Richard A. Klein, best known as a “man of a thousand ideas,” died Friday, Oct. 21 at his home in Richmond Heights after years of battling multiple health issues. He was 76 years old.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Klein moved to St. Louis from Chicago in the mid-1970s when he married the former Virginia Doody and became a stepfather to her four children. She was a devout Catholic and he was a Reform Jew but they spent 34 years happily together until his recent death. He explained their success despite religious differences this way: “We have learned that there are certain issues that are better left not discussed . . .That doesn’t mean we don’t try to change each other’s politics, but we don’t try to convert one another when it comes to our religious beliefs.”

Mr. Klein was recognized for his award-winning documentaries, produced primarily for ABC Video Enterprises with whom he helped pioneer the Arts & Entertainment and Lifetime cable networks. Before his debut as a moviemaker, he created a very popular line of personalized greeting card records featuring the voices of Joan Rivers and Rod McKuen for ABC Record and Tape Sales, and the Captain Zoom personalized Happy Birthday records and videos for children.

Over the years, Mr. Klein served as a consultant for many international companies and was also president of The Universal Archives, Inc., where he developed the series “Focus on the Last Hundred Years: A Decade by Decade Overview of the 20th century” and owned a stock footage library that served the television and motion picture industries worldwide.

He taught at Webster University in the School of Communications, and served as “Mentor In Residence” at the Olin School of Business at Washington University. His early class in entrepreneurship developed over the years into the university’s Skandalaris Center for Entreprenurial Studies, offering 50 classes across all disciplines. He authored two self-help books and just recently published a memoir “Who the Hell is Richard Klein – and Who Cares?”

In addition to his wife Virginia Klein, survivors include his stepchildren, Catherine (William) Dawson of Charlotte, N.C, Lisa Hurst of Evanston, Ill, Paul (Regina) Tucker of Cincinnati, Ohio and Percy (Caitlin) Tucker of Phoenix, Ariz.; a brother, Lewis (Janet) Klein of Philadelphia, and a sister, Nancy (John) Mannes of Bethesda, Md. and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 at the Piper Palm House in Tower Grove Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Partners in Sustainable Development International (PSDI) www.psdintl.org is appreciated.