Gary Riley (born April 28, 1967) is a former child and teen American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

with numerous film,

made-for-TV films A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

and television credits.

Film and television career

Riley played Charlie Hogan, one of his best-known roles, in the 1986 film '' Stand by Me'', and also received notice for his portrayal of Dave Frazier in the 1987 comedy '' Summer School''. He made notable appearances as a thief who steals money from

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

's character's wallet in '' Planes, Trains, and Automobiles'' and as a naive metalhead customer whom Ken Kessler (portrayed by

Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as ''Ruthless People'', ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', ''Stripes'' and ''Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the fil ...

) cannot bear to rip off after discovering his girlfriend is pregnant in ''

Ruthless People ''Ruthless People'' is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and written by Dale Launer. It stars Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Anita Morris, and Helen Slater, with Bill Pullman ...

''. He also made guest appearances on such TV shows as ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'', ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the Se ...

'', a special hour-long episode of ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

'' directed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

, and ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series that centers on a high-technology military helicopter, code-named ''Airwolf'', and its crew. The show follows them as they undertake various exotic missions, many involving esp ...

''. His last role was as a thug in ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

'', with

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

. In 1986 he auditioned for the roles of "Bill S. Preston Esquire" and Ted "Theodore" Logan in ''

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' is a 1989 American science fiction film, science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson (screenwriter), Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the Bill & T ...

'' being one of the final picks along with

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

Alex Winter Alexander Ross Winter (born July 17, 1965) is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He played the slacker Bill in the 1989 film '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' and its sequels ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'' (1991) and '' Bill & Ted Face ...

Matt Adler Matthew D. Adler (born December 8, 1966) is an American film actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in the 1980s teenage films: '' Teen Wolf'', '' White Water Summer'', '' North Shore'', and '' Dream a Little Dream''. He currently works ...

, and Donovan Leitch. In 2020 his audition tapes which had never been released publicly were released exclusively by the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''.

Personal life

Riley grew up in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

, attended

Newport Harbor High School Newport Harbor High School is a public high school in Newport Beach, in Orange County, California, in the United States. It is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The school primarily serves students in western Newport Beach and sou ...

, and did acting training at South Coast Repertory Young Conservatory Players. As the 1980s came to a close, he spent much of his time following the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and later

Phil Lesh and Friends Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead. Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups of musicians have played under the name, including gr ...

. In addition, Riley has been a frequent guest of the "Adventure Club Podcast" on ACPN, with hosts

Guy Hutchinson Guy Hutchinson (February 7, 1884 – December 9, 1941) was an American businessman and college football player. Hutchinson was born in New York City, and later moved to New Jersey. He was a graduate of Yale University in 1906. While attending t ...

and John J. Galbo. He will call in from different bars and restaurants with various guests in the entertainment industry. He participated in the ''Summer School'' Q&A at

New Beverly Cinema The New Beverly Cinema is a historic movie theater located in Los Angeles, California. Housed in a building that dates back to the 1920s, it is one of the oldest revival houses in the region. Since 2007, it has been owned by filmmaker Quentin Tar ...

in the summer of 2013. Riley has said he lived off residual checks for almost twenty years after leaving Hollywood. He has lived in Portland and Eugene, Oregon and currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Gary 1963 births Living people People from Irvine, California American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from St. Louis 20th-century American male actors Newport Harbor High School alumni