Rick Springfield
Australian-American musician and actor Rick Springfield also has “ordained minister with ULC” on his resume! Born in 1949 in a suburb outside of Sydney, Springfield began playing in various bands while he was stationed in England. He connected with the group MPD Ltd., and together they toured South Vietnam, entertaining Australian troops.
Upon his return to Australia, he formed the group Wickedy Wak with former band member Danny Finley. After collaborating with the band Zoot on Wickedy Wak’s single, “Billie’s Bikie Boys”, he replaced Roger Hicks as the band's lead guitarist and vocalist until 1971, when the band split. Deciding to launch a solo career, he signed with Sparmac Records and issued his debut single, “Speak to the Sky”.
Upon moving to the United States in 1972, he signed with Capitol Records and issued the US release of the same hit single, reaching number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1972. Mission Magic!, an ABC-TV Saturday morning cartoon series is where Rick Springfield made his TV series debut, starring as himself in the cartoon series. Shifting his focus to his budding acting career, he appeared on the show, The Six Million Dollar Man, which opened the door for more guest appearances, on such shows as The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and Battlestar Galactica television series.
In 1981, Springfield expanded his focus, once again, and released his album Working Class Dog, with RCA. Not expecting the album to be much of a success, he simultaneously accepted a role on the soap opera General Hospital, as Dr. Noah Drake. However, the hit single “Jesse’s Girl” went number one, and found him touring and acting at the same time, with the song's success bolstering the show's ratings! He continued to pursue his two loves, and found success in roles like Mick Barrett, on the TV Series High Tide from 1994-1997, and Dr. Irving Pitlor on HBO’s True Detective (2015). He won American Music Awards 1983 Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, and a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, for “Jesse’s Girl”.
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