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IMDbPro

Richard Biggs(1960-2004)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Richard Biggs in Babylon 5 (1993)
Richard Biggs had a somewhat unsettled childhood as he travelled between Air Force bases where his father was stationed. Because of his itinerant lifestyle he made few friends and changed schools often. When he was seventeen, and living at a missile base in North Dakota, he decided to change his plans for a medical career after playing the lead in a local theatrical production of 'The Wiz'. After that, bitten by the acting bug and never deterred by deafness in one ear, he went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts (majoring in performing arts) at USC's School of Theatre, with the distinguished actor John Houseman as one of his drama teachers. He later went on to give his own acting classes at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon.

Like so many other aspiring performers, Richard had a tough time in his quest to get started in his chosen field. His chief difficulty lay in obtaining membership in the Screen Actor's Guild without experience, yet how was one to acquire experience without a union card ? Living in his car for much of this time, he made ends meet by playing small roles on stage, and, occasionally television. He also worked for a while as a telephone operator answering complaints for an LA waste disposal company. One of his local stage performances, as Romeo at the Ensemble Theatre, impressed an agent who took him on and landed him an audition for a part on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives (1965). Several auditions later, he got the part, and the SAG card as well.

For most of his career on television, Richard played doctors, an irony which was probably not lost on him: Dr.Tomson in The Twilight Zone (1985), Dr. Lecksis in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Dr.Milo Morton in "Strong Medicine", and, of course, Dr.Marcus Hunter, in 1295 episodes of 'Days of Our Lives', from 1985 to 1992. Richard had done his homework for the part by observing a real plastic surgeon in action. However, having played the same individual for such a lengthy period led him later to express doubts about the one-dimensional 'goody two-shoes' nature of the character, who he would have preferred a little 'rougher around the edges'.

A far edgier and more complex part was that of Dr.Stephen Franklin, the chief medical officer of J. Michael Straczynski's cult sci-fi series Babylon 5 (1993). Richard played the humanly flawed, but mercurial character from 1994 to 1998 (also in three made-for-TV movies, and, briefly, in the short-lived spin-off series Crusade (1999), as part of a first-rate ensemble cast. His performances were often extremely compelling, particularly in the 'walkabout' episodes of season three, culminating with 'Shadow Dancing'.

Post-Babylon, Richard played a detective in Any Day Now (1998), returned to soap opera as Clayton Boudreaux in Guiding Light (1952) and had a brief run as a scientist in the unsuccessful TV spin-off Tremors (2003). The character in his last series, Strong Medicine (2000), was killed off in the show because of the actor's tragic, untimely death at the age of 44. Richard Biggs was eulogised by Babylon 5's Straczysnky as a 'consummate professional' and 'quite simply, a terrific guy'.
BornMarch 18, 1960
DiedMay 22, 2004(44)
BornMarch 18, 1960
DiedMay 22, 2004(44)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos17

Richard Biggs in Crossing Jordan (2001)
Bruce Boxleitner, Richard Biggs, Claudia Christian, and Jerry Doyle in Babylon 5 (1993)
Richard Biggs and Marjorie Monaghan in Babylon 5 (1993)
Richard Biggs and Jerry Doyle in Babylon 5 (1993)
Richard Biggs and Jason Carter in Babylon 5 (1993)
Andrea Thompson, Richard Biggs, and Claudia Christian in Babylon 5 (1993)
Richard Biggs in Babylon 5 (1993)
Mira Furlan, Andrea Thompson, Richard Biggs, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, and Michael O'Hare in Babylon 5 (1993)
Mira Furlan, Andrea Thompson, Richard Biggs, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, and Michael O'Hare in Babylon 5 (1993)
Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Andrea Thompson, Richard Biggs, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, and Michael O'Hare in Babylon 5 (1993)
Richard Biggs and Patricia Tallman in Babylon 5 (1993)
Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik, and Andreas Katsulas in Babylon 5 (1993)

Known for

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Jerry Doyle, and Andreas Katsulas in Babylon 5 (1993)
Babylon 5
8.4
TV Series
  • Dr. Stephen Franklin
Days of Our Lives (1965)
Days of Our Lives
5.2
TV Series
  • Marcus Hunter
Bruce Boxleitner, Shari Belafonte, and Claudia Christian in Babylon 5: Thirdspace (1998)
Babylon 5: Thirdspace
6.8
TV Movie
  • Stephen Franklin, M.D.
  • 1998
Gladise Jiminez, Victor Browne, and Michael Gross in Tremors (2003)
Tremors
6.5
TV Series
  • Roger Garrett

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Richard Biggs in Special Report: Zombie Invasion (2004)
    Special Report: Zombie Invasion
    • David Barrows
    • Video
    • 2004
  • Drake & Josh (2004)
    Drake & Josh
    • FBI Man 1
    • TV Series
    • 2004
  • Patricia Richardson and Rosa Blasi in Strong Medicine (2000)
    Strong Medicine
    • Dr. Milo Morton
    • TV Series
    • 2002–2004
  • Crossing Jordan (2001)
    Crossing Jordan
    • Dr. Russell Flynn
    • TV Series
    • 2004
  • Gladise Jiminez, Victor Browne, and Michael Gross in Tremors (2003)
    Tremors
    • Roger Garrett
    • TV Series
    • 2003
  • George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, Ming-Na Wen, Noah Wyle, Laura Innes, Alex Kingston, Eriq La Salle, Kellie Martin, Paul McCrane, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, Maura Tierney, and Goran Visnjic in ER (1994)
    ER
    • Bruce Storchester
    • TV Series
    • 2003
  • Dennis Franz, Jimmy Smits, Sharon Lawrence, James McDaniel, Gordon Clapp, and Nicholas Turturro in NYPD Blue (1993)
    NYPD Blue
    • Sgt. Raymond Snider
    • TV Series
    • 2003
  • Elisabeth Shue and Ted Danson in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)
    CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
    • Anderson's Attorney
    • TV Series
    • 2002
  • Catherine Bell and David James Elliott in JAG (1995)
    JAG
    • Lt. Col. John Swift
    • TV Series
    • 2002
  • Valerie Bertinelli, Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese in Touched by an Angel (1994)
    Touched by an Angel
    • George
    • TV Series
    • 2002
  • Vic Noto in Guiding Light (1952)
    Guiding Light
    • Clayton Boudreau
    • Clayton Boudreaux
    • TV Series
    • 2001–2002
  • Ablaze (2001)
    Ablaze
    • Garrison
    • 2001
  • V.I.P. (1998)
    V.I.P.
    • Griffin Pearce
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint in Any Day Now (1998)
    Any Day Now
    • Bill Moody
    • Bill Moody (1998-1999)
    • TV Series
    • 1998–2000
  • Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)
    Beverly Hills, 90210
    • Dr. Lecksis
    • TV Series
    • 1999

Writer

  • Richard Biggs and Jason Carter in The Biggs and Carter Experience (2004)
    The Biggs and Carter Experience
    • Writer
    • Video
    • 2004

Producer

  • Richard Biggs and Jason Carter in The Biggs and Carter Experience (2004)
    The Biggs and Carter Experience
    • producer
    • Video
    • 2004

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • T.A. O'Neal & Richard Biggs
  • Alternative names
    • Rickie Biggs
  • Height
    • 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
  • Born
    • March 18, 1960
    • Columbus, Ohio, USA
  • Died
    • May 22, 2004
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(ascending aortic aneurysm)
  • Spouse
    • Lori GerberAugust 1, 1998 - May 22, 2004 (his death, 2 children)
  • Other works
    Stage credits include parts in Fanon's People, Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, Cymbeline, The Taming of the Shrew, and As You Like It.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Interviews
    • 2 Articles
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Used money he made selling his autographs at science-fiction conventions to support a school in Orange County for the hearing impaired. From the age of 13, he was totally deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other.

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