Richard William Burgi (, born July 30, 1958) is an American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

actor best known for the roles of Det. Jim Ellison on '' The Sentinel'' and as

Karl Mayer Karl Mayer is a fictional character portrayed by Richard Burgi and created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series '' Desperate Housewives''. He is the ex-husband of housewife Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher ...

on ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

''. He also portrayed

Paul Hornsby Paul Hornsby is an American musician and record producer who has produced gold and platinum records for artists including the Charlie Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, and Wet Willie. Overview Paul Hornsby started playing music at an early ...

in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

daytime soap opera ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', and Ashland Locke in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

daytime soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''.

Early life

Burgi was born in the suburbs of New York City in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

. His family was involved in community theatre. His brother, Chuck Burgi, is a well-known

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

drummer who has most recently toured with

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

. After high school, Burgi travelled through the US and Europe, taking odd jobs.

Career

Burgi began his career in New York, which led to regular roles on the Manhattan-based daytime soap operas ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', '' Another World'' and ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

''. After moving to Los Angeles, he appeared on the serial, ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

''. He made a number of guest appearances on episodic television shows, and was also cast in ''

Chameleons Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

'', a TV movie, in 1989. He had a role on ''

Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

'', and landed his first lead role in the 1994 television series ''

One West Waikiki ''One West Waikiki'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on CBS from August 4, 1994 until September 8, 1994, and then in first-run syndication for its second season from October 15, 1995 until May 25, 1996. The series was set ...

''. Burgi was cast as the lead in the series '' The Sentinel''. The show ran for three seasons; its cancellation left key plot issues unresolved, which led to a successful fan campaign for additional episodes to end the story. Burgi went on to roles on ''

The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. Pre ...

'', '' 24'' and ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'' as well as bit parts in other television series and films, including ''Matlock''. In the 1998 made-for-TV remake of the movie ''I Married a Monster'', Burgi starred as Nick Farrell (the monster). One of Burgi's most notable roles was on ''

'' as

, the ex-husband of Susan Mayer and father to Julie. Burgi appeared as Karl for several seasons. He also starred in the big-screen thriller ''

Cellular Cellular may refer to: *Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics * Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more * ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie *Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands *Cell ...

'' in 2004 as well as a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of '' Fun with Dick and Jane'' and ''In Her Shoes''as

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...

's love interest in 2005. In 2007, Burgi was cast in the horror film'' Hostel: Part II. ''In 2009, he played the police officer in '' Friday the 13th''and a stylish doctor in''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

.'' Burgi guest-starred as Thomas Wellington in CBS's ''

Harper's Island ''Harper's Island'' is an American horror mystery limited series created by Ari Schlossberg for CBS. Schlossberg, Jeffrey Jackson Bell and Jon Turteltaub served as executive producers. The series features an ensemble cast led by Elaine Cassidy ...

'' (2009). In 2010, Burgi guest-starred in an episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. In 2011, Burgi guest-starred on TV Land's ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highe ...

''. In 2011, it was announced that he would play Karl Parker in ''My Family USA'', which premiered on September 26, 2011. In 2011, Burgi landed a new recurring role as CIA hitman Clyde Decker, who is part of a government conspiracy targeting the title character in ''Chuck''. In 2011, Burgi appeared in season 9 of ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'' as Brooke Davis's father. In 2012, he starred in cult classic "Christmas Twister" as TV Reporter 1, in which his character was killed trying to parry away a low flying shipping container. In 2013, Burgi guest-starred on Lifetime's ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, Pau ...

'' as a brother, uncle, and love interest, Henri. From 2015-2016, Burgi played

in the ABC daytime serial ''

''. In 2021,

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...

reported that Burgi had been cast in the recurring role of Ashland Locke on CBS' daytime soap opera, ''

'', with the character first appearing on March 11, 2021. In 2022, Burgi was fired from ''Y&R'' for violating the show's

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

policy, and his role on the show was recast with former ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' star Robert Newman.

Personal life

Burgi married Lori Kahn on November 25, 1995. They have two sons: Jack, born December 8, 1996, and Samuel, born August 15, 2000. Burgi married Liliana Lopez in February 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

;Notes # Season 2 # Seasons 1, 5 & 6 # Seasons 3, 4 & 8 # Season 9

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgi, Richard 1958 births Male actors from New Jersey American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Living people People from Montclair, New Jersey People from Laguna Beach, California 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors