Stephen Collins

For other people named Stephen Collins, see Stephen Collins (disambiguation).
Stephen Collins

Collins in 2010
Born Stephen Weaver Collins
October 1, 1947
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Alma mater Amherst College
Occupation Actor, writer, director, musician
Years active 1974–present
Spouse(s) Marjorie Weinman (m. 1970; div. 1978)
Faye Grant (m. 1985; div. 2015)
Children 1

Stephen Weaver Collins (born October 1, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and musician,[1] best known for playing Eric Camden on the long-running television series 7th Heaven. He is also known for the roles of Captain Will Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and more recently as Dr. Dayton King on the short-lived ABC TV series No Ordinary Family. He also appeared in a supporting role in the TV series Revolution as Dr. Gene Porter, father of Elizabeth Mitchell's character Rachel Matheson.

Early life

Stephen Collins was born on October 1, 1947 in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of Madeleine (née Robertson) and Cyrus Stickney Collins, an airline executive.[2][3] Collins is the great-great-grandson of General James Baird Weaver, the 1880 Greenback Party presidential candidate and the 1892 Populist Party ("People's Party") candidate for president. Collins was raised with his two older brothers in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and attended Amherst College, graduating cum laude. He played bass guitar and rhythm guitar in a number of rock and roll bands at Amherst, including Tambourine Charlie & the Four Flat Tires, The Naugahyde Revolution (with Jim Steinman, then a fellow student, on keyboards), and The Flower & Vegetable Show (he has played his guitar on 7th Heaven, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and in the 2007 romantic comedy Because I Said So).

Career

Collins' Broadway credits include his 2008 role as King Arthur in Spamalot and prior appearances in Moonchildren, The Ritz, The Loves of Anatol, and No Sex Please, We're British; Off Broadway he appeared opposite Sigourney Weaver in Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy, as Macduff to Christopher Walken's Macbeth at Lincoln Center, and as husband to Julie Andrews in the Stephen Sondheim revue, Putting It Together at Manhattan Theatre Club in 1993.

Collins is probably best known for his role as Eric Camden in the television drama series 7th Heaven. He is also known for portraying captain/commander Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Other notable television credits include Jake Cutter in the cult favorite Tales of the Gold Monkey and Tattingers, as well as guest appearances in The Waltons, Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels, and numerous miniseries and made-for-television movies. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work opposite Ann-Margret in the miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles and he played John F. Kennedy in the miniseries A Woman Named Jackie, which won the Emmy for Best Miniseries. He also played the lead role opposite Lauren Hutton in the made-for-TV movie The Rhinemann Exchange, based on Robert Ludlum's bestselling novel.

Collins has co-starred with Diane Keaton in two movies: The First Wives Club (1996) and Because I Said So (2007). He has co-starred with Meredith Baxter in three films, All the President's Men, A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story, and Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter, the latter two being made-for-TV movies broadcast on CBS in 1992.

In the 2010–11 television season, Collins starred in the short-lived ABC series No Ordinary Family.[4] He also appeared as a potential love interest/boyfriend for Ron Rifkin's character Saul Holden, on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, in fall of 2010. He also appeared in season eight of The Office playing Andy Bernard's dad in the episode "Garden Party".[5]

In 2013, Collins began appearing in the NBC series Revolution as Dr. Gene Porter, the leader of the town of Willoughby and father of Rachel Matheson (played by Elizabeth Mitchell).He also appeared in Gone with the Wind mini series.

Personal life

Collins was married to Marjorie Weinman from 1970 to 1978.[6][7] He married actress Faye Grant in 1985; together they have a daughter, Kate, born in 1989. Collins filed for divorce from Grant in 2012.[8] The divorce was finalized in January 2015.[9]

Collins is an Episcopalian[10] as well as a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation and has taken part in the advanced TM Yogic Flying technique since 1980.[11] He is a national co-director of the Committee for Stress-Free Schools, which advocates practicing TM in schools and funds TM research.[12]

Sexual abuse allegations

In October 2014, the New York City Police Department began investigating Collins after an audio tape leaked to the media revealed a male voice—purported to be that of Collins—admitting to past sexual abuse of a minor. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson stated Collins had been investigated by the department in 2012 after receiving a claim from forty years earlier regarding sexual abuse. The LAPD further stated their investigation did not allow them to "substantiate the allegation."[13][14][15]

In a December 2014 interview with People magazine, Collins admitted he had "inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors" in 1973, 1982, and 1994.[16][17][18]

Filmography

Television

Films

Discography

Books

Collins is the author of two novels: Eye Contact (1994) and Double Exposure (1998).

Published works

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Collins online
  2. ↑ Stephen Collins Biography (1947-)
  3. ↑ Cyrus Stickney Collins '39
  4. ↑ "Stephen Collins Bumped to Series Regular on No Ordinary Family". TVGuide.com.
  5. ↑ "Office Scoop: Stephen Collins Is Andy's Dad!". TVline.com.
  6. ↑ "Stephen Collins: Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Collins, Stephen, 1947–". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Stephen Collins and Faye Grant split after 27 years". CBS. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Stephen Collins and Faye Grant Settle Divorce". People. January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Stephen Collins content to be in '7th Heaven'". SouthCoastToday. Retrieved January 25, 2001.
  11. ↑ Pool, Bob (June 14, 2003). "Religion; Seeking Site for a 'Peace Palace'; Devotees of 'yogic flying' unveil plans to build a $4-million meditation center in the L.A. area. It would be the fourth such facility in the U.S.". Los Angeles Times. p. B.24.
  12. ↑ "Committee for Stress-Free Schools: About Us". tmeducation.org. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  13. ↑ Prokupecz, Shimon; Almasy, Steve (October 7, 2014). "Source: '7th Heaven' actor subject of molestation allegations". CNN. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  14. ↑ Villareal, Yvonne (October 7, 2014). "'7th Heaven' pulled after Stephen Collins molestation allegations". LA Times. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  15. ↑ Hicks, Tony (October 8, 2014). "Stephen Collins' lawyer says wife tried blackmailing him with molestation claims". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  16. ↑ Meg Wagner; Thomas Tracy; Nancy Dillon (October 7, 2014). "Stephen Collins, pastor-dad in ‘7th Heaven,’ admits to sexually abusing underage girl, exposing himself to 2 others (audio)". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  17. ↑ Collins, Stephen (December 17, 2014). Stephen Collins Confesses Sexual Abuse of Underage Girls to People: 'I Did Something Terribly Wrong'. People. Interview with Lynette Rice. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  18. ↑ Oldenburg, Ann (December 17, 2014). "Stephen Collins: 'I did something terribly wrong'". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2014.

External links

Preceded by
Jonathan Hadary
October 31, 2006 – June 5, 2008		 Actor playing King Arthur on Spamalot
June 5, 2008 –
September 14, 2008 		Succeeded by
Michael Siberry
September 16, 2008 –
January 11, 2009