Richard Dean Anderson

Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American actor, possibly best known for his role as the eponymous hero of the popular television series MacGyver and, more recently, as Jack O'Neill in the long-running science fiction series Stargate SG-1.

Biography

Early Life

Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson and Jocelyn Rhae Carter, and has Irish, Swedish, Norwegian and Mohawk Native American ancestry. He grew up in Roseville, Minnesota and attended Ohio University and St. Cloud State University.

Career

He started his acting career in soap opera (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.

From 1997 to 2005, he starred as Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1, based on the movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. In Season Six, he opted 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 in Season Nine, preferring instead to make a few guest appearances. Gateworld recently reported that he will be in five episodes of the upcoming Season Ten of SG-1, a significant increase over his role in Season Nine.

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.

Anderson has always been a great fan of the television show The Simpsons and finally 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, 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.

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 reprised his role as MacGyver in 2006 when he appeared in a Mastercard commercial during Super Bowl XL.

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 the famous German ice-skater Katarina Witt, Teri Hatcher, Sela Ward and Lara Flynn Boyle.

He is also an avid ice hockey player and skier and 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
2006	Mastercard Superbowl XL Commercial	MacGyver	TV Commercial
2005	Stargate SG-1: The Alliance (Unofficially Cancelled)	AF Brigadier General Jack O'Neill (voice)	Video Game
1997	Stargate SG-1	Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill	(1997-2005) TV Series
1997	Firehouse	Lt. Michael Brooks	TV
1997	Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game	Mayor Killian Darkwater (voice)	Video Game
1996	Pandora's Clock	Capt. James Holland	TV
1995	Past the Bleachers	Bill Parish	TV
1995	Legend	Ernest Pratt/Nicodemus Legend	TV Series
1994	MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday	Angus MacGyver	TV
1994	Beyond Betrayal	Bradley Matthews	TV
1994	MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis	Angus MacGyver	TV
1992	Through the Eyes of a Killer	Ray Bellano	TV
1992	In the Eyes of a Stranger	Jack Rourke	TV
1986	Odd Jobs	Spud
1986	Ordinary Heroes	Tony Kaiser
1985	"MacGyver"	MacGyver	(1985-1992) TV Series
1983	"Emerald Point N.A.S."	Navy Lt. Simon Adams	TV Series
1982	"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"	Adam McFadden	(1982-1983) TV Series
1982	"Young Doctors in Love	Drug Dealer	(uncredited)
1976	"General Hospital"	Dr. Jeff Webber	(1976-1981) TV Series

Guest-starring Roles

Year	Title	Role	Episode
2006	"The Simpsons"	Himself (voice)	"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore"
2004	"Stargate Atlantis"	Brigadier Jack O'Neill USAF	1.1 "Rising: Part 1"
2004	"The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn"	Himself
2000	"National Geographic Explorer"	Himself	"North America's Last True Wilderness"
2000	"The Martin Short Show"	Himself
2000	"Donny & Marie"	Himself
1998	"Late Night with Conan O'Brien"	Himself
1997	"Newton's Apple"	Himself
1996	"Late Night with Conan O'Brien"	Himself
1992	"The Arsenio Hall Show"	Himself
1991	"The Arsenio Hall Show"	Himself
1991	"The Joan Rivers Show"	Himself
1990	"The Joan Rivers Show"	Himself
1990	"The Arsenio Hall Show"	Himself
1982	"The Love Boat"	Carter Randall	5.24 "Isaac Gets Physical/She Brought Her Mother Along/Cold Feet"
1981	"Today's F.B.I."	Andy McFey	"The Fugitive"
1981	"The Facts of Life"	Brian Parker	2.16 "Brian and Sylvia"

Producer

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2004	From Stargate to Atlantis: Sci Fi Lowdown	Executive Producer	TV
1997	Firehouse	Executive Producer	TV
1997	"Stargate SG-1"	Executive Producer	TV Series
1994	MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday	Executive Producer	TV
1994	MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis	Executive Producer	TV

Composer

Year	Title	Other notes
1988	"MacGyver"	TV Series (song "Eau d'Leo" in episode "The Negotiator")

External links

Richard Dean Anderson Web Site

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