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Dick was very modest about his career in acting, never bragging to his classmates at the public school he attended. It's usually the moms who recognized him and asked for an autograph. |
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Dick appeared in the December 8, 1983 episode of Simon and Simon, playing Kyle Vogel. He was in the middle of a card game when something made him look up. {pics courtesy Vera} |
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In the episode, Simon and Simon were helping a WWII veteran find his old bomber, the "Betty Grable." The episode was titled, "Betty Grable Flies Again." {pics courtesy Vera} |
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Kyle's mother, Christy (seen here), was played by Cassie Yates. {pics courtesy Vera} |
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Dick had a voice role (Mortimer Mouse/Tiny Tim) in the 1983 Disney movie, Mickey's Christmas Carol. {Photo courtesy amazon.com} |
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Disney obviously liked the work Dick did in Mickey's Christmas Carol. That same year, he did voice work on Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore. He was the voice of Roo. {Photo courtesy amazon.com} |
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In 1985, Dick appeared in a commercial for Rice-a-Roni Bread Stuffing. Obviously the boy liked it. His bowl was empty. {pics courtesy Vera} |
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Dick appeared in the October 11, 1987 TV Movie, After the Promise. In the film, Mark Harmon plays an itinerant Depression-era carpenter. When his wife dies, Harmon is declared an unsuitable parent purely on the basis of his financial situation, and his four children are made wards of the Court. Fighting against the seemingly invulnerable legal system of the era, Harmon struggles to regain custody of his children-a struggle that drags on for eight years. Robert W. Lenski's teleplay was inspired by a true story. Because of the time-span of the plotline, Harmon's four children are portrayed by 13 different juvenile actors. Dick, credited as Richard Billingsley, played Wayne, at age 14. {photo and description courtesy blockbuster.com} |
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Dick played 14 year old Wayne Jackson. He was first shown being picked up from the mental health hospital by his father. He kept trying to leave "The Boys Home." It was a horrible place where his brother Ellis ended up staying until he was picked up by his father eight years later. Wayne was taken to the mental health hospital after his last attemp to run away. |
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In the car ride home, Ellis {Trey Ames} tried to talk to his brother. He kept telling him he was Ellis. Wayne was in the mental health hospital for two or three years and he didn't remember his brother. He was kind of in his own little world. |
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After getting "home" Wayne left, not really running away. He went for a walk and his step-mom and father went looking for him. He was looking for his "mom." |
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Wayne's dad explained to him again that his "real" mom was dead. He didn't recall anyone telling him this before. |
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This was Dick's largest movie role. Wayne was mentally and physically abused and it was a challenging role to act out for a 13 year old boy. He did a great job. |
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Wayne's step-mom offered to be his mom. She told him "I know I am not your 'real' mom, but we can try it out and see how it goes." |
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In the end all four boys were back with their father where they belonged. |
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Rich appeared in the April 2003 issue of Muscle and Fitness magazine. Not only was he one of the cover models, but he was the main athlete in the "Rock Hard Challenge" spread. The section was a reader challenge for a three month program to "whip you into your best-ever shape." {all workout photos by Rick Schaff at Dr. Perry's International Sportsmedicine Institue, nutrition photos by Robert Reiff} |
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Clearly Rich is already in his "best-ever shape." Throughout the section, Rich demonsrated various exercises that are part of the workout. On the left, the "Incline dumbell curl" and on the right, Gabrielle Tuite, his workout partner. Below are the three phases of the squat jump. |
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The two phases of the Romanian Deadlift. |
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The two steps of the "Lying French Press." |
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In addition to working out, one must eat healthy, too. |
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Packing healthy snacks to go is a must as well. Pre-cooking chicken breasts means you'll have food ready fast, avoiding fast food. |
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Rich is not done with modeling. He is scheduled to appear in several more issues of fitness magazines in upcoming months. |
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In 2003, Rich did additional modeling work for Prosourceonline.com. The store bills itself as "America's #1 Sports Supplement Superstore." This picture of Rich appears on the front page for the website. {pic courtesy prosourceoneline.com} |
Where Are They
Now?
We received an update from Dick, who now goes by Rich, in
February 2002...
"I am currently 27 years old and work as a Consultant for
Korn/Ferry International, the world's largest retained
search firm. I got out of acting at the age of 13 as I
wanted to lead a normal life and not miss out on being a
teenager. I played sports all throughout high school and
received a football/academic scholarship to Claremont
McKenna College where I earned a dual degree in
Economics/Psychology." In early 2003, Rich began modeling
for fitness magazines. He will appear in several magazines
in upcoming months.
You
are currently visiting The
Children Who Grew Up in Salem, a website
for the young actors who grew up on the daytime soap Days
of Our Lives![]()