Part-Owner of the famous Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan along with his family, Richard was born in the Bronx, right down the street from Yankee stadium. He graduated Hofstra University while simultaneously owning and operating with his family the popular Greenwich Village restaurant, Poppolini's. After 15 years of running several Poppolini's and bars around NYC, and feeding a string of youngsoon to be stars including Ethan Hawke, Kevin Spacey, Anthony Michael Hall, Camryn Manheim, Matt Dillon and Adam Sandler, he got bitten by the film bug and drove cross country to try his hand at producing films. His parents, singer Geraldine Stuart and theater producer, Steve Salvatore provided the creative genes to influence his new career.