Rick Springfield

He was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe in Guildford, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to Eileen Louise (Evennett) and Norman James Springthorpe, a Lt. Colonel in the Australian Army. His maternal grandparents were English, and his father was of English and some Scottish descent. Rick spent his childhood on various army bases in Australia and Britain. . He came to the U.S. early 1970s, and recorded an album, Beginnings. It had one "major" hit - Speak to The Sky. After that came "Comic Book Heroes", which was marginally successful. He learned to speak English with an American accent to further his acting career, after he lost his record label. While he waited for his big break, he signed a contract with Universal television. Springfield made his acting debut on The Six Million Dollar Man in an episode entitled "Rollback". In December, he appeared on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, portraying Ned Nickerson. On 20 January 1978, Springfield guest-starred on an episode of Wonder Woman titled "Screaming Javelin". The character he portrayed was Tom, the concerned fiancé of an Olympic gymnast who had been kidnapped by a megalomaniac. Later in 1978, Springfield played the character of Zac in Saga of a Star World, which was, with some differences, the pilot episode of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. He also co-starred as Keith Stewart in episode 17 of season 4 ("Dwarf in a Helium Hat") on The Rockford Files and as Tommy Archer in episode 4 ("Murder on the Flip Side") of The Eddie Capra Mysteries in 1978. In 1979, he guest-starred on an episode of The Incredible Hulk entitled "The Disciple" as Michael Roark, a San Francisco police officer who must decide whether to avenge the death of his father who was also a police officer, or simply provide justice and capture the alleged criminal.

In 1981, he became a soap opera star on General Hospital. He had signed a contract with RCA Records and already recorded the album Working Class Dog, which neither he nor his agent had expected would do very well, which is why Springfield took the soap role. But the song "Jessie's Girl" went to No. 1 and Springfield ended up both playing the role of Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 to 1983, while simultaneously going on tour with his band. The success of the song boosted the ratings of the show which, according to Springfield, "became the biggest show on TV for that summer". The fame from the show also boosted the sale of the song. In 1984, Springfield made a full-length feature film titled Hard to Hold. In 1998, he played in the horror film Legion. He also wrote the soundtrack for Hard to Hold. In 1992, he played the title role in the short-lived ABC series Human Target, based on the DC Comics character of the same name. In 1989, he starred in the film Nick Knight, in which he played an 800-year-old vampire seeking a cure for his condition. The film was later remade as the first two episodes of the series Forever Knight. In 1991, he appeared in the made-for-TV movie Dying to Dance. In 1994 he starred in the series Robin's Hoods. From 1994 to 1997 he starred in the television series High Tide that ran for 69 episodes. In addition to the roles on television and in film, Springfield also acted in musical theatre. In 1995, he was a member of the original Broadway cast of the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe. This Tony Award-nominated musical featured the songs of rock & roll songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Springfield starred in several episodes of the third season of Showtime's Californication. His first appearance was in episode 3 on 11 October 2009, in which he plays a "twisted version of himself"; a "hedonistic Rick Springfield" from the past. Springfield starred in "Ho'ohuli Na'au", an episode of Hawaii Five-0. In December 2005, Springfield was asked by the General Hospital producers to return to the show in his role as Dr. Noah Drake after a 23-year absence. His run was subsequently extended as a recurring guest star and not a full contract cast member until 2008. Springfield returned to General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake in April 2013. Springfield also starred in "Everything Goes Better With Vampires", an episode of Hot in Cleveland. He played the role of a toll booth worker who pretended to be the famous singer/musician Rick Springfield in an attempt to impress women. Springfield had a recurring role on True Detective as Dr. Irving Pitlor, a psychiatrist. In 2015 Springfield appeared alongside Meryl Streep in the movie Ricki and the Flash. In 2016, Springfield was cast in the twelfth season of The CW series Supernatural where he played rocker Vince Vincente and Lucifer. In October 2017, Springfield appeared as Pastor Charles on FX's American Horror Story: Cult. In July 2018 Rick played himself on Episode 4 of the YouTube original series Sideswiped (TV series). When Springfield was 17, he attempted suicide, Springfield has been dealing with depression for several decades. At a concert at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL in March of 2006, Springfield announced he had become a US citizen. Springfield's autobiography, Late, Late at Night: A Memoir was released in 2010. In August 2012, Late, Late at Night was named No. 23 of "The 25 Great Rock Memoirs of All Time" by Rolling Stone.