Richard Compton (1938-2007), also known as Dick Compton, was an American actor, director and writer, primarily in television.

Compton had small parts as an actor in film and television series, including minor roles in two episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. Years later, he directed an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Other directorial credits included episodes of Charmed, Sliders, Babylon 5 and Miami Vice, as well as the films Macon County Line and its sequel, Return to Macon County (both of which he also co-wrote).

Compton was the ex-husband of actress Veronica Cartwright and the brother-in-law of actress Angela Cartwright.

Richard Compton (born 1956, England) is a retired South African cricketer.

The third son of the English cricketer Denis Compton, he was raised in South Africa from 1960. He represented Natal in seven SACB first-class matches between 1978/1979 and 1980/1981. He scored 99 runs (average 9.00) and took eighteen wickets at 22.11, with a personal best of 3/42.

His son Nick captained Harrow and is currently playing for Middlesex.

Writer/director/producer Richard Compton was born on March 2, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia. He began his career in the early 60s making government propaganda movies for the United States Information Agency. His debut feature "The French Way" was never released in America. Compton followed this film with the nifty biker flick "Angels Die Hard," which was the first movie to be released by Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Compton then did the excellent and unjustly overlooked psycho Vietnam veterans exploitation winner "Welcome Home, Soldier Boys." He scored his biggest hit with the outstanding cult classic "Macon County Line;" the unexpected enormous box office success of this movie beget a handful of similar Southern-fried "don't go down to Dixie" drive-in pictures which include "Jackson County Jail," "A Small Town in Texas," and "Nightmare in Badham County." Both the tepid semi-sequel "Return to Macon County" starring then unknowns Nick Nolte and Don Johnson and the strictly so-so post-nuke sci-fi survivalist opus "Ravagers" were regrettably mediocre, although "Ransom" was a solid and gripping thriller. In the early 80's Compton began directing more and more for television; he's done several made-for-TV pictures and numerous episodes of such TV shows as "Peacemakers," "JAG," "The Lone Gunmen," "Charmed," "Sliders," "Profiler," "Babylon 5," "L.A. Law," "The Commish," "Home Improvement," "Bay Watch," "Miami Vice," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "The Equalizer," "Hill Street Blues," "Hotel," and "T.J. Hooker." Compton also did some acting in the 60s and 70s; his acting credits include guest spots on two episodes of the original "Star Trek" TV show and the enjoyably trashy "Wanda, the Sadistic Hypnotist." He's married to actress Veronica Cartwright. He died at age 69 on August 11, 2007.