“Granted there is a fine line between schizophrenia and acting, but there is a fine line,” Richters explained. "The day I walk on stage thinking I’m Mark Twain is the day I’ve crossed the line and should be in a home.”

“Have you heard? Mark Twain has had tougher acts to follow. An economist, banker and real estate broker had finished painting a dry, but rosy picture of the world, state and even local economy at Wednesday’s annual business breakfast, when actor Ken Richters as Mark Twain was introduced as a “special guest.” Twain looked at 400 or so business-like faces at the Sheraton Hotel and said, ‘If this is a good year, I don’t want to be near this place in a bad year.’”

“Ken Richters is a firm believer that the show must go on. Richters, who will be performing at URI Tuesday, was in Scranton, Pa., last Friday. He got to the theater more than three hours early to put on his make-up and ‘took a header’ down the stairs that led to his dressing room. He did a flip, he says, and landed on his face. Richters fractured three ribs, suffered a mild concussion and torn ligaments, but performed the show before heading for the emergency room. The next day he was off to Philadelphia for another performance. ‘When I began acting for a living,’ Richters said, ‘if you were lucky enough to get a job, you would get paid only if and when you worked. It was probably nothing more than financial desperation that kept me from ever missing a performance in the early days. Now,’ the actor explained, ‘Its probably pride. What began as the show must go on to pay the bills ... became the show must go on because of the tradition of having never missed a performance during my twenty plus years in show business.’”

“Although Richters keeps Mark Twain out of his personal life, he has learned to think like the man on stage and can ad lib in character when necessary. For instance, minutes before going on stage at Brigham Young University in Hawaii, Richters was shown a rider to his contract which restricted him from swearing, smoking and talking about God. He walked onto the stage and in the raspy voice of Twain, read the contract to the audience. ‘Any of you that have read my books know that, according to this, I have nothing to say,’ he said. Then he sat down and stared at the crowd. ‘It seemed like three weeks of silence,’ he said, ‘before someone in the back row started to giggle, and before long the entire audience was laughing and clapping. Then a man in the front row, who I assumed was a church elder, smiled and threw up his hands,’ Richters said. ‘So I lit my cigar and went on with the show ... they invited me back the following year.’”

“None other than Mark Twain himself came to Hartford Friday to plead for money to fix up his home. Actor Ken Richters, dressed in a three-piece suit, stunned the crowed at the Legislative Office Building when he stood up and started talking about the historic Victorian mansion on Farmington Avenue. Gov. John G. Rowland and other top officials had been discussing various projects during the normally staid proceedings of the State Bonding Commission. Twain produced more laughter than at any time in recent memory ... Twain launched into an explanation of the state’s rising tourism business, noting that Rowland and his wife, Patricia, have appeared in television commercials that have touted the state. ‘It is because of the first lady, and in spite of your appearances,’ Twain said to Rowland as the crowd roared with laughter.”

“Hartford’s Mayor Mike Peters, ‘Mark Twain’ swap barbs during business pep rally... standing before the audience, Peters conceded the inevitable. ‘This is going to be a long morning. Call me Mr. Lucky,’ he said. ‘I’m debating a dead guy, and I’m about to get my ass kicked.’ ‘My foot’s not that big,’ Twain answered.”