Richard Dean Anderson
| Richard Dean Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Richard Dean Anderson at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner |
|
| Born | January 23, 1950 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Occupation | Television, film, voice actor |
Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American television actor. He played the title character in the television series MacGyver and, more recently, Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1. He lives in Malibu, California, with his family.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
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 Ramsey High School, then Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and St. Cloud State University.[1]
Career
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. Originally written as a TV movie, when the decision was made to make Legend a series, the original teleplay became the two-hour pilot episode. 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 a style foreshadowing the 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,[2] 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.[3] 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.
Richard Dean Anderson and The Simpsons
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.
Other appearances
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".
Private life
Anderson has never married. He has a daughter from a prior relationship with Apryl Prose, named Wylie Quinn Annarose, born August 2, 1998. He has dated Dana Delany, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sela Ward, Teri Hatcher, Deidre Hall, and German ice skater Katarina Witt.
Anderson is 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 and Stargate SG-1, as his character mostly avoided using firearms during the series. However, in Stargate SG-1, he regularly appears armed with a sidearm or FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon.
Filmography
Starring roles
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1976 | General Hospital | Dr. Jeff Webber | (1976-1981) TV Series |
| 1982 | Young Doctors in Love | Drug Dealer | (uncredited) |
| 1982 | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Adam McFadden | (1982-1983) TV Series |
| 1983 | Emerald Point N.A.S. | Navy Lt. Simon Adams | TV Series |
| 1985 | MacGyver | Angus MacGyver | (1985-1992) TV Series |
| 1986 | Ordinary Heroes | Tony Kaiser | |
| 1986 | Odd Jobs | Spud | |
| 1992 | In the Eyes of a Stranger | Jack Rourke | TV |
| 1992 | Through the Eyes of a Killer | Ray Bellano | TV |
| 1994 | MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis | Angus MacGyver | TV |
| 1994 | Beyond Betrayal | Bradley Matthews | TV |
| 1994 | MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday | Angus MacGyver | TV |
| 1995 | Legend | Ernest Pratt/Nicodemus Legend | TV Series |
| 1995 | Past the Bleachers | Bill Parish | TV |
| 1996 | Pandora's Clock | Capt. James Holland | TV |
| 1997 | Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game | Mayor Killian Darkwater (voice) | Video Game |
| 1997 | Firehouse | Lt. Michael Brooks | TV |
| 1997 | Stargate SG-1 | Colonel/Brigadier General/Major General Jack O'Neill (USAF) | (1997-2005) (recurring 2005-2007) TV Series |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1: The Alliance (Cancelled) | AF Brigadier General Jack O'Neill (voice) | Video Game |
| 2006 | MasterCard Super Bowl XL Commercial | Angus MacGyver (never explicitly identified) | TV Commercial |
| 2008 | Stargate: Continuum | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | Direct-to-DVD Movie |
Guest-starring roles
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
| 1981 | The Facts of Life | Brian Parker | 2.16 "Brian and Sylvia" |
| 1981 | Today's F.B.I. | Andy McFey | "The Fugitive" |
| 1982 | The Love Boat | Carter Randall | 5.24 "Isaac Gets Physical/She Brought Her Mother Along/Cold Feet" |
| 1990 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Himself | |
| 1990 | The Joan Rivers Show | Himself | |
| 1991 | The Joan Rivers Show | Himself | |
| 1991 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Himself | |
| 1992 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Himself | |
| 1996 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Himself | |
| 1997 | Newton's Apple | Himself | |
| 1998 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Himself | |
| 2000 | Donny & Marie | Himself | |
| 2000 | The Martin Short Show | Himself | |
| 2000 | National Geographic Explorer | Himself | "North America's Last True Wilderness" |
| 2004 | The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn | Himself | |
| 2004 | Stargate Atlantis | Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 1.1 "Rising (Part 1)" |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 9.1 "Avalon (Part 1)" |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 9.3 "Origin" |
| 2006 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) | 17.17 "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore" |
| 2006 | Stargate SG-1 | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 10.6 "200" |
| 2006 | Stargate Atlantis | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 3.6 "The Real World" |
| 2006 | Stargate Atlantis | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 3.10/3.11 "The Return" |
| 2007 | Stargate SG-1 | Major General Jack O'Neill, USAF | 10.14 "The Shroud" |
Producer
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1994 | MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis | Executive Producer | TV |
| 1994 | MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday | Executive Producer | TV |
| 1997 | Stargate SG-1 | Executive Producer | TV Series |
| 1997 | Firehouse | Executive Producer | TV |
| 2004 | From Stargate to Atlantis: Sci Fi Lowdown | Executive Producer | TV |
Composer
| Year | Title | Other notes |
| 1988 | MacGyver | TV Series (song "Eau d'Leo" in episode "The Negotiator") |
References
- ↑ Kate Ritter. "Biography: Life and Career," Richard Dean Anderson Web Site, March 27, 2004
- ↑ Kate Ritter. "RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON: LEAVING?" Richard Dean Anderson Web Site, July 9, 2004
- ↑ Haugsted, Linda (2004-09-20). "Through the Wire", Multichannel News, Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved on 2008-10-06.
External links
- Richard Dean Anderson at the Internet Movie Database
- Richard Dean Anderson at Allmovie