Rick Springfield is a known Australian artist who has built a career in several different fields: he was an actor and a singer, songwriter and an author – he was considered to be one of the most versatile artists in Australia.
Early years
He was born as Richard Lewis Springthorpe on August 23, 1949 in Guildford, New South Walis in Australia. Guildford is a suburb of West Sydney.
His mother was named Eileen Louise and his father was Norman Springthorpe. His mother’s parents were from England and father’s were Australian.
His father served in the Army as an officer and his mum was a housewife. Since his father was in the Army the family lived in an army camp and used all army benefits they were entitled to.
He was a young teenager of 13 when he asked his parents to buy him a guitar because he liked it’s sound the best.
The family moved to England in 1958 because his father was stationed there. They have been there until 1963 and they went back and forth several times during his father’s military career. This is the reason why he feels so connected to his British fans.
Career development
He was nineteen years old when he was invited to join a pop-rock group Rockhouse, by the group’s guitarist Pete Watson. Pete noticed his talent and couldn’t let it slip away.
He toured through Vietnam with the same group (called “MPS Ltd” in that period). They entertained Australian army which was stationed there. The group returned to Australia and changed it’s name for the second time.
They were now called “Wickedy Wak” and gained two new members.
One year later, Rick became the leading singer and a guitarist in a new group he joined: “Zoot”.
The group decided to attract attention by their new style: “Think Pink – Think Zoot!”They began dressing up in pink satin and this idea brought them a huge fanbase, mostly teenage girls.
They became more known but their image looked less serious than it should be. They even had a single called “Hey Pinky”, which pointed on the colour of their outfit.
That is why they started changing their image, wanting to look as a serious rock group.
They made a cover of a song played by The Beatles, called “Eleanor Rigby”. He liked singing songs from The Beatles ever since he was on their concert in Australia when he was just a young boy, nine to ten years old.
The band split up by the end of 1971, not succeeding in their plan to become a relevant Australian group.
Rick was successful enough as a vocalist to manage releasing a solo single named “Speak to the Sky”. He did it after signing a contract with Sparmac Records. The owner of the label was Robie Porter and he became his manager and a chief producer.
His first album “Beginnings” was recorded in London but Rick eventually relocated to the USA.
“Speak to the Sky” was released in United States by a new record label “Capitol Records” and reached Top 20 on Billboard Hot 100 chart.
His album “Beginnings” also made it to the Billboard chart which he considered as a huge success.
He signed to this record label in 1973 and released his 2nd album “Comic Book Heroes”, which was produced again by Robie Porter.
He joined the crew of ABC’s “Mission: Magic!” Cartoon series as a performer of singles in it.
He released an album for Australian market, named “Mission: Magic!”. None of the singles from this album made it to the charts.
He signed to a new record label called “Chelsea Records” and they released his album “Wait for Night”. The album had one single which made it to the top charts in United States: it was “Take a Hand”.
He decided to focus on his acting career and roles in TV dramas. He was very well liked by TV audience who always voted him into Top 5 actors on TV.
He released a new album “Working Class Dog” in 1981 but this time it produced a big hit: “Jessie’s Girl” made it to No.1 both in United States and in Australia.
The second hit was “I’ve Done Everything for you”. This love song was one of the most played singles of the year.
The following albums were “Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet” from 1982 and “Living in Oz” from 1983.
He was often mistaken for Bruce Springsteen which was very frustrating for him. He even sang about this in a song called “Bruce”, which was on his 1984 album called “Beautiful Feelings”.
He stated that he wasn’t mad or dissapointed with it, just that he found it boring to correct people about who he was, so he just kept silent and wait for Bruce’s fans discover the difference themselves.
He starred in a musical drama film from 1984 called “Hard to Hold”. He played the main role but also made the whole film’s soundtrack. The movie wasn’t a big hit.
Rick released his new album in 1985 titled “Tao”. “State of the Heart” and “Celebrate Youth” were the most successful singles from this album. He appeared in the charity concert “Live Aid”. He released his last album in 2018 called “The Snake King”. It was released by “Frontiers Records”.
In 1977 he managed to get his first acting role on “The Six Million Dollar Man”.
In 1978 he starred in “Saga of a Star World”. His most notable role was in a famous soap opera “General Hospital”. It was in time when he became a star as Dr. Noah Drake. He played this role for two years (1981-1983) and became a star because of his character.
In 1998 he had co-starred in a TV movie alongside Parker Stevenson and Terry Farrell. The movie was called “Legion”.
In the next few years he starred in movies “Nick Knight”, “Dying to Dance” and in series “Human Target”, ‘Robin’s Hood” and “High Tide”.
He accepted a part in a Broadway play called “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” in 1995. This musical was a hit and it was nominated for a Tony Award. He was very good as a t
He had a few appearances in a popular series “Californiacation” and in “Hawaii Five-O”.
In 2005, he returned to his role in a TV series “General Hospital” and played Dr. Drake since. Another role where he played a doctor was in “True Detective” where he acted as a psychiatrist.
In 2015 he acted with Meryl Streep in “Ricki and the Flash” comedy-drama.
He had a role in an American fantasy TV series “Supernatural” and in “Mamma Mia”. He joined the crew in “American Horror Story: Cult” in 2017.
He publically spoke about the depression he fought for years. He was only seventeen when he tried to hang himself.
In 1981 his father Norman died and three years later Rick got married. He married Barbara Porter and they have kids together: Liam and Joshua. He released his autobiography “Late, Late At Night: A Memoir” in 2010.
In 2014 he gained his star on “Hollywood Walk of Fame”. This was a breathtaking atmosphere and his family was with him the whole time.
Personal life
His son Liam is also an actor and they both acted in one episode of “General Hospital”. This is one of the longest and most viewed soap operas in America’s TV history. He sold over 20 million records and is one of the most selling Australian authors.
He is known for practising a blood-type-based diet: very little meat, a lot of fish and water. He tries to keep himself in balance due to the fact that he had big emotional problems while he was a teen.
Quick summary
Full name: Richard Lewis Springthorpe
Date of birth: August 23, 1949
Birthplace: Guildford, New South Wales, Australia
Age: 69
Profession: actor, singer, songwritwer
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 71 kg
Net Worth: $12 million
