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Richard Dean Anderson |
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| Richard Dean Anderson | |
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 Richard Dean Anderson at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner |
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| Born | January 23 1950 Minneapolis, Minnesota  United States |
| Partner(s) | Apryl Prose (1996 – present) |
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, the longest-running North American science fiction series.
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 Ohio University and St. Cloud State University.[1]
Career
He started his acting career appearing on General Hospital as Dr. Jeff Webber from 1976 to 1981 . He also starred as Adam in the television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (based very loosely on the movie of the same name).
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 12 episodes about a dime novel writer who against his will has to play the role of his own fictional character.
From 1997 to 2007, 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 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 ten of SG-1, and three episodes of season three of Stargate Atlantis.
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.
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 (season 17 episode 17, air date April 9 2006) 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 named Wylie Quinn Annarose who was born in 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.
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) TV Series |
| 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 | 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" |
| The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn | Himself | ||
| Stargate Atlantis | Brigadier Jack O'Neill USAF | 1.1 "Rising (Part 1)" | |
| Stargate SG-1 | Major General Jack O'Neill USAF | 9.1 "Avalon (Part 1)" | |
| Stargate SG-1 | Major General Jack O'Neill USAF | 9.3 "Origin" | |
| 2006 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) | "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" |
| 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 |
| 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") |
Quotes
- Amanda Tapping combined Anderson's most prominent roles saying (as Carter, while looking at the Abydos Stargate's DHD): Amazing. This is what was missing from the dig at Giza. This is how they controlled it. It took us 15 years and three supercomputers to MacGyver a system for the gate on Earth. (Anderson-O'Neill gives the others a weird look) (Source imdb.com)
- "No, I don't think I Can't Believe It's Not Butter tastes as good as real butter, and I never did, either. I guess that's the kind of thing that has always made me a social outcast."
Notes
- ^ 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
External links
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