Veteran character actor Kurt Richards was known in Hollywood as Jonathan Kidd after a producer suggested he change his name.Under the name Richards, he appeared in 16 Broadway productions, including ''Anastasia,'' ''Come Back Little Sheba,'' ''My Sister Eileen,'' ''King Lear,'' ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''Hamlet,'' ''Julius Caesar'' and ''Burlesque.''When he came to Hollywood, he changed his name and had roles in ''Wink of an Eye,'' ''Macabre,'' ''Can Can,'' ''The One and Only Genuine, Original Family Band'' and ''Operation Eichmann.''He also was billed as Kidd in such TV series as ''Perry Mason,'' ''Sea Hunt,'' ''Mannix,'' ''Rawhide,'' ''Dr. Kildare'' and ''General Hospital.''He died after surgery for an aorta aneurysm. Richards was age 73 when he died Dec. 15 at Good Samaritan Hospital.