- Richard Burgi -
- Richard Burgi -
Heartfelt Thanks to Bert and Carla from the RBFC (Richard's Fan club) for providing the following biography:
"I've
had three clear thoughts in my life," Richard Burgi told People
Online. "One, I was going to get married and have a family, one I was going
to be an actor and one I was going to surf."
The first was achieved when Richard married Lori Kahn in November 1995; their son, Jack Charles, was born in December 1996. Marriage and fatherhood agree with him; in fact, they "changed my life around," he says. "I'm more in love than I've ever been. I can't imagine anything that surpasses this."
It's not surprising that acting has been one of Richard's long-term goals; music and theater are practically in his blood. The third of four children, Richard was born on July 30th, 1958 into a family with deep and abiding roots in the performing arts. "It was a crazy household. My dad and mom would play music, and my older brother and I played in bands, so there was always some activity going on... I think my dad's credo was, 'Keep your eyes and ears open, a smile on your face and your big mouth shut.'"
Richard's first taste of acting came "when an old girlfriend was directing a play when I was in high school, and she asked me to come in and read. I was playing in a band and playing sports, and I thought, sure, I can fit it in."
Though his interest in acting was established early on, it took Richard a while to decide how to pursue it as a career. "At the time when I made the decision to become an actor, I was 28, and a lot of those tumultuous late teen-early 20s years, I was supporting myself in various jobs. So I knew in high school I was going to be an actor, I had this vision in my head, this voice or premonition, whatever you want to call it, that's what I was going to do, but I was kind of like, well, I don't know how to go about that."
After high school, Richard spent time traveling throughout Europe and the U.S. before finding his way to New York, where he worked construction jobs in Harlem and as a squash pro at the Manhattan Squash Club. Acting classes led to work in commercials and cameo appearances and eventually to roles on Daytime television. From 1986 to 1988, Richard played Chad Rollo on NBC's "Another World," followed by Glenn Harrington on CBS's "As The World Turns" (88-89), Randy Stone on ABC's "One Life to Live," (1990) and Philip Collier on NBC's Los Angeles-filmed "Days Of Our Lives" (92-93).
Richard's Daytime work and eventual relocation to the West Coast led to roles on a number of popular dramas, sitcoms, and movies -- the Danielle Steele miniseries "Message from 'Nam," the movie "Payback," popular series such as "Matlock," "Jake and The Fatman," "Seinfeld," "Anything But Love," "Empty Nest," "Nurses," "Who's the Boss," and "The Flash," produced by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo. His first shot at a pilot was Glen Larson's "Chameleons," with Stewart Granger and Crystal Bernard, which became the telefilm of the same name. A recurring role in 1994 as the diabolical Lane Cassidy on Paramount's "Viper," also produced by Bilson and DeMeo's Pet Fly Productions, led to a lead role as Detective Mack Wolfe in the Hawaii-based "One West Waikiki" with Cheryl Ladd. The demise of "One West Waikiki" meant Richard was available to audition for a new action drama from Pet Fly Productions called "The Sentinel."
Richard played the part of "The Sentinel's" Jim Ellison, a man blessed -- or cursed -- with hyperactive senses, from 1995 through 1998. Though Ellison, with his enhanced sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, could have easily been portrayed as a flawless superhero, Bilson and DeMeo chose not to, which Richard appreciated.
"It would be so easy to portray this guy simply as an action character," Richard said in an 1997 interview. "But their concept of adding the human element to him works well. It gives Ellison a real cynical kind of assertive edge, something which he needs just to survive. Plus, the writing and the character developments offer attempts at bringing a little bit of humor into the drama surrounding this guy's life."
"Even more than that," Richard added, "I'm happy with the fact that this guy also is a regular schmuck who just happens to have something extraordinary that helps him out in certain situations -- and also can hinder him in others."
Despite a successful summer 1998 multimedia campaign by fans of "The Sentinel," which won the show a reprieve from cancellation and an additional eight episodes, "The Sentinel" ended its run on UPN with "The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg," the season -- and possibly series -- finale filmed in December of 1998.
During the summer 1998 hiatus, Richard starred in a Paramount remake of the 1950's cult classic, "I Married a Monster (From Outer Space)," playing the alien-possessed Nick Farrell.
Since stepping out of Ellison's shoes, Richard has appeared on a number of popular dramas and sitcoms including CBS's "Touched By An Angel," NBC's "Providence" and "Veronica's Closet," and two episodes of the controversial and short-lived FOX comedy "Action." He also voiced the part of an evil poacher on the Nickelodeon animated series "The Wild Thornberrys," a role he sought out because the show is a favorite of his three-year-old son.
Richard started working on the last of his three goals -- his surfing skills -- after moving to California, where he spent many hours with friends riding the waves off Laguna Beach. It's a thrilling pastime he hopes one day to share with his son; when asked where he sees himself in ten years, Richard's answer was on a surfboard, with his son beside him, while his wife watches from the beach with a big smile on her face.
6. May 2000