Richard was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1943. His mother, Agatina Caltabiano, and father, Paul Emanuel Caruso, had immigrated from Sicily, Italy, and fell in love at a masquerade ball in New York. At age eight, he moved across the country to live with his sister Gloria in Beverly Hills, California, where he discovered a love for tennis and beautiful women at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club.
Richard went on to become a psychologist with his own private practice, and spent many happy years in Sebastopol, California.
He loved to dance (aka boogie), listen to and play music, play tennis, appreciate art, meditate, and ultimately connect with people wherever he went — whether dancing at the farmer’s market or striking up a conversation in the grocery store line. Women always put a pep in his step, and he especially loved telling the story of his first girlfriend being on the cover of a magazine or dancing in a movie with Elvis Presley.
He is survived by his four daughters: Selene, Maren, Justine, and Whitney; his eight grandchildren, Noel, Aaron, Brown, Wolf, Zane, Beck, Emilio, and Siena; his sister Connie Caruso Hutchinson; and his niece Bianca Hutchinson. We will always remember his dancing, his playful and competitive spirit, and the good vibes he shared with the world.