Richard Bartlett “Ricky” Schroder, Jr. (born April 13, 1970) is a Golden Globe Award-winning American actor who began his career as a child.
Schroder was born in Staten Island, New York, the son of Diane, a telephone company employee, and Richard Bartlett Schroder, Sr., a telephone company district manager. He has a sister, Dawn. Schroder debuted in the 1979 remake of the movie The Champ, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best New Male Star of the Year in a Motion Picture at the age of nine. In the following year, he made a Walt Disney feature film called The Last Flight of Noah's Ark with Elliott Gould. Although Schroder’s performance is generally recognized as good, the film bombed at the box office.
He also starred as the title character in the film Little Lord Fauntleroy alongside Alec Guinness in 1980. He became well-known as the star of the television series Silver Spoons, when he played the lead character Ricky Stratton. After Silver Spoons ended, he attended Calabasas High School for his senior year. As he grew older, he struggled to become known as a serious actor. He changed his name credit from Ricky to Rick and preferred to take roles which helped him to stretch as an actor.
Schroder was ranked #18 in VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Kid Stars and #33 in VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Teen Stars.
Schroder’s co-starring role in the Western mini-series Lonesome Dove and its sequel, Return to Lonesome Dove, helped Schroder’s attempt to be recognised as a mature actor. He had a three-year role in the television series NYPD Blue as Det. Danny Sorenson, a cop with a troubled past. He left the series to live full-time on his family’s ranch in Colorado. This ranch has since been put on the market and has apparently sold. He commuted to the set of Strong Medicine, whose cast he joined for a two-year contract starting in 2005, and appeared in films even as he built a log cabin on his ranch. Schroder also appeared in several episodes of the second season of the comedy-drama series Scrubs as nurse Paul Flowers.
In 2004, Schroder directed and starred in the music video for “Whiskey Lullaby”, a song by Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss. This music video won the Country Music Association Music Video Of The Year.
In 2007, Schroder took a role as a recurring character on Season 6 of the FOX show 24 as CTU agent Mike Doyle.
Schroder is currently filming an independent motion picture in the Shelby area (near Charlotte) of North Carolina. The film's title is "Blood Done Sign My Name" and it is based on the true book of the same name.
Schroder lives in Topanga Canyon, California, with his wife, Andrea Bernard, a contestant on Season 2 of Bravo's reality series Top Design. The couple, who met and married in 1992, have four children: Holden Richard, Luke William, Cambrie, and Faith Anne. He is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ricky graduated from Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO with a degree in Farm and Ranch Management. Schroder made an appearance on stage at the 2000 Republican National Convention, endorsing Presidential candidate George W. Bush. He is also a member of the National Rifle Association. Schroder has been playing chess since he was seven years old and revealed that he and Kiefer Sutherland play chess on the set of 24.
On the January 9, 2007 edition of CNN’s Larry King Live, Schroder announced he was changing his stage name back to Ricky.
Schroder is an active celebrity ambassador for the child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit organization Childhelp. g
