Richard Hill (actor)

Last updated

Rick Hill
No. 24 [1]
Position Fullback, [1] tailback [2]
Personal information
Born:January 26, 1953 (1953-01-26) (age 71) [3]
Harlan, Kentucky [3]
Height6 ft 1 [1]  in (1.85 m)
Weight206 [1]  lb (93 kg)
Career history
College
High school Perrysburg (OH)

Richard "Rick" Hill (born January 26, 1953) is an American actor, author, and former gridiron football player. He is perhaps best known for his appearances in several films from veteran producer Roger Corman, including playing the title role in two installments of his Deathstalker series. He is also a published writer of non-fiction, having collaborated with controversial baseball figure Pete Rose on a 2004 tell-all book.

Contents

Football career

Hill was a three-sport letterman for Perrysburg High in Perrysburg, Ohio. In football, he twice won MVP honors in the Northern Lakes League, and was also a league all-star in basketball. [4] [5] He was recruited by the Georgia Tech football program, [4] but his career was plagued by injuries. [6]

Before 1972, NCAA players were required to spend a year on a freshman team before graduating to the varsity team. [7] Despite a slow start which he attributed to an ankle sprain, [8] Hill led the so-called "Baby Jackets" in ground gains, [9] in part because future College Hall of Famer Randy Rhino was moved to defense. [10] Hill's second year started slow again on a weak team, and he was redshirted partway into the season, although head coach Bill Fulcher called him "probably as good a back as we have at Tech". [11]

Hill came out strong in the 1973–74 campaign and led the team with six touchdowns by early November, when he suffered a ligament tear that took him out of action for the rest of the schedule. [12] Unsure if he would even be able to play until late into the pre-season, Hill took the field for the 1974–75 campaign [13] but was quickly sidelined with a hamstring injury. [14] He recovered and helped a rejuvenated Tech offense to several school records in the final stretch. [15] [16]

Hill was a Rhodes Scholarship nominee at Georgia Tech, from where he graduated in 1975 with a major in business. [6] [17] Thereafter, he briefly enrolled at Emory University to study law, before attempting to turn pro. Hill trained with the Detroit Lions of the NFL, but did not make the team. [6] He signed a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in the spring of 1976, [18] but suffered a dislocated shoulder during the preseason and left training camp [19] with no appearance on record in the regular season. [20]

Film career

Hill's acting break came when he was scouted at a Los Angeles beach and offered the small part of a lifeguard in a production called One of a Kind. [6] The same setting begat a leading role in Beach Patrol , the 1979 pilot for a proposed Aaron Spelling series, although the show was not picked up. [21] Hill was able to capitalize on his athletic background to keep his career going: he played a college football star (albeit from Michigan) in Detour to Terror, an NBC telefilm starring and produced by O.J. Simpson, [6] [22] and had a recurring role as another football player on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives . [23] He also guest-starred as a varsity football player on an episode of Charlie's Angels , another Spelling production. [24] In 1981, he was cast in Today's FBI , a re-imagining of classic show The FBI , which ran for a single season on ABC. [17] In the later stages of his career, Hill has occasionally worked as a director of episodic television. [25]

In 1983, Hill made his theatrical debut in Deathstalker , which was part of a wave of heroic fantasy films that followed Conan The Barbarian . [26] The film was profitable for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, and Hill subsequently starred in several action films for Corman (including the third Deathstalker sequel) and his associate Cirio Santiago. [27] Hill also appeared in Warrior Queen, a film aping the Deathstalker template but made by another exploitation producer, Harry Alan Towers. In 1994, he played a secondary protagonist in the final installment of the Class of... series, Class of 1999 II . Around the same time, the actor made another push for a leading role with Immortal Soldier, an android film which he co-wrote and was to feature genre veterans Maria Conchita Alonso, Jeff Wincott, Robert Davi, Michael Ironside and Louise Fletcher. However the project, promoted by upstart Hatch Entertainment, did not materialize. [28]

In the 1980s, Hill was a member of the Hollywood All-Stars, a touring celebrity softball team raising money for various charitable causes. [29]

Writing career

Early in his entertainment career, Hill expressed an interest in writing, and was working on a spec script based on his college recruiting experience. [6] A baseball fan, he wrote another about the life of Jim Eisenreich, who battled through Tourette syndrome to become a Major League player. After that one was optioned, his agent tried to pitch him as a writer for a planned biopic of Pete Rose, [30] a fellow Ohioan with whom Hill had become acquainted at a 1986 celebrity softball game. [31] While neither film projects panned out, Rose read the Eisenreich script and chose Hill to write a book about his life. In the resulting opus, My Prison Without Bars , Rose admitted to betting on MLB games for the first time, an accusation he had steadfastly denied before. [32]

In 2023, Hill published another biography, dedicated to humanitarian doctor and fellow Georgia Tech graduate G.B. Espy. [33] Hill met Espy during a public speaking engagement, and the idea of the book was suggested to him by former Tech basketball player Roger Kaiser, an admirer of the doctor's career. [34]

Selected filmography

Note: This Rick Hill is not to be confused with several homonyms, including an Australian actor and a kickboxer who appeared in Bloodfist II for his frequent employer Roger Corman.

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983 Deathstalker Deathstalker
1986The DevastatorDeacon PorterAlso known as The Destroyers
1987Warrior QueenMarcus
1988Fast GunJack Steiger
1990Mark of the BeastDan Allen
1991 Dune Warriors John
Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans Deathstalker
Eye of the Widow Chris Jones
1994 Class of 1999 II: The Substitute G.D. Ash
1997 Inferno TrevorAlso known as Operation Cobra
1998Storm TrooperDenton

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1978 ABC Afterschool Specials LifeguardEpisode: "One of a Kind" [6]
1979 Beach Patrol Earl "Hack" HackmanTV movie
Charlie's Angels Steve FitzpatrickEpisode: "Angels on Campus"
SteeletownCoach BarnesTV movie
1980 Eight is Enough Scoutmaster Harvey2 episodes
Days of Our Lives Kyle McCullough24 episodes
Detour to TerrorKurtTV movie
Where the Ladies GoSteveTV movie
1981 Today's F.B.I. Al Gordean19 episodes
1982 Magnum, P.I. Lee ChambersEpisode: "The Eighth Part of the Village"
1981

1983

 The Dukes of Hazzard Matt Mallory / Phil Ackley2 episodes
1983 Cheers Tibor SvetkovicEpisode: "Now Pitching, Sam Malone"
1984 The Master Ron GordonEpisode: "Kunoichi"
1988 Matlock Vince CampbellEpisode: "The Body"
1991 The New Adam-12 Bomb Squad OfficerEpisode: "Playing with Fire"
1993 Raven Al StrikerEpisode: "Poisoned Harvest"
1998 Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book RussellEpisode: "What Goes Around..."
Born Free—Director
5 episodes
Hollywood Safari—Director
Episode: "War Games"
2002TVography—Director and producer
Episode: "Lee Majors, Hollywood's Bionic Hero"

Related Research Articles

<i>Deathstalker II</i> 1987 film by Jim Wynorski

Deathstalker II, also known as Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans, is a 1987 Argentine-American fantasy comedy-adventure film directed by Jim Wynorski and a sequel to 1983's Deathstalker. It was written by Neil Ruttenberg and starring John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John LaZar and María Socas. Terlesky replaced Rick Hill, the protagonist from the previous film, in the starring role of Deathstalker. This is the last sword and sorcery movie that Roger Corman produced in Argentina during the 80s.

<i>Deathstalker</i> (1983 film) 1983 sword and sorcery film

Deathstalker, also known as El cazador de la muerte, is a 1983 Argentine-American sword and sorcery film directed by James Sbardellati, and starring Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Bernard Erhard and Lana Clarkson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everett Strupper</span> American football player (1896–1950)

George Everett Strupper Jr., known variously as "Ev" or "Strup" or "Stroop" was an American football player. He played halfback for Georgia Tech from 1915 to 1917. Strupper overcame deafness resulting from a childhood illness and was selected as an All-American in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball</span> College baseball team

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Georgia Tech athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Yellow Jackets play their home games in Russ Chandler Stadium and they are currently coached by Danny Hall.

The 1941 Georgia Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1941 college football season. In their third season under head coach Wally Butts, the team compiled a 9–1–1 record, finished third in the SEC, outscored opponents by a total of 319 to 85, and defeated TCU in the 1942 Orange Bowl. The team played its home games at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and at Ponce de Leon Park and Grant Field in Atlanta.

The 1942 Georgia Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the University of Georgia in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1942 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Wally Butts, the Bulldogs compiled an 11–1 record, shut out six of twelve opponents, won the SEC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 378 to 73. The Bulldogs' 75–0 win over Florida remains the largest margin of victory in the history of the Florida–Georgia football rivalry.

New Concorde (NC) is an American Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first production companies to develop and take advantage of video as a distribution tool.

<i>Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans</i> 1991 American film

Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans, also called Deathstalker IV: Match of the Titans, is a 1991 sword and sorcery fantasy film written and directed by Howard R. Cohen. Rick Hill, who played the title role in the first film, reprises his role in this film. It is the fourth and final installment in the Deathstalker tetralogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team</span> American college football season

The 1917 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in American football during the 1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The Golden Tornado, coached by John Heisman in his 14th year as head coach, compiled a 9–0 record and outscored opponents 491 to 17 on the way to its first national championship. Heisman considered the 1917 team his best, and for many years it was considered "the greatest football team the South had ever produced". The team was later named national champion by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, and National Championship Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1918 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team</span> American college football season

The 1918 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1918 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The Tornado was coached by John Heisman in his 15th year as head coach, compiling a record of 6–1 and outscoring opponents 466 to 32. Georgia Tech played its home games at Grant Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917 College Football All-Southern Team</span>

The 1917 College Football All-Southern Team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-Southern Teams selected by various organizations for the 1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. Georgia Tech won the SIAA and the south's first national championship. Walker Carpenter and Everett Strupper were the first two players from the Deep South selected first-team All-American.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team</span> American college football season

The 1920 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team represented the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1920 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The Tornado was coached by William Alexander in his first year as head coach. The team compiled a record of 8–1, outscored opponents 312 to 16, and tied for first place with Georgia and Tulane in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1915 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team</span> American college football season

The 1915 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1915 college football season. The Tornado was coached by John Heisman in his 12th year as head coach, compiling a record of 7–0–1 and outscoring opponents 233 to 24. Georgia Tech played its home games at Grant Field. The Tech team claims a Southern championship, and had what was then the greatest season in its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904 Georgia Tech football team</span> American college football season

The 1904 Georgia Tech football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1904 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. This is the first year for Georgia Tech under coach John Heisman. Lob Brown was the school's first consensus All-Southern player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1906 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team</span> American college football season

The 1906 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1906 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. In the third season under coach John Heisman, Georgia Tech posted a 6–3–1 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1942 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team</span> American college football season

The 1942 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team was an American football team that represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1942 college football season. In their 23rd season under head coach William Alexander, the Yellow Jacket won the first nine games of the season, before losing its final two games, including a loss to Texas in the 1943 Cotton Bowl. They were ranked No. 5 in the AP poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Collings</span> American football player

David Ayres Collings Jr. was an American college football player. He played four seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs, 1919–1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team</span> American college football season

The 1973 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by head coach Bill Fulcher, in his second and final year with the team, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta. Fulcher resigned as head coach at the end of the season, claiming that he simply didn't enjoy the job.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Tech–Vanderbilt football rivalry</span> American college football rivalry

The Georgia Tech–Vanderbilt football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Vanderbilt Commodores. Both universities are founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Southern Conference (SoCon), and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). Georgia Tech leads the series all time 20–15–3.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Georgia Tech Game". Official Program. Clemson: Clemson University Athletic Department. September 28, 1974. p. 43.
  2. ↑ Hyatt, Richard (September 29, 1971). "Frosh Open Grid Slates". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 2-D  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  3. 1 2 "Rick Hill". imdb.com. Amazon. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Hyatt, Richard (November 24, 1971). "King, Hill to duel at flats". The Atlanta Journal. p. 40  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  5. ↑ "Sidelines: Perrysburg, Lake set to induct hall-of-fame members". toledoblade.com. January 26, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Greppi, Michelle (December 7, 1981). "Ex-Tech player scoring on 'FBI'". The Atlanta Journal. p. 6-C  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  7. ↑ "Freshmen Given Varsity Status in Major Sport". New York Times. January 9, 1972.
  8. ↑ Arey, Norman (November 23, 1971). "Baby Jackets' Hill Finally 'Showed Up'". The Atlanta Journal. p. 6-C  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  9. ↑ Hunter, Jim (April 2, 1972). "Horne is Healed... Ready". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. p. 7-D.
  10. ↑ Krueger, John (November 25, 1971). "Frosh Teams Look Alike". The Macon Telegraph. p. 2C  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  11. ↑ Bowers, Harley (November 7, 1972). "Fulcher: Duke Proved We're Over our Head". The Macon Telegraph. p. BA  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  12. ↑ "Tech's Hill Lost for Season". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 13, 1973. p. 57.
  13. ↑ "Notre Dame Favored to Whip Georgia Tech". The Times Recorder. Zanesville. United Press International. September 9, 1974. pp. 3-B – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  14. ↑ "Georgia Tech Loses Rick Hill". The Macon Telegraph. United Press International. September 19, 1974. p. 4B  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  15. ↑ Roberts, Charlie (April 2, 1975). "Pepper Starts Filling Shoes". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 5-D  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  16. ↑ Roberts, Charlie (October 10, 1974). "Head Prefers to Wear White". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 86.
  17. 1 2 Cain, Scott (June 29, 1983). "Ex-Yellow Jacket fights dark forces". The Atlanta Journal. p. 12-B  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  18. ↑ "Bombers Find Saddle for 'Rider". Winnipeg Free Press. May 29, 1976. p. 65.
  19. ↑ "Veteran, rookie 'take a flyer'". Winnipeg Free Press. June 16, 1976. p. 74.
  20. ↑ "1976 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Roster". statscrew.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Tanned Androids and Bikini Beauties on 'Beach Patrol'". The Washington Post . April 30, 1979. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  22. ↑ Detour to Terror (television). Los Angeles: Orenthal Productions. February 22, 1980.
  23. ↑ Reed, Jon-Michael (August 23, 1980). "What happened on the soaps". Chicago Tribune. United Feature Syndicate. p. 15. Football player Kyle McCullough got a kick out of Maggie at the casino.
  24. ↑ Contant, Éric; Gourdeau, Philippe (1995). "Quatrième saison : 1979–80". Drôles de dames: Entre féminisme et sexisme. Guide du téléfan (in French). Pézilla-la-Rivière: DLM Éditions. ISBN   2877950670.
  25. ↑ "Biography". rickhillspeaker.com. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  26. ↑ Shaffer, R.L. (January 19, 2012). "Sword and Sorcery Collection DVD Review". ign.com. News Corporation. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Feature Films, with Rick Hill, Roger Corman". imdb.com. Amazon. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  28. ↑ Helving, San (January 1993). "Notules Lunaires". Mad Movies (in French). No. 81. Paris: Jean-Pierre Putters. p. 7. ISSN   0338-6791.
  29. ↑ "Tucson Sportwatch". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson. May 10, 1985. p. 6–F  – via newspapers.com (subscription required).
  30. ↑ Graser, Marc (September 15, 1999). "Baseball biopic finds home". variety.com. Reed Business Information. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  31. ↑ Saevig, Dan (October 10, 2004). "Perrysburg native co-authored Rose's book". toledoblade.com. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  32. ↑ Curry, Jack (January 6, 2004). "Baseball; Rose, in New Book, Admits Betting on His Team". The New York Times . Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  33. ↑ Hill, Rick (2023). The Apostle: The Miraculous Journey of Dr. G.B. Espy, a Doctor who Defied Borders. Rapid City: Gantrett Media. ISBN   979-8218114060.
  34. ↑ Lough, Mary-Elizabeth. "A Tale Well Told: 'The Apostle' relates Tulane alum's remarkable journey". tulane.edu. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.