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Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American television actor. He played the eponymous hero in the television series MacGyver and, more recently, Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1. He currently resides in Malibu, California, with his family. You know you are a cultural icon when your TV character transcends time and the tube to become part of the national lexicon – with “pulling a MacGyver” an a.k.a. for attacking a near-impossible problem with an inventive solution. As the ultimate problem solver, “MacGyver” (1985-1992), Richard Dean Anderson extended his presence in the pop culture landscape by demonstrating his remarkable talent and versatility through solid work in other TV shows and films as well, most notably on the successful sci-fi series, “Stargate SG-1.” 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 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 had many adventures hitchhiking 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. Though 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 and a street mime and in a Renaissance-style cabaret. He worked briefly in Marineland, where his jobs included holding fish in his mouth for killer whales to leap up and snatch. Subsequently, he appeared in plays and formed a rock band called "Rick Dean and the Dante" with his friend Carl Dante in which he sang and played 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 play 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 "The Facts of Life" (1979) and "The Love Boat" (1977) and was cast as the star in two CBS series, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1982) and "Emerald Point N.A.S." (1983), but both lasted just 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 has continued 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), both 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, after "MacGyver" ended he moved on to TV movies 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 that aired on UPN. He also served as executive producer of the series, in which 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 has also been 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 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, 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 have aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. There have been rumors 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 culminated in his departure from the series in 2005. He has never married but has 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 to choose roles that demonstrate his versatility as an actor. Many of his characters, particularly MacGyver and O'Neill, are strong characters who, although tormented by personal tragedies such as the death of family members and friends, can continue on bravely and valiantly. Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson and Jocelyn Rhae Carter, and has Scottish, Swedish, Norwegian and Mohawk Native American ancestry. He grew up in Roseville, Minnesota and attended Roseville Area High School, then Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and St. Cloud State University. After college, Anderson participated with friends in a cross-country bike ride from Minnesota to Alaska. The adventure opened his mind to what he wanted to do, which was become an actor. He moved to Los Angeles, where he did many menial jobs such as work as a mime and a stagehand at a marina. He started his acting career appearing on General Hospital as Dr. Jeff Webber from 1976 to 1981 . He also starred as Adam in the CBS television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (based very loosely on the movie of the same name) from 1982-1983. In the 1983-1984 season, he played a lieutenant, Simon Adams, on the 22-week Dennis Weaver series Emerald Point NAS on CBS. In the story line Adams steals away Celia Warren (Susan Dey), the wife of naval lawyer Jack Warren (Charles Frank). Anderson came to fame with the hit television series MacGyver which lasted from 1985 to 1992 and was highly successful throughout its entire run, with the lead role of Angus MacGyver. In 1995 he starred in Legend, a comic series of only twelve episodes about a dime novel writer within the Wild West who against his will has to play the role of his own fictional character. Although Richard Dean Anderson co-starred with John de Lancie in Legend, two 1990 episodes of MacGyver (Serenity (Season 5, Episode 12) and MacGyver's Women (Season 6, Episode 8) ) featured Wild Wild West storylines with the same quirky style evidenced within Legend. From 1997 to 2005, he starred as Colonel/General Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1, based on the movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. In season six, he chose to have a reduced role in the series due to his desire to spend more time with his young daughter. His role was continually reduced until he left as a regular cast member at the end of season eight semi-retiring from acting for personal reasons, preferring instead to make a few guest appearances. He has appeared in two episodes of season nine of SG-1, two episodes of season ten, three episodes of season three of Stargate Atlantis and the second direct-to-DVD film Stargate Continuum. He was presented with an award at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington, D.C. on September 14, 2004 because of his role as star and executive producer of Stargate SG-1, a series which has portrayed the Air Force in a positive light since it first premiered. It was presented by the then-Air Force Chief-of-Staff, General John P. Jumper. The last recipient of the award was James Stewart in 1987. At the same dinner, Anderson was made an honorary Brigadier General. Anderson has always been a great fan of the television show The Simpsons and in 2005, he was invited to guest star on the show, which he had continually referenced during his time on SG-1. He voices himself in an episode called "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore" in which he is kidnapped by Selma and Patty Bouvier; Anderson's MacGyver character is a longstanding heartthrob for the sisters of Marge Simpson. Dan Castellaneta, the voice actor who portrays Homer Simpson (among other characters), made a guest appearance on Stargate SG-1 ("Citizen Joe") and, in describing his unnatural ability to see the life events of Jack O'Neill, made reference to O'Neill's fondness for The Simpsons. He also appears in the 1997 PC game Fallout as the voice of Killian Darkwater, who was the clever head of the city made entirely of post-nuclear junk (Junktown). Anderson briefly reprised his role as Angus MacGyver in 2006 when he appeared in a MasterCard commercial during Super Bowl XL. 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). The official MasterCard website for the commercial refers to it as "the Return of MacGyver". Anderson has never married. He has a daughter named Wylie Quinn Annarose who was born August 2, 1998 by his ex-partner, Apryl Prose. He has also dated Teri Hatcher, Sela Ward, Lara Flynn Boyle, and the famous German ice-skater Katarina Witt. Anderson is also an avid ice hockey player and skier. He is so much of a fan of the sports that he has deliberately appeared playing these sports in several of his TV shows, including MacGyver. Anderson is an advocate of gun control, a trait he has in common with his role on MacGyver, as his character mostly avoided using firearms during the series. |
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