Richard Biggs

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Richard T. Biggs (March 18, 1960 – May 22, 2004) was an American television and stage actor, best known for his roles on the television series Days of Our Lives and Babylon 5.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Biggs attended the University of Southern California on scholarship, studying theatre. He briefly taught at a Los Angeles high school before landing his first major television role, that of Dr. Marcus Hunter on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Biggs played Hunter from 1987 to 1992.

Biggs then landed the role of Dr. Stephen Franklin on the hit science fiction series Babylon 5 (1994-1998), and appeared as the same character in an episode of the spin-off show, Crusade (Each Night I Dream of Home). After Babylon 5, he played roles on Any Day Now and Strong Medicine, as well as the recurring role of Clayton Boudreaux on the soap opera Guiding Light.

Biggs' stage credits include The Tempest, Cymbeline and The Taming of the Shrew.

Biggs was diagnosed with hearing problems when he was 13, and was partially deaf in one ear, completely deaf in the other. He frequently used his celebrity status to raise money for the Aliso Academy, a private school in Rancho Santa Margarita, California that serves both deaf and hearing children.

Biggs died suddenly in his home in Los Angeles stemming from a tear in his aorta on May 22, 2004. He is survived by a wife and two sons.

At the time, he was a regular on the television series Strong Medicine; following his death, his character was killed in an unseen traffic accident. Biggs' final film appearance was in We Interrupt This Program, a short film released as a companion piece to the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead on DVD. (In that short film, Biggs' Babylon 5 costar, Bruce Boxleitner, is heard as the voice of the President of the United States.) An episode of the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, in which Biggs appeared as a guest star, was dedicated in his memory.

[edit] External links

• Official web site
• Richard Biggs at the Internet Movie Database
• Death Announcement by J. Michael Straczynski
• Richard Biggs Memorial Video by John E. Hudgens