Maurice Richard - Depiction in Popular Media

Depiction in Popular Media

• Richard's hockey career, and in particular the folk legend of his NHL game played after having moved, was featured in Heritage Minutes (1997). Richard was played by Roy Dupuis.
• Richard's life story was featured in a two-part, two-hour French-Canadian miniseries televised as part of the program Les Beaux Dimanches: Histoire d'un Canadien (Beautiful Sundays: Maurice Rocket Richard Story ), in 1999, starring Roy Dupuis as Richard.
• The French version of a feature film, Maurice Richard was released in November 2005; the English-subtitled version entitled The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story was released in April 2006. The film again stars Roy Dupuis in the title role and is directed by Charles Binamé.
• Admiration for Richard and the Montreal Canadiens was the main plot point of the popular heritage story "The Hockey Sweater", originally published in 1979 by native Quebecker and acclaimed author Roch Carrier., as well as its 1980 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) adaptation, The Sweater.
• He is the subject of a 1998 NFB documentary, The Rocket, and a 1972 NFB short film, composed of animated photographs of Richard, Mon numéro 9 en or.
• The Jane Siberry song "Hockey" contains the line "They rioted in the streets of Montreal/When they benched Rocket Richard".
• Was referenced in the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody": "His dad took the hose and froze the back yard/And little Buddy dreamed he was Rocket Richard"
• In the early 1980s, Maurice Richard starred in a commercial for Grecian Formula, a hair coloring product. In the commercial Richard plays a referee, he mentions that he leaves a touch of natural grey, because his wife likes it. At that point a trainer calls out, "Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!" a line that has since become famous and is referenced in a song by the Canadian punk band Belvedere.
• The local media first nicknamed him The Comet. During an intra-squad practice, Ray Getliffe was so impressed by him, he compared him to a rocket.
• In an edition of The Book of Sports Lists, by Pepe and Hollander, Richard was described by a teammate "with his eyes flashing like a pinball machine." His eyes seemed to be the most memorable feature during his play; in the picture he is wide-eyed as he skates toward the goal.
• The ValueTales series of children's books featured Maurice Richard for "The Value of Tenacity," published in 1984.
• Richard appears as a member of the Canadiens All-Star Team of Legends in NHL 09, playing on the first line.