Don Rico was born in Rochester, New York, the eldest of nine children.
15 Facts About Don Rico
2.
Don Rico's parents were emigrants from Italy: Father Alessandro was a shoe designer from Celano, Abruzzi, and mother Josephine was from the Basilicata region.
3.
At age 12, Rico received a scholarship to study drawing at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester.
4.
Don Rico began his comics career in 1939, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books, beginning at Victor A Fox's Fox Publications.
5.
Don Rico drew the features "Blast Bennett" and "Sorceress of Zoom" for Fox's Weird Comics, and did stories for Fiction House's Planet Comics and Fight Comics.
6.
Don Rico was always causing small problems in the office and publisher [Martin] Goodman knew this, and hence the name 'Rat Rico' he referred to Don with.
7.
Stan [Lee] was the editor at 19 years old but all the day-to-day managing of the work was done by Don Rico, who did most of the hiring and firing.
8.
In 1949, Don Rico began working again for Timely Comics as a writer-editor as the company was transitioning to become Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.
9.
Don Rico briefly returned to comic art as an illustrator on the Atlas series Bible Tales for Young Folk.
10.
In 1958, Don Rico moved to Los Angeles, where he began writing for film and television.
11.
In California, Don Rico began writing paperback novels, eventually penning more than 60 for a variety of publishers including Lancer Books and Paperback Library.
12.
Don Rico's pseudonyms included Donna Richards, Joseph Milton, and Donella St Michaels.
13.
Don Rico drew movie and television production illustrations, including two years at Hanna-Barbera Productions drawing storyboards for TV shows.
14.
Don Rico lived in Los Angeles at the time of his death in 1985.
15.
Don Rico was survived by his second wife, Michele Hart-Rico; his son, Donato "Buz" Rico III; and his daughter, Dianne Marie Rico Tran.