Following his screen debut in 1949's Twelve O'Clock High, Richard Anderson was groomed for stardom at MGM. His stature in Hollywood seemed assured when he married the daughter of former MGM luminary Norma Shearer. But Anderson was -- by his own admission -- a less-than-noble figure in his younger days, losing both prestige and several plum film roles through his arrogance, his explosive temper, and his after-hours carousing. A kinder, mellower Richard Anderson resurfaced on television in the 1970s, gaining a modest but loyal fan following thanks to his weekly appearances as Oscar Goldman in The Six Million Dollar Man. Anderson also played Goldman on the spin-off series The Bionic Woman -- the result being that, for several years in the mid-1970s, he was simultaneously co-starring on two different TV series in the same role. Richard Anderson's additional TV-series stints included Mama Rosa (1950), Bus Stop (1961), Dan August (1970), Cover-Up (1984) and Dynasty (1986-87 season).
Richard Anderson
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- Was inspired to become an actor as a child after seeing a Gary Cooper film, and later used a scene from Cooper's The Cowboy and the Lady for his MGM screen test.
- Served in the U.S. Army during WWII.
- Studied at the Actors' Laboratory in Los Angeles, which would later become the Actors' Studio in New York.
- Was discovered by an MGM talent scout while performing at the Laguna Playhouse in Santa Barbara, and offered a six-year contract.
- Played Caleb Cornish in a 1959 Broadway production of The Highest Tree.