Rick Springfield life and biography

Rick Springfield (born Richard Lewis Springthorpe) is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor.
He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States.
He had a No. 1 hit with "Jessie's Girl" in 1981 in both Australia and the US. He received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Jessie's Girl".
He followed with four more top 10 US hits, "I've Done Everything for You", "Don't Talk to Strangers", "Affair of the Heart" and "Love Somebody".
His two US top 10 albums are Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982). As an actor, he portrayed Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital, from 1981 to 1983 and during 2005 to 2008.
In 2010, Springfield published his autobiography, Late, Late at Night : a Memoir.

In 1978, he 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, season 4 ("Dwarf in a Helium Hat") of The Rockford Files.
In 1981, Springfield 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 #1, and Springfield ended up both playing the role of Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 through 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," and the fame from the show likewise boosted the sale of the song.

In 1984, Springfield made one full length feature film, Hard to Hold,and in 1998 he played in the film Legion. Springfield 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, Springfield starred in the film Nick Knight (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 2 episodes of the series Forever Knight).

In 1991, Springfield appeared in the made for TV movie, Dying to Dance.
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. From February 2000 through December 2002, Springfield performed in EFX Alive! at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Rick stars 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 also starred in "Ho'ohuli Na'au", an episode of Hawaii Five-0. He played the role of photographer Renny Sinclair.

In December 2005, Springfield was asked by the General Hospital producers to return to the show, and he returned to his role as Dr. Noah Drake after a 23-year absence.His run was subsequently extended, although as of 2007 he remains a guest star on recurring status, and not a full contract cast member.

In 1974, Springfield dated and lived with then 15-year-old actress Linda Blair. He considered it his first "grown up" relationship, despite nearly ten years' difference in their ages.

When being interviewed about his autobiography Late, Late at Night, Springfield admitted that he dated while married, and that it was a problem that he has overcome. He mentioned dating Demi Moore, Connie Hamzy, Morgana Welch and Geraldine Edwards, the inspiration for Penny Lane in Almost Famous, as well as others.

In 1985, when his first son was born and after the release of his Tao album, Springfield took a break from his musical career to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence.
Springfield had also battled depression in the 1970s, when the serious illness of his father (who died on 24 April 1981) and career troubles caused him to "hit the wall" and contemplate suicide.

A new feature documentary titled "An Affair of the Heart: The Journey of Rick Springfield and his Devoted Fans" was filmed in 2010 and will be premiering in Malibu on September 2011.

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