# Was a U.S. sitcom star ever claimed kidnapping by Kim Jong-Il? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520 "2008-06-19T22:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johngorenfeld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@johngorenfeld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johngorenfeld)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/1 "2008-06-19T22:06:21Z")
Dear Teeming Millions, This is my first post. I am honored to be here, having read the Straight Dope books back in the 80s. Ok, so we know that Kim Jong-Il had a habit in the years 1978 to 1983 of having people kidnapped from beaches in Japan and movie studios in South Korea. But what about the cast of the sitcom _Eight is Enough_? There’s a Wikipedia entry on North Korean abductions and it claims that actress Susan Richardson came forward in 1987 with a wild story of having been seized by North Korean kidnappers. That no one believed her, and she had a nervous breakdown. The trouble is, I cant find anything on this in news archives. Has anyone heard of this? Or is it just another _Eight is Enough_ hoax, like when _Might_ Magazine claimed in the early 1990s that star Adam Rich had died a tragic death? Any help much appreciated. John ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/2 "2008-06-19T23:45:25Z")
Well the Eight Is Enough website says, “Susan said on a radio interview that it was recently declassified by the FBI as of November 1999, and she just sold the rights of her story to a big New York company and she can’t talk about it right now.”[sup]1[/sup] Looking at the FBI’s Freedom of Information Act listings under ‘R’, there is no Susan Richardson, however.[sup]2[/sup] I’m sure that that’s not the full listing of declassified documents on their webpage, but it does seem to focus on names people might recognize–so it’s decently conceivable that she’d be in there if they had anything to say about her. But, realistically speaking, I can’t think of why the FBI would be investigating an international incident, given that they’re only concerned with domestic matters. I’d personally guess that she simply had/has some issues, barring any evidence to the contrary. [sup]1[/sup] [RECEH303 : Daftar Situs Judi IDNSLOT No 1 Indonesia](http://www.eightisenough.com/08708.htm) [sup]2[/sup] [http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/foiaindex\_r.htm](http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/foiaindex_r.htm) ---
**Author:** ![johngorenfeld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@johngorenfeld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johngorenfeld)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/3 "2008-06-20T00:51:01Z")
Now that’s darn interesting. It’s not that I necessarily believe or don’t believe it, I just wanted to know if she really made that claim. The FBI FOIA room mostly covers the really big questions, like “Was there an FBI file on John Lennon.” Sounds like I need to file a FOIA report to get the Susan Richardson files, which would likely be too obscure to put up there. Yeah, there’s really no evidence, but on the other hand Kim Jong-Il has always tried to push the envelope as far as international kidnapping. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/4 "2008-06-20T01:38:03Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] But, realistically speaking, I can’t think of why the FBI would be investigating an international incident, given that they’re only concerned with domestic matters. [/QUOTE] Actually, the FBI has many offices in other countries. They would probably be the people who would investigate such a kidnapping. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/5 "2008-06-20T14:07:11Z")
From: [Celeb Site](http://www.celebritynooz.com/watn/s_richardson.html) > [@](#): > > Probably the most bizarre story surrounding her is her claim that in the 1980s, she was held hostage in Korea by filmmakers who tried to kill her. ---
**Author:** ![logitech23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@logitech23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/logitech23)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/6 "2014-04-16T17:27:36Z")
See her on this 1987 talk show talking about her claim: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lRLmsYOdqk) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/7 "2014-04-16T17:34:26Z")
This was also a trope on the sit-com 30 Rock where Jack Donneghey’s wife/girlfriend Avery (played by Elizabeth Banks) was newscaster kidnapped by the North Koreans and forced to do North Korean propaganda news shows. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/8 "2014-04-16T17:46:34Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Actually, the FBI has many offices in other countries. They would probably be the people who would investigate such a kidnapping. [Including one in Seoul](http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legat/asia). ETA: oh, it’s a zombie. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/9 "2014-04-16T19:49:48Z")
[quote=“logitech23, post:6, topic:453520”] See her on this 1987 talk show talking about her claim: [/QUOTE] I watched most of that and I didn't see her claim anywhere that she was abducted by North Koreans. Rather it seems her story involved her being lured to Seoul by agents of a South Korean child pornography ring, who then marked her passport in such a way that it prevented her from leaving the country. Did I miss some part about Kim Jong-Il? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/10 "2014-04-16T20:39:14Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Including one in Seoul](http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legat/asia). > > ETA: oh, it’s a zombie. But not a Seoul-less zombie. That’s different. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/11 "2014-04-16T20:54:04Z")
Zombie or not, it’s about North Korea, so it’s okay with me! I’ve read a lot about NK, and while I’ve seen much discussion of Kim Jong-Il’s little kidnapping habit, I’ve never heard about this one from any source, credible or otherwise. **gnoitall** - You deserve to be Ban Ki-Mooned for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/12 "2014-04-17T19:39:37Z")
This story forces us to confront the dilemma of who we think is crazier: a has-been TV star or a North Korean dictator? ---
**Author:** ![Yuma\_Johnny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/71e660/32.png) [@Yuma\_Johnny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yuma_Johnny)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-a-u-s-sitcom-star-ever-claimed-kidnapping-by-kim-jong-il/453520/13 "2017-01-06T19:11:35Z")
I was living in and working for a construction company in Big Bear Lake, California. Circa 1982-83, we were replacing a water main in front of a little junk house which Susan Richardson was renting. She was huge! She was allegedly in business making and selling expensive dolls. Some of the guys I knew in town claimed to be “dating” and supplying her "habit. She sure wasn’t in North Korea in the early - mid 80’s. She was living in Big Bear Lake.