on the east coast in Miami. He made frequent visits back home to Wales to visit family and friends, he would drive up to Crosskeys in a big Cadillac, dressed to the nines in the latest fashionable attire, he certainly stood out amongst the working class fraternity. Regardless of his absence the club secretary Byron Denning said ‘we will lose no time in fitting him when he arrives.’ After a match Rex was always ready to entertain, Bill had taught him to play the guitar when they was younger, so if there was one around, it would be picked up and Rex would start doing what he liked best, making other people happy. Bill himself was entertaining and doing gigs around Wales, he said the problem with Rex was that he didn’t have a huge vocal range, but he could bang out a few popular numbers, get people swinging and get by. At around this time Tom Jones was making an impact back in the states, he was gaining fame and fortune. Bill believes that Rex seen this other Welsh man take the States by storm and he could do the same, but it was never going to happen, he just didn’t have the talent. Family tragedy hit the Richards family around this time, when they’re brother Paul committed suicide, believed to be from business worries. Bill then had to put his entertaining career on hold and start running the hardware business, which he has successfully run to this day. Bill still found time over the years to entertain the local schools and colleges, where he put on an educational comedy act known as Cowboy Bill.
When back in Miami, he started working for cruise liner companies that done specialised tours throughout the Bahamas and West Indies. He was in charge of entertainment on board the ships and soon took complete control of every aspect. He was doing the singing, dancing, bingo calling, fitness workouts and even running a book for the gamblers on board. He soon became very popular and in high demand with tourists who came back every year and they would book on what ever ship he was working that season. The companies would all be haggling and bidding for his indispensable services, so much so he could almost name his price! Rex made a very good wage, he had other angles also and use to record long playing records so he could sell to the tourists. Bill showed me some of these records; Rex didn’t forget his Welsh roots even when singing, on one of his albums he covered The Green, Green Grass of Home.
His life in Miami was idyllic, he always kept in good shape by daily pumping weights on the beach, and the nightlife was full of entertainment along with dashing girls in abundance. Rex had never drunk alcohol or took illegal drugs, he was diagnosed with diabetes as a young boy and always had it in his mind that is was passed on genetically. Due to this belief Rex never wanted to have children, he simply didn’t want any child of his to suffer the way he must have done silently over the years.
His family occasionally visited him for holidays and Bill said every time he went over the water; Rex would have a different girlfriend hanging out with him. They would be slim, tanned and gorgeous. Rex wasn’t very good with storing his money, the family had for years tried to encourage him to open a bank account and save it securely, Rex would promise to sort one out, but never got round to it. He use to simply just throw the dollars into a shoe box at the back of his walk in wardrobe which was extensively filled with hand made designer cloths. He never bought anything off the peg; all his cloths were tailored to fit his robust frame.
Bill recalled a time when he was over in Manila on some business, and he telephoned Rex for a chat. Soon as Rex found out his brother was in the Philippines, he asked him to pop into a small little tailor shop in one of the back streets of the bustling city, mention his name and ask for tailor to send over a new suede jacket. Bill said he couldn’t believe it when the owner fondly smiled and said no problem; he would work on it straight away.
His mother was worried on one visit, when Rex introduced her to his latest girlfriend, who originated from the Philippines. She came across as having shifty eyes and an untrustworthy demeanour, his Mam worried that this girl may have been dipping into the shoebox without her son’s knowledge. Rex always saw the good in people and never the bad.
When his nephew Julian was a youngster he paid visits to Miami and Rex use to tell him stories of the film industry; Julian had a super eight cine camera bought for him and use to run around filming shots like a big Hollywood director. Rex certainly planted a seed and use to give him advice on the best camera angles and lighting for close ups shots.
Rex talked of plans to buy his own cruise boat, his new house was situated right on the Florida keys and you could pull up to it on a boat. This idea was unfortunately cut short.
In 1989 his mother was over for a visit, Rex got up one morning and went for his regular shower. Just before, his Mam asked him if he wanted a cooked breakfast, Rex said ‘yes’, he then went into the shower and never came back out alive. He suffered a huge heart attack.
The funeral was planned back home in Newport; arrangements had been made for his burial at Christchurch cemetery. Rex even had the last laugh, when his funeral had to be cancelled at the last minute, due to the fact that the airline company Virgin Atlantic lost his body during transit.
He was eventually found, and laid to rest in an unmarked grave, this was his wish, as he had no strong religious beliefs. Once your gone, your gone, attitude! There was only one flag that was ever going to drape his coffin, his beloved Crosskeys Rugby Football Club.
When the family cleared up his estate, they discovered boxes of money and assets all over the place. Bill said that it totalled around three quarters of a million pounds.

Viv Huskings

If anyone can add more to this short biography, please forward information to
viv.huskings@gmail.com
Short Biography of Rex ‘Tarzan’ Richard

This is a story a truly amazing story of an unsung hero who over the past few months has become a hero of mine.
Let me first tell you how all this started. I have been working for the past eight months in two little villages called Crosskeys and Pontywaun. Set in the heart of Gwent, they now sit pretty between green grass mountains. I say now as they have recovered their beauty from being squeezed amongst the blacken coal slag heaps of the mining industry. The rivers are clear, the trout can be eaten and the fresh linen washing can now be pegged and dried on the line without the threat of speckled dust.

My job title is rather long winded; Environmental Regeneration Coordinator. The purpose of my role is to spend money on environmental enhancements around the Parishes. Nearly 1 million pound is allocated, and with the guidance of the communities, we want to spend every bloody penny of it in the right places, otherwise it goes back to Europe and these deprived villages will never see the likes again. Anyway part of the spend must go into Artwork and Heritage, this meaning remembering the history, depicting it through the workshops with schools, colleges and community groups. Thus given those who live and growing up in the area a sense of history, pride and ownership as some of the historic facts and ideas are incorporated into Sculptures, Murals and so on…

I met with a local historian called Graham Osborne, to find out what had happened in the past, he gave me all the normal mining and iron history, the disasters and hardships... You find it’s the same story in nearly every little town throughout the Welsh valleys. I was trying to focus more on the people, the characters, the hero’s and legends, it’s getting so passé all the mining remembrances you see around the place, and tends to lend a sense of depressiveness. I feel it’s time to move on and give communities something different. Unfortunately the historian couldn’t help me, he said there wasn’t anyone apart from the Italian Café owner who made the most wonderful goats milk ice cream of any relevance in the area.

So I was stuck, until I spoke to my 83 year old Auntie Ivy about there not being anyone renowned or famous that had a connection with Crosskeys. I explained that all I really wanted was some juicy info to pass onto the artist's that are involved in doing art commissions in the area. Aunt said ' what do you mean, Tarzan was from
Crosskeys!' I thought then my poor Aunt had succumbed to senile dementia! But she babbled on about some guy call Rex Richards.

Well I got into work the following Monday and done some searching on the Internet and to my disbelief I started to unravel in snippets Rex’s remarkable life. This guy was a championship diver, strong swimmer and fitter than a butchers dog. He played rugby for Wales and auditioned for a part as Tarzan in America! He didn’t get the part, but was offered a part in another production called the WILD WOMEN OF WONGO. His named also linked to his Nephew Julian Richards, who was so it says inspired into the film industry by his Uncle Rex. Julian was now a respected film director in his own right and produced a number of successful low budget horror films. He had also worked for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks set up in America. The more I learnt the more I wanted to know, but there was very little to go on, I needed to investigate further! So I sent a few emails around to the connections I had made around the villages, in the hope someone could help enlighten me further.

Immediately Dai Thomas, a life long member of Crosskeys Rugby Club, contacted me. Dai could remember seeing Rex play. As a young boy he use to sell match programmes and can recall streams of women flocking to the ground just to see Rex play on the hallowed ground of the Pandy. Dai told me he use to make quite a bit of profit, as these groupies would ask if Rex was playing, when he said ‘yes’ they would be in such a rush to get to the best seat they wouldn’t wait for their change. Dai said Rex was won of his all time greats; he loved watching this larger than life character play. He knew about the Wongo film Rex made and had a few years earlier attempted to screen it at the club to celebrate 50 years since Rex got his Welsh cap. He couldn’t get past the film industry red tape in screening for public viewing. So unfortunately he had to cancel. I agreed that I would try and help him with this and asked him to try and find out any family still alive.

I had a few weeks before arranged an art workshop for a sculpturist called Michael Johnson; luckily he requested to work with the older generation, as he could learn a lot more about the history of the area. This would be a perfect opportunity for me to attend and ask questions. In the meantime, I carried on with the regeneration programme.

Then came the day of the workshop, Michael had been in touch with St Catherine’s Community himself and requested that the people attending bring along old relics from the past. When I had the chance I mentioned the name Rex Richards, the old people’s faces beamed with this name that was blasted from the past. All of them had fond memories and admiration for the way he played rugby, carried himself in society and also his physical statue. One lady told me she was absolutely besotted by Rex and use to melt when he came into her fathers Café every Tuesday night after training. Yes, it was the same café of the infamous goats milk ice cream. Anna the young Italian daughter was around 16 at the time, she said that she had never set eyes on anyone since who could come close in looks and body to Rex. Another man popped in and said that the women of Crosskeys were like bees round a honey pot when Richards was about. They use to flock to Pandy Park on a Saturday, not to watch the Rugby, but just to gaze in lustful adoration towards Rex. This gentleman was quite glad when Rex left for America; it gave him more freedom with the female sex. I was also told that Rex use to High Dive in aqua shows during the summer months and a few of the locals paid a trip to Bournemouth. When I asked if he had any family in the area, no one came forward.
When I asked the group about his nickname Tarzan, many said that it came from a combination of his diving background, rugged looks and muscular physique. I left these lovely people a little wiser, but still was still intrigued to find out more.

A few days later I received a call from Dai, he told me he had been asking around and found out that Rex had a brother called Bill and he living in Newport, Dai had his telephone number, so I immediately rang, gave my background and arranged for us to meet up the following week, Dai was came along as a representative of the rugby club.

When we arrived Bill made us really welcome in his lovely home, situated in a very nice area of Newport. Firstly we explained our interests, knowledge so far and our aims, Bill offered us both a glass of wine and said he would start at the beginning.

In the 1930’s the Williams family lived at 1 Crown St, Maindee, Newport, which was then Monmouthshire now Gwent. Five brothers and one sister were born to the Milkman father and a business minded Mother. She was always coming up with ideas to bring extra money into the household, and invented and sold her very own wax furniture polishes to the surrounding neighborhood. Her scope later had effect on the rest of the boys, as some went on to successfully run their own businesses. Anyway, Rex was born on the 4th of February 1934. The mother was the boss of the house and kept the discipline, she had to with five boys running around. The boys were sent to Stow Hill School and actively took part in everything they could.

In 1938 a brand new art deco swimming pool opened just around the corner of the family home in Victoria Avenue. This was heaven to the parents, as scores of children flocked to find their water wings at the then state of the art pool.
The baths was a regular hang out for the Williams clan; they spent every spare time they had there, the main attraction was the three diving boards, the highest being 5 metres was Rex’s favourite after having caught sight of early Tarzan movies at the local Odeon, this was his release, he would shut his eyes at the top of the board and he could be in jungle diving of a huge waterfall. Under the guidance of Bill Cambrey who was the baths manager at the time and ironically enough a coach at Crosskeys RFC, the young Rex would spend hours perfecting his diving and making his physical stature stand out through the enduring exercise.

Then the fateful day came, a day, which sealed Rex Williams destiny and sculptured his dreams forever more, the aqua show arrived in Newport town!

Bill first gave me an account of what an aqua show was about in that era. In the 40’s & 50’s during the summer months, people would flock to all the seaside resorts around Britain. Each resort had they own lidos and open-air baths, normally on the promenade and near the tides edge. Aqua shows would tour all the major resorts and were the main attraction for the whole of the family, it had everything that a circus could offer in water. Clowns would make big splashes; there was singing and dancing, along with beautiful girls synchronizing swimming. To bring the show to a finale, the high diver was the man who brought the tense show to it’s climatic end, with his protruding chest and roar like a lion, people would gasped in frenzied excitement, awaiting the thunderous splash and safe return from the hidden depths.

When the Aqua show arrived in Newport, Rex and Bill were transfixed, this was their world, they were their hero’s and they quickly showed the shows cast the self-taught diving skills they had perfected. After seeing this, nothing was quite the same for the two boys, things changed, ambitions were instilled in both, Rex’s was the high diver and Bill was always the entertaining.

Once the show left town, Rex disappeared with it, without parental permission. He was soon tracked down and brought back by the police. No sooner home, he was gone again, then again, until after the fourth time his parents give up and granted him leave until the aqua season finished. He done another stint the following year, he also knew then that the seasonal diving shows in America lasted a lot longer and traveled throughout the vast country, but he had to put this on hold for a while.

Once he got home, Rex was called up to do his National Service and was enlisted into the South Wales Borderers, stationed in Crickhowell. He was then sent to Germany. Whilst in the army Rex got involved with every sport that come his way, this included swimming, water polo, boxing, rugby and also the beloved diving. Bill told me that when Rex went to try and join the diving team, the Sergeant Instructor took one look at his size and physic told him he was too big and there would be no water left in the pool. That was until Rex got up on the board, flew down with the grace of a falcon and glided into the water like a dolphin, making just a few ripples. It wasn’t long before Rex became the Inter Services Diving Champion. Inter Service meant he was the best out of all the armed forces, no one could come close to him when it came to diving. He also started boxing and was soon knocking people out left, right and out of the ring. At around this time Rex reputedly fought and beat a Heavyweight boxer by the name of Dick Richardson, who was also from Newport. In 1960 Dick became the European Heavyweight Champion when he beat Hans Kalbfell by way of TKO in the thirteenth round. Dick went on to unsuccessfully fight the great Henry Cooper, getting knocked out in the fifth round on both occasions. This just proves what a great all round athlete Rex Richards was at this time, anything he tried his hand at, and he gave 100% and had the determination to be the winner.

Rex would proudly send his entire collection of trophies and medals home to his Mam and Dad, who would adorn them along with the other boy’s achievements proudly on the mantelpiece and walls for all who visited to see! A regular visitor to the family home was Jack Woods, a wide boy, Arthur Daley sort of character, who done a bit of business with Rex’s mother. Jack had his fingers in many pies and apparently not just his fingers; one of his pies was that he was a scout for Crosskeys RFC. When he visited the house on this occasion, he noticed a picture of Rex on the wall; his eyes lighted up when seen how big, fit and awesome he had matured into, and immediately enquired to the mother when Rex was being released from his army service. He was informed that it finished that summer and Jack said he would like to have a chat with Rex about playing a bit of rugby for Crosskeys.

No sooner had Rex returned home and Jack was knocking on the door, his smooth talking convinced Rex to start pre-season training ready for the season coming. Rex took to rugby like a duck to water and was installed straight into the first team. Rex enjoyed the physical contact and clearly had the edge over others players because of his stamina and fitness. He told his brother Bill, ‘Rugby was quite a simple game to play, you just get the ball and run straight towards the line.’ I can imagine the faces of the opposition seeing this man mountain steaming towards them, it must have been terrifying. Jonah Lomu changed the face of Rugby in the 1990’s when he’d steamrolled over players; he was then considered the first global superstar of rugby union. I have heard many accounts of Rex in a line out in his own half, leaping like a salmon to take the ball, then running almost the whole length of the pitch to score a try. There was no doubt from reading all the press articles of that era that when Rex was playing, Crosskeys RFC was a force to be reckoned with.
In 1956, at the age of 21, Rex’s marauding style of play soon came to the attention of the Welsh Rugby Union selectors who were still reeling after a previous defeat against Ireland. The next match against France was the last match of the five nations tournament, the pressure was on and they needed to make amends. Rex hadn’t even played a full season of club rugby in Wales! But the selectors had recognized he was a flier with the fire and energy who would never cease to run after the ball. After a 2 hour-long debate they took a remarkable risk of selecting him outside his normal position of second row forward into the role of loose head prop. A position Rex had never played in before. From my understanding, Rex was not happy about this! Which is very understandable, it’s difficult even for a player of considerable promise and talent to play his first international in one of the most specialized positions in the scrum. Rex was use to playing in the loose, picking up the ball and driving towards the touchline! All the newspapers headlined ‘Tarzan Picked for Wales!’ So much so an American lawyer, tried to sue him for using Tarzan’s name, Rex took it in his stride and informed that he never signed or used the Tarzan name and it was other people who had nicknamed him. Even with all this pressure, on the day Rex made a solid performance and held his own in what was said to be very scrappy match, which resulted in a 5-3 victory to Wales. All the family went back to family home after the match and celebrated his achievement and victory. This was the only time Rex played for Wales, after his debut Rex was in demand by many other clubs, Newport RFC tried to poach him, as they had done with many of Crosskeys previous stars, he was also allegedly offered £10,000 to go North, but Rex stayed true and played out until the end of the season with the Keys. That summer her left to follow other dreams & ambitions he had in America.
To this day Rex ‘Tarzan’ Richards is the last player from Crosskeys RFC to gain a cap for Wales, his cap was donated to the club and now takes pride of place in a glass cabinet nestled prominently in the cosy bar.
To myself, playing rugby or any sport for Wales just once, would have been the pinnacle of a career, the proudest moment of life. Many a common man would have sat back on his laurels after doing this, accepting pints from strangers, while wallowing in an egotistical comfort zone.
Bill explained, that Rex was proud and happy he’d played for his country, but it was not the be all and end all, it was not everything he wanted in life, he said that Rex was not the type of person who would brag about his achievement and he had very little ego. He had far greater enjoyment in entertaining others and making them happy than himself.
I think there is one thing certain, if Rex Richards had stayed in Wales and carried on playing rugby is the position he was good at, with his determination he would have become a legend. Immortalized by our passionate rugby nation. But I don’t think Rex would have been happy with this, his feet itched far too much for foreign shores and new challenges.
To be continued:

His name is Rex (Tarzan) Richards, he played for Crosskeys and Wales around
1956. He was a good swimmer and had rugged looks, so two years later off
he travelled to America, where he auditioned for a colour remake of Tarzan.
Short Biography of Rex Tarzan Richards.

This is a story a truly amazing story of an unsung hero who over the past few months has become a hero of mine.
Let me first tell you how all this started. I have been working for the past eight months in two little villages called Crosskeys and Pontywaun. Set in the heart of Gwent, they now sit pretty between pine clad and green grass mountains. I say now as they have recovered their beauty from being squeezed amongst the blacken coal slag heaps of the mining industry. The rivers are clear, the trout can be eaten and the fresh linen washing can now be pegged and dried on the line without the threat of speckled dust.

My job title is rather long winded; I work for Groundwork Caerphilly as an Environmental Regeneration Coordinator. The purpose of my role is assisting the local authority and the community to spend grant money on environmental enhancements around the Parishes. Nearly 1 million pound is allocated, and with the guidance of the communities, we want to spend every penny of it in the right places, otherwise it goes back to Europe and these deprived villages will never see the likes again. Anyway part of the spend must go into Artwork and Heritage, this meaning remembering the history, depicting it through the workshops with schools, colleges and community groups. Thus given those who live and growing up in the area a sense of history, pride and ownership as some of the historic facts and ideas are incorporated into Sculptures, Murals and so on…

I met with a local historian called Graham Osborne, to find out what had happened in the past, he gave me all the normal mining and iron history, the disasters and hardships... You find it’s the same story in nearly every little town throughout the Welsh valleys. I was trying to focus more on the people, the characters, the heroes and legends; it’s getting so passé all the mining remembrances you see around the place, and tends to lend a sense of depressiveness. I feel it’s time to move on and give communities something different. Unfortunately the historian couldn’t help me, he said there wasn’t anyone apart from the Italian Café owner who made the most wonderful goats milk ice cream of any relevance in the area.

So I was stuck, until I spoke to my 83 year old Auntie Ivy about there not being anyone renowned or famous that had a connection with Crosskeys. I explained that all I really wanted was some juicy info to pass onto the artist's that are involved in doing art commissions in the area. Aunt said ' what do you mean, Tarzan was from
Crosskeys!' I thought then my poor Aunt had succumbed to senile dementia! But she babbled on about some guy call Rex Richards.

Well I got into work the following Monday and done some searching on the Internet and to my disbelief I started to unravel in snippets Rex’s remarkable life. This guy was a championship diver, strong swimmer and fitter than a butchers dog. He played rugby for Wales and auditioned for a part as Tarzan in America! He didn’t get the part, but was offered a part in another production called the WILD WOMEN OF WONGO. His named also linked to his Nephew Julian Richards, who was so it says inspired into the film industry by his Uncle Rex. Julian was now a respected film director in his own right and produced a number of successful low budget horror films. He had also worked for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks set up in America. The more I learnt the more I wanted to know, but there was very little to go on, I needed to investigate further! So I sent a few emails around to the connections I had made around the villages, in the hope someone could help enlighten me further.

Immediately Dai Thomas, a life long member of Crosskeys Rugby Club, contacted me. Dai could remember seeing Rex play. As a young boy he use to sell match programmes and can recall streams of women flocking to the ground just to see Rex play on the hallowed ground of the Pandy. Dai told me he use to make quite a bit of profit, as these groupies would ask if Rex was playing, when he said ‘yes’ they would be in such a rush to get to the best seat they wouldn’t wait for their change. Dai said Rex was won of his all time greats; he loved watching this larger than life character play. He knew about the Wongo film Rex made and had a few years earlier attempted to screen it at the club to celebrate 50 years since Rex got his Welsh cap. He couldn’t get past the film industry red tape in screening for public viewing. So unfortunately he had to cancel. I agreed that I would try and help him with this and asked him to try and find out if there was any of the Richards family still alive.

I had a few weeks before arranged an art workshop for a sculpturist called Michael Johnson; luckily he requested to work with the older generation, as he could learn a lot more about the history of the area. This would be a perfect opportunity for me to attend and ask questions. In the meantime, I carried on with the regeneration programme.

Then came the day of the workshop, Michael had been in touch with St Catherine’s Community himself and requested that the people attending bring along old relics from the past. When I had the chance I mentioned the name Rex Richards, the old people’s faces beamed with this name that was blasted from the past. All of them had fond memories and admiration for the way he played rugby, carried himself in society and also his physical statue. One lady told me she was absolutely besotted by Rex and use to melt when he came into her fathers Café every Tuesday night after training. Yes, it was the same café of the infamous goats milk ice cream. Anna the young Italian daughter was around 16 at the time, she said that she had never set eyes on anyone since who could come close in looks and body to Rex. Another man popped in and said that the women of Crosskeys were like bees round a honey pot when Richards was about. They use to flock to Pandy Park on a Saturday, not to watch the Rugby, but just to gaze in lustful adoration towards Rex. This gentleman was quite glad when Rex left for America; it gave him more freedom with the female sex. I was also told that Rex use to High Dive in aqua shows during the summer months and a few of the locals paid a trip to Bournemouth. When I asked if he had any family in the area, no one came forward.
When I asked the group about his nickname Tarzan, many said that it came from a combination of his diving background, rugged looks and muscular physique. I left these lovely people a little wiser, but still was still intrigued to find out more.

A few days later I received a call from Dai, he told me he had been asking around and found out that Rex had a brother called Bill and he living in Newport, Dai had his telephone number, so I immediately rang, gave my background and arranged for us to meet up the following week, Dai was came along as a representative of the rugby club.

When we arrived Bill made us really welcome in his lovely home, situated in a very nice area of Newport. Firstly we explained our interests, knowledge so far and our aims, Bill offered us both a glass of wine and said he would start at the beginning.

In the 1930’s the Richards family lived at 1 Crown St, Maindee, Newport, which was then Monmouthshire now Gwent. Five brothers and one sister were born to the Milkman father and a business minded Mother. She was always coming up with ideas to bring extra money into the household, and invented and sold her very own wax furniture polishes to the surrounding neighborhood. Her scope later had effect on the rest of the boys, as some went on to successfully run their own businesses. Anyway, Rex was born on the 4th of February 1934. The mother was the boss of the house and kept the discipline, she had to with five boys running around. The boys were sent to Stow Hill School and actively took part in everything they could.

In 1938 a brand new art deco swimming pool opened just around the corner of the family home in Victoria Avenue. This was heaven to the parents, as scores of children flocked to find their water wings at the then state of the art pool.
The baths was a regular hang out for the Richards clan; they spent every spare time they had there, the main attraction was the three diving boards, the highest being 5 metres was Rex’s favourite after having caught sight of early Tarzan movies at the local Odeon, this was his release, he would shut his eyes at the top of the board and he could be in jungle diving of a huge waterfall. Under the guidance of Bill Cambrey who was the baths manager at the time and ironically eventually became a player and coach at Crosskeys RFC, the young Rex would spend hours perfecting his diving and making his physical stature stand out through the enduring exercise.

Then the fateful day came, a day, which sealed Rex Richard’s destiny and sculptured his dreams forever more, the aqua show arrived in Newport town!

Bill first gave me an account of what an aqua show was about in that era. In the 40’s & 50’s during the summer months, people would flock to all the seaside resorts around Britain. Each resort had they own lidos and open-air baths, normally on the promenade and near the tides edge. Aqua shows would tour all the major resorts and were the main attraction for the whole of the family; it had everything that a circus could offer in water. Clowns would make big splashes; there was singing and dancing, along with beautiful girls synchronizing swimming. To bring the show to a finale, the high diver was the man who brought the tense show to it’s climatic end, with his protruding chest and roar like a lion, people would gasped in frenzied excitement, awaiting the thunderous splash and safe return from the hidden depths.

When the Aqua show arrived in Newport, Rex and Bill were transfixed, this was their world, they were their hero’s and they quickly showed the shows cast the self-taught diving skills they had perfected. After seeing this, nothing was quite the same for the two boys, things changed, ambitions were instilled in both, Rex’s was the high diver and Bill was always the entertainer.

Once the show left town, Rex disappeared with it, without parental permission. He was soon tracked down and brought back by the police. No sooner home, he was gone again, then again, until after the fourth time his parents give up and granted him leave until the aqua season finished. He done another stint the following year, he also knew then that the seasonal diving shows in America lasted a lot longer and travelled throughout the vast country, but he had to put this on hold for a while.

Once he got home, Rex was called up to do his National Service and was enlisted into the South Wales Borderers, stationed in Crickhowell. He was then sent to Germany. Whilst in the army Rex got involved with every sport that come his way, this included swimming, water polo, boxing, rugby and also the beloved diving. Bill told me that when Rex went to try and join the diving team, the Sergeant Instructor took one look at his size and physic told him he was too big and there would be no water left in the pool. That was until Rex got up on the board, flew down with the grace of a falcon and glided into the water like a dolphin, making just a few ripples. It wasn’t long before Rex became the Inter Services Diving Champion. Inter Service meant he was the best out of all the armed forces, no one could come close to him when it came to diving. He also started boxing and was soon knocking people out left, right and centre. At around this time Rex reputedly fought and beat a Heavyweight boxer by the name of Dick Richardson, who was also from Newport. In 1960 Dick became the European Heavyweight Champion when he beat Hans Kalbfell by way of TKO in the thirteenth round. Dick went on to unsuccessfully fight the great Henry Cooper, getting knocked out in the fifth round on both occasions. This just proves what a great all round athlete Rex Richards was at this time, anything he tried his hand at he gave 100% and had the determination to be the winner.

Rex would proudly send his trophies and medals home to his Mam and Dad, who would adorn them along with the other boy’s achievements proudly on the mantelpiece and walls for all who visited to see! A regular visitor to the family home was Jack Woods, a wide boy, Arthur Daley sort of character, who done a bit of business with Rex’s mother. Jack had his fingers in many pies and apparently not just his fingers; one of his pies was that he was a scout for Crosskeys RFC. When he visited the house on this occasion, he noticed a picture of Rex on the wall; his eyes lighted up when seen how big, fit and awesome he had matured into, and immediately enquired to the mother when Rex was being released from his army service. He was informed that it finished that summer and Jack said he would like to have a chat with Rex about playing a bit of rugby for Crosskeys.

No sooner had Rex returned home and Jack was knocking on the door, his grooming and persuading manner convinced Rex to start pre-season training ready for the season coming. Rex took to rugby like a duck to water and was installed straight into the first team. Rex enjoyed the physical contact and clearly had the edge over other players because of his stamina and fitness. He told his brother Bill, ‘Rugby was quite a simple game to play, you just get the ball and run straight towards the line.’ I can imagine the faces of the opposition seeing this man mountain steaming towards them, it must have been terrifying. Jonah Lomu changed the face of Rugby in the 1990’s when he’d steamrolled over players; he was then considered the first global superstar of rugby union. I have heard many accounts of Rex in a line out in his own half, leaping like a salmon to take the ball, and then running almost the whole length of the pitch to score a try. There was no doubt from reading all the press articles of that era that when Rex was playing, Crosskeys RFC was a force to be reckoned with.
In 1956, at the age of 21, Rex’s marauding style of play soon came to the attention of the Welsh Rugby Union selectors who were still reeling after a previous defeat against Ireland. The next match against France was the last match of the five nation’s tournament, the pressure was on and they needed to make amends. Rex hadn’t even played a full season of club rugby in Wales! But the selectors had recognized he was a flier with the fire and energy who would never cease to run after the ball. After a 2 hour-long debate they took a remarkable risk of selecting him outside his normal position of second row forward into the role of loose head prop. A position Rex had never played in before. From my understanding, Rex was not happy about this! Which is very understandable, it’s difficult even for a player of considerable promise and talent to play his first international in one of the most specialized positions in the scrum. Rex was use to playing in the loose, picking up the ball and driving towards the touchline! All the newspapers headlined ‘Tarzan Picked for Wales!’ So much so an American lawyer, tried to sue him for using Tarzan’s name, Rex took it in his stride and informed that he never signed or used the Tarzan name and it was other people who had nicknamed him. Even with all this pressure, on the day Rex made a solid performance and held his own in what was said to be very scrappy match, which resulted in a 5-3 victory to Wales. All the family went back to family home after the match and celebrated his achievement and victory. This was the only time Rex played for Wales, after his debut Rex was in demand by many other clubs, Newport RFC tried to poach him, as they had done with many of Crosskeys previous stars, he was also allegedly offered £10,000 to go North, but Rex stayed true and played out until the end of the season with the Keys. That summer he left to follow other dreams & ambitions he had in America.
To this day Rex ‘Tarzan’ Richards is the last player from Crosskeys RFC to gain a cap for Wales, his cap was donated to the club and now takes pride of place in a glass cabinet nestled prominently in the cosy bar.
To myself, playing rugby or any sport for Wales just once, would have been the pinnacle of a career, the proudest moment of life. Many a common man would have sat back on his laurels after doing this, accepting pints from strangers, while wallowing in an egotistical comfort zone.
Bill explained, that Rex was proud and happy he’d played for his country, but it was not the be all and end all, it was not everything he wanted in life, he said that Rex was not the type of person who would brag about his achievement and he had very little ego. He had far greater enjoyment in entertaining others and making them happy than himself.
I think there is one thing certain, if Rex Richards had stayed in Wales and carried on playing rugby is the position he was good at, with his determination he would have become a legend. Immortalized by our passionate rugby nation but I don’t think Rex would have been happy with this, his feet itched far too much for foreign shores and new challenges.
Rex boarded the boat for America and sailed off into the great unknown. Once there he headed south to the warmer climates of California looking for work. The beach scene in Malibu was the Mecca for the young beautiful people who would ride the breaks of the crashing white waves. This era kicked off a cultural revolution of bohemianism, surf music and sun worshipping that reached all around the globe.
This was quite a contrast to the industrial backdrop of South Wales, the cold winters and driving rain. Rex would have been in his elements, with his ready-made body, good looks and cool charisma he must have soon slotted in. It wasn’t long before the money ran out and for accommodation he took to sleeping in a hammock underneath coconuts tree. Bill told me, Rex would have to make sure the large husks were removed before he got his head down, because if one fell it could easily kill a man. Rex would fish for food and eat the coconuts for sustenance. He also made and sold his own suntan lotion from the coconut oil and other supplements. He would fill the discarded empty bottles with his own potion and sell it to the masses of sunbathers who would flock there. Just like his mother, he had the instinct to see a niche in the market.
It didn’t take long before he ambled down the West coast and crossed the border into Mexico. Being a diver, he would have heard long before about the clavadistas (cliff divers) of Acapulco. Rex would have been yearning for this challenge but this diving came with more danger then ever before.
This exciting modern day sport now requires a sound technical education and extensive training before one takes the plunge. Apart from this you needed courage, self-confidence, extraordinary physical control and possess the ability to make quick decisions. All this was needed for anyone brave or crazy enough to take on this extreme pastime. Rex had all these attributes in abundance! He was fearless even though this was a different terrain altogether.
The young mainly Mexican cliff divers, practice for years until they are ready to fling themselves off the highest precipice. Timing must be perfected to coincide with an incoming narrow churning channel of seawater just 12ft deep. With clenched fists they fly themselves down from over 130ft (40m), reaching speeds of 50mph.The plunge takes just 3 seconds. If the timing is out, they smash into the rocky seabed below or fall back into the cliff on the way down. Many divers have been seriously injured, paralysed and have died from Cliff Diving. It can have a huge physical impact on the human body if they are not in peak condition. Many former divers suffer from punctured eardrums, twisted, sprained shoulders and spinal problems.
When Rex arrived in Acapulco, it was the cool hangout for all the glitterati of the time. It was the start of the swinging 60’s, Sinatra was there, Sammy Davis Jr, Brigitte Bardot, Rocky Marciano, the list can go on and on, in the medias eyes you weren’t anybody unless you hung out in Acapulco. In the evenings all these stars use to hang out at The La Perla Supper Club in the EL Mirador Hotel; they could sit, dine and drink fine wine while over looking the cliffs and the divers. In the nights the divers use to carry flamed torches. After the dive’s they would go up to the hotel for drinks and they would often get generous tips for their acts of bravery. Many people believe Elvis dived from the top when he made the film ‘Fun in Acapulco’ in 1963, but let me put the record straight, it was filmed in Hollywood and a stand in diver was used for the big final scene. The divers today see themselves as elite athletes and not just tourist attractions.
Rex did not need the years of extensive training he had done his apprenticeship back at Stow Hill swimming baths and the coastal aqua shows. It wasn’t long before Rex was hurling himself off the highest points and gaining notoriety for his feats. He was also making connections in the entertainment and film industry.
Rex soon after joined a travelling water show, which went from coast to coast across America. He covered 10,000 miles, driving his British Sports Car. They would set up a sealed water tank, get the local fire department to fill it with water, Rex would then climb up a very tall swaying ladder and fly down into this tiny vat of water below. The crowds loved it and it gave Rex an income for the time being. He was now rated as one of the top ten divers in the U.S.A.
Rugby never faded from Rex even though he was across the pond; despite his busy schedule in 1957 he found time to represent Ontario against the touring Barbarians side, his job that day was to mark the towering English forward R.W.D Marques, Cliff Morgan was also playing, Ba-Ba’s won 52-0 and didn’t lose a match on the whole tour. Years later, Rex started his own team in New York and along with a few other ex-pats; use to play other teams around America. So much was his dedication he would travel up to 400 miles to play games and train; he also took on the role of manager, coach, player and even washed the kits! This same year he also found time to fit in a deer-hunting holiday in the State of Maine. This Welsh pioneer was certainly living his life to it’s complete maximum and was not wasting anytime at all.
The film industry soon beckoned, Rex auditioned along with another 1000 candidates for a new colour Tarzan movie. He was short listed down to the final two, in the end Rex lost out to Gordon Scott, who had experience in playing Tarzan a few years before. While auditioning he was spotted by another director, who offered him the part as King Wongo in The Wild Women of Wongo. This is now regarded as being in the top 10 of the worst Hollywood movies of all time. Yet still in today’s age it’s become a cult classic amongst people who enjoy this genre, and has picked up several Golden Turkey Awards over the years.
We have to remember that at this time the production of different films were being churned out of Hollywood on almost a daily rate. For instance between 1950 and 1970 there was 17 Tarzan movies produced! Many of these bombed at the box office.
There were plenty of other bit parts that come his way and he can be seen in the Jerry Lewis film The Bell Boy, Rex is diving in the background in one scene. He also did a television series with the great competitive swimmer and iconic movie star Esther Williams. Bill recalled a story of when Rex played an Indian brave in The Last of the Mohicans, he said Rex was doing a forest scene in the Hollywood studios, he said all the trees were made out of rubber, the Indian brave had to pick up a disarmed gun and fire it at the enemy, when Rex fired the imitation gun it made such a load bang, he flew back and knocked down the whole forest!
When he became more financially secure he settled on the east coast in Miami. He made frequent visits back home to Wales to visit family and friends, he would drive up to Crosskeys in a big Cadillac, dressed to the nines in the latest fashionable attire, he certainly stood out amongst the working class fraternity. Regardless of his absence the club secretary Byron Denning said ‘we will lose no time in fitting him when he arrives.’ After a match Rex was always ready to entertain, Bill had taught him to play the guitar when they was younger, so if there was one around, it would be picked up and Rex would start doing what he liked best, making other people happy. Bill himself was entertaining and doing gigs around Wales, he said the problem with Rex was that he didn’t have a huge vocal range, but he could bang out a few popular numbers, get people swinging and get by. At around this time Tom Jones was making an impact back in the states, he was gaining fame and fortune. Bill believes that Rex seen this other Welsh man take the States by storm and he could do the same, but it was never going to happen, he just didn’t have the talent. Family tragedy hit the Richards family around this time, when they’re brother Paul committed suicide, believed to be from business worries. Bill then had to put his entertaining career on hold and start running the hardware business, which he has successfully run to this day. Bill still found time over the years to entertain the local schools and colleges, where he put on an educational comedy act known as Cowboy Bill.
When back in Miami, he started working for cruise liner companies that done specialised tours throughout the Bahamas and West Indies. He was in charge of entertainment on board the ships and soon took complete control of every aspect. He was doing the singing, dancing, bingo calling, fitness workouts and even running a book for the gamblers on board. He soon became very popular and in high demand with tourists who came back every year and they would book on what ever ship he was working that season. The companies would all be haggling and bidding for his indispensable services, so much so he could almost name his price! Rex made a very good wage, he had other angles also and use to record long playing records so he could sell to the tourists. Bill showed me some of these records; Rex didn’t forget his Welsh roots even when singing, on one of his albums he covered The Green, Green Grass of Home.
His life in Miami was idyllic, he always kept in good shape by daily pumping weights on the beach, and the nightlife was full of entertainment along with dashing girls in abundance. Rex had never drunk alcohol or took illegal drugs, he was diagnosed with diabetes as a young boy and always had it in his mind that is was passed on genetically. Due to this belief Rex never wanted to have children, he simply didn’t want any child of his to suffer the way he must have done silently over the years.
His family occasionally visited him for holidays and Bill said every time he went over the water; Rex would have a different girlfriend hanging out with him. They would be slim, tanned and gorgeous. Rex wasn’t very good with storing his money, the family had for years tried to encourage him to open a bank account and save it securely, Rex would promise to sort one out, but never got round to it. He use to simply just throw the dollars into a shoe box at the back of his walk in wardrobe which was extensively filled with hand made designer cloths. He never bought anything off the peg; all his cloths were tailored to fit his robust frame.
Bill recalled a time when he was over in Manila on some business, and he telephoned Rex for a chat. Soon as Rex found out his brother was in the Philippines, he asked him to pop into a small little tailor shop in one of the back streets of the bustling city, mention his name and ask for tailor to send over a new suede jacket. Bill said he couldn’t believe it when the owner fondly smiled and said no problem; he would work on it straight away.
His mother was worried on one visit, when Rex introduced her to his latest girlfriend, who originated from the Philippines. She came across as having shifty eyes and an untrustworthy demeanour, his Mam worried that this girl may have been dipping into the shoebox without her son’s knowledge. Rex always saw the good in people and never the bad.
When his nephew Julian was a youngster he paid visits to Miami and Rex use to tell him stories of the film industry; Julian had a super eight cine camera bought for him and use to run around filming shots like a big Hollywood director. Rex certainly planted a seed and use to give him advice on the best camera angles and lighting for close ups shots.
Rex talked of plans to buy his own cruise boat, his new house was situated right on the Florida keys and you could pull up to it on a boat. This idea was unfortunately cut short.
In 1989 his mother was over for a visit, Rex got up one morning and went for his regular shower. Just before, his Mam asked him if he wanted a cooked breakfast, Rex said ‘yes’, he then went into the shower and never came back out alive. He suffered a huge heart attack.
The funeral was planned back home in Newport; arrangements had been made for his burial at Christchurch cemetery. Rex even had the last laugh, when his funeral had to be cancelled at the last minute, due to the fact that the airline company Virgin Atlantic lost his body during transit.
He was eventually found, and laid to rest in an unmarked grave, this was his wish, as he had no strong religious beliefs. Once your gone, your gone, attitude! There was only one flag that was ever going to drape his coffin, his beloved Crosskeys Rugby Football Club.
When the family cleared up his estate, they discovered boxes of money and assets all over the place. Bill said that it totalled around three quarters of a million pounds.

Viv Huskings

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