Richard dean anderson biography wikipedia

His travels took him briefly to New York City, and he spent some time experiencing the cultural revolution of the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco before finally settling in Los Angeles. Cloud State production of Threepenny Opera in Ohio University production of Three For Tonight in In Los Angeles, Richard worked as a street mime and juggler and as a jester-singer at a Renaissance-style cabaret.

He also worked for a time at Marineland of the Pacific, where he wrote, directed, and performed in the marine mammal shows. His job included holding fish in his mouth for the killer whales to leap up and snatch, and he tells of the powerful whack to the face he took while rehearsing his routine with an orca. He appeared in plays and live theater as well, including landing a role in Superman in the Bones at the Pilgrimage Theatre.

Richard came to national attention in as Dr. Jeff Webber on the popular daytime drama General Hospital. After five years in that role, he felt it was time to move on, and he left the show to try his hand at prime time television. He returned to series television in two short-lived television series for CBS, first as the eldest brother in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in , and then as a hot-shot Naval pilot in Emerald Point N.

In Richard appeared with Valerie Bertinelli in Ordinary Heroes , which was intended as a feature film but was released instead as a TV movie in In this remake of the movie Pride of the Marines , Richard gave a moving performance as a soldier who is blinded three days before returning home from Vietnam. He fondly tells the story of how he won the role.

He had been called in for an audition and asked to "cold read" an unfamiliar script. Being very nearsighted, he asked to wear his glasses for the reading, and that simple unselfconscious gesture immediately convinced the show's producers that they had found the right man to become their unpretentious hero. MacGyver ran for seven successful years and continues to enjoy popularity all around the world.

Following MacGyver , Richard sought to break out of his action hero persona, and he demonstrated his incredible talent for a variety of roles when he appeared in several movies for CBS television. In he starred as a disillusioned cop opposite Justine Bateman in In the Eyes of a Stranger , and later he appeared as a psychotic stalker pursuing Marg Helgenberger in Through the Eyes of a Killer.

His chilling performance as an abusive husband opposite Susan Dey in the movie Beyond Betrayal caused Daily Variety to remark, " As MacGyver was coming to an end, Richard and his producing partner, Michael Greenburg, had signed an overall deal with Paramount Pictures to develop and produce several films and series for television in conjunction with their own newly created production company, Gekko Film Corp.

Richard explains that the name of their company originated during his vacation in Tahiti a few years earlier. As he was drifting to sleep late one night and watching the moon reflecting off the Pacific, a little gecko ran up onto his chest, paused, cocked its head, looked directly at Richard, did a tiny pushup, and then continued on its way.

Richard found a spiritual significance in the moment, and when he investigated the folklore surrounding the little creatures, he discovered that geckos are considered to be a symbol of good fortune. He decided that the lucky lizard was the perfect symbol for his new production company, but he opted to keep the original Latin spelling, and thus "Gekko Film Corp" was born.

In their first joint project with Paramount, Richard acted as both star and executive producer of two MacGyver movies for television, both of which were filmed in London in In it, Richard portrayed Ernest Pratt, an s dime novelist who reluctantly takes on the role of his literary hero, Nicodemus Legend, in a lighthearted blend of western and science fiction.

Once again Richard took on the role of executive producer, as well as demonstrating a considerable talent for comedy, in what he has described as his favorite role to date. Following the premature cancellation of Legend , Richard signed an agreement with CBS television and filmed a pilot episode for a new television series, Firehouse , in which he starred as a New York City fireman.

The pilot was not picked up by the network, however, and it was instead reedited to air as a television movie. His next appearance was as the heroic captain of a doomed airliner in the blockbuster NBC miniseries Pandora's Clock , which received critical acclaim and was an important ratings winner for the network. The series began production in Vancouver in February of and debuted in July to outstanding ratings on Showtime.

After five years, Stargate moved to the Syfy channel where it remained for five more years. He appeared, sporadically, in the latest spin-off series, Stargate Universe His role in the SG-1 series was substantially reduced in its seventh and eighth seasons, which culminated in his departure from the series in Since , his partner has been Apryl A.

Children Wylie Anderson. Stuart Anderson. Stuart Jay Anderson. Jocelyn Rhae Carter. The last recipient of the award was James Stewart in When he was 17, he rode his bike 5, miles from Minnesota to Alaska. He started out with some friends but travelled the last 33 days alone. When he was 16, Richard Dean Anderson broke both of his arms in separate accidents on the ice.

He broke his left arm first, and while skating three weeks later, he broke his right arm so badly he was in the hospital for 3 months. His elbow snapped backward, and he's still got pins in there. Reprised his role of MacGyver for a Mastercard commercial. The commercial debuted during Superbowl XL , nearly 14 years after the series ended. Had dreams of playing professional hockey until he broke both of his arms during separate games.

Richard Dean Anderson born January 23, [ 1 ] is a retired American actor. He began his television career in , playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital , and then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver — In , Anderson returned to television as the lead actor of the series Stargate SG-1 , a spin-off of the film Stargate , replacing actor Kurt Russell.

He played the lead from to and had a recurring role from to His last name, Anderson, derives from his Finnish-Swedish paternal grandfather. For a short time, he tried to become a jazz musician. Anderson studied to become an actor at St. Cloud State University and then at Ohio University [ 11 ] but dropped out before he received his degree because he felt "listless".

Right after his junior year in college, he participated with friends in a cross-country bicycle ride from Minnesota to Alaska. He worked as a whale handler in a marine mammal show, [ 11 ] as entertainment director at Marineland, a musician in medieval dinner theater, [ 13 ] and as a street mime and juggler. Jeff Webber from to Afterwards, Anderson guest-starred as one half of an interracial couple in an episode of The Facts of Life that also served as a backdoor pilot.

Anderson came to fame in the lead role of Angus MacGyver in the hit television series MacGyver , which lasted from to and was highly successful throughout its seven-year run. Anderson stated that he was initially drawn to the role because he "was intrigued by the idea of a TV hero who had an aversion to guns", noting his own aversion to violence and how the MacGyver character differed from popular action heroes of that time.

Anderson would go on to produce two follow-up movies to MacGyver in During the run of the program, Anderson suffered a number of injuries related to doing his own stunt work, [ 23 ] some of which required surgery. He suffered a compressed disc in his back when he fell into a hole while filming an episode midway through the first season of the show; he continued filming in a "fairly crippled" state for a year and a half before having surgery that improved his condition, but still experienced pain from the incident.

Anderson watched the Stargate film over and over again and came to the conclusion that the film had "great potential" and signed a contract with the Stargate producers.

Richard dean anderson biography wikipedia

He also requested Stargate SG-1 be more of an ensemble show so that he would not be carrying the plot alone as he did on MacGyver. Davis 's advice. Jumper [ 31 ] presented Anderson with an award for his role as star and executive producer [ 32 ] of Stargate SG-1 , a series which portrayed the Air Force in a positive light from its premiere.

In , he co-starred with John de Lancie in Legend , a comic series of only twelve episodes about a dime novel writer in the Wild West who, against his will, has to play the role of his own fictional character. Originally written as a TV movie, with the decision to make Legend a series, the original teleplay became the two-hour pilot episode.

A great fan of the television show The Simpsons , which he repeatedly referenced during his time on SG-1 , Anderson was invited in to guest star on the show. He voiced himself in the episode " Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore ", in which the actor was kidnapped by Selma and Patty Bouvier , Marge Simpson 's sisters, his MacGyver character having been their longstanding heartthrob.

While the plot follows the "MacGyver Formula", it is somewhat satirical of the series, showing unlikely if not impossible solutions to the obstacles faced by Anderson's character in one shot, he cuts through a thick rope with a pine-scented air freshener. Anderson cameoed as MacGyver in what seemed to be a Saturday Night Live advertisement parody featuring the show's recurring character MacGruber portrayed by Will Forte , but was rather a real commercial for both Saturday Night Live and Pepsi , in which the titular character becomes obsessed with the soft drink.

The company was involved with Stargate SG-1 , producing every episode from to with the exception of The company itself has served as Anderson's backing agency. Anderson has supported Waterkeeper Alliance , an organization trying to stop water pollution. Anderson is a member of the Board of Trustees for Challengers Boys and Girls Club , a youth organization established in with the help of MacGyver producer Stephen Downing, and featured in an episode from season 4 of the show.

Anderson received the Celebrity Award from the Make-a-Wish Foundation because of his commitment to the foundation. He is also a supporter for various Sclerosis Society non-profit organizations and has done several public service announcements to show his support for the various organizations. Anderson is an avid supporter of the Special Olympics and was one of many speakers at the opening ceremonies.

In recent years, Anderson has helped several environmental organizations around the world. Anderson divides his time among Vancouver , Los Angeles and northern Minnesota. From to , his partner was Apryl A. Anderson left Stargate SG-1 because he wanted to spend more time with his daughter stating, "Being a father, well, I don't know if this is a change, but it makes me want to get out of here faster.

Get off the clock. Just 'cause the baby is my reason for living, my reason for coming to work. Contents move to sidebar hide. Category : Lists of awards received by American actor. Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata. Toggle the table of contents. List of awards and nominations received by Richard Dean Anderson.

Add languages Add topic. Awards and nominations Award. Gemini Awards. TV Land Awards. Jules Verne Award for Excellence in exploration, environmental and cinematic achievements. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.