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Richard Dean Anderson's Profile
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Recent Shows: Stargate SG-1
Biography:
The future "MacGyver" (1985) and "Stargate SG-1" (1997) star was born on January 23, 1950 in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father, Stuart Anderson, was a teacher at a
local high school teacher and his mother, Jocelyn, was an artist who
was talented in bot ...(read more)
The future "MacGyver" (1985) and "Stargate SG-1" (1997) star was born on January 23, 1950 in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father, Stuart Anderson, was a teacher at a
local high school teacher and his mother, Jocelyn, was an artist who
was talented in both sculpting and painting. He and his two younger
brothers, Thomas John and James Stuart, grew up in a suburb of
Minneapolis called Roseville. During his childhood and teenage years,
he developed a love for sports, music (especially jazz) and acting.
Richard dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player as a teenager,
a dream shared by his future "Stargate SG-1" (1997) co-star 'Michael Shanks' . However, this was
not to be as, at age sixteen, he broke both of his arms in separate
incidents, the second of which was so bad that he had to be
hospitalized for three months. Although his dream became an
impossibility, he never lost his love for the sport. Richard was very
much a restless teenager, having many adventures hitch-hiking on the
open road. This sense of adventure is most evident from his 5,641 mile
bicycle trip from his home in Minnesota to Alaska. While accompanied by
several friends at the beginning of this trip, he traveled the last
thirty-three days alone. This experience gave him a more centered sense
of direction in his life.
After studying drama at St. Cloud State University and at Ohio
University without completing his degree), he briefly moved to New York
before settling in Los Angeles where he worked as a juggler, a
street-mime and in a Renaissance-style cabaret. He worked briefly in
Marineland where his jobs included holding fish in his mouth which
killer whales would leap up and catch. Subsequently, he appeared in
plays and formed a rock band called "Rick Dean and the Dante" with his
friend Carl Dante for which he sang and play the guitar.
His big break came in 1976 when he was cast in the popular daytime
drama "General Hospital" (1963) as Dr. Jeff Webber. He continued to portray the role for
five years until he felt it was time to move on to prime-time drama. He
made numerous guest appearances in series such as "Facts of Life, The" (1979) and "Love Boat, The" (1977)
and was cast as the star in two CBS series, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1982) and "Emerald Point N.A.S." (1983) ,
however both only lasted one season.
His next big success came in 1985 when he won the role as the title
character in the ABC adventure series "MacGyver" (1985) . He was cast because the
producers were impressed by the lack of pretension he showed at his
audition. As he is nearsighted, it was necessary for him to wear his
glasses for the reading. The series lasted seven seasons and ran for
139 episodes. It was hugely successful throughout its run and continues
to be popular all over the world. He reprised his role in two TV
movies, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994) (TV) and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994) (TV) which were produced by his own production
company, Gekko Film Corp, which he co-founded with 'Michael Greenburg' .
Having made a huge impression in Ordinary Heroes (1986) as a blinded Vietnam veteran
struggling to rebuild his life in America, he moved on to TV-movies
after "MacGyver" (1985) ended such as In the Eyes of a Stranger (1992) (TV) , Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992) (TV) , Beyond Betrayal (1994) (TV) , Past the Bleachers (1995) (TV) and
Pandora's Clock (1996) (TV) . He was particularly impressive in Past the Bleachers (1995) (TV) in which he played a
grieving father struggling to come to terms with his young son's death.
He returned to series television in 1995 when he was cast as Ernest
Pratt/Nicodemus Legend in "Legend" (1995) , an adventure series which aired on
UPN. He also served as executive producer of the series where one of
his co-stars was his close friend 'John de Lancie' . His character was a dime
novelist (Pratt) who took on the persona of the protagonist in his
novels (Legend). The series was primarily a comedy, a blend of the
Western and science fiction. It is also Richard's favorite role to
date.
He found major success again when cast as Colonel (later Brigadier
General) Jack O'Neill in "Stargate SG-1" (1997) , an adventure/science fiction series
based on the blockbuster Stargate (1994) starring 'Kurt Russell (I)' and 'James Spader' . The
series began filming in Vancouver on February 19, 1997 and premiered on
Showtime on July 27, 1997. The series has remained extremely successful
since then which eventually resulting in the creation of a spin-off
series "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004) in 2004 and the now canceled video game Stargate SG-1:
The Alliance (2005) (VG) in 2005. Both series currently air on the
Sci-Fi Channel. There have been rum ours of a film and another spin-off
series in recent years. Richard's role in the series was substantially
reduced in its seventh and eighth seasons which culminating in his
departure from the series in 2005.
He has never married but his dated many women including actresses
'Teri Hatcher' , 'Lara Flynn Boyle' , 'Sela Ward' and German ice-skater 'Katarina Witt' . Since 1996,
his partner has been Apryl Prose who is the mother of his only child,
Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson who was born on August 2, 1998. Like her
father and grandfather (who passed away in 2003), she is fond of jazz.
Because of his young daughter, he has temporarily taken a break from
acting in order to spend time with her and help her develop.
Richard has made it a point throughout his career in choosing roles
that demonstrate his versatility as an actor. Many of his characters,
particularly MacGyver and O'Neill, are strong characters, although
tormented by personal tragedies such as the death of family members and
friends, can continue on bravely and valiantly.
Gus Fallon
Quotes:
* On his "MacGyver" (1985) co-star 'Dana Elcar' who passed away in 2005: "At a time when
I had very little business being called an actor, he made things so
easy for me. It was a learning experience that was very warm and loving
for all seven year ...(read more)
* On his "MacGyver" (1985) co-star 'Dana Elcar' who passed away in 2005: "At a time when
I had very little business being called an actor, he made things so
easy for me. It was a learning experience that was very warm and loving
for all seven years."
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