Ricky Schroder
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Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film The Champ (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons (1982–87). He has continued acting as an adult, usually billed as Rick Schroder, notably in the Western miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989) and on the police drama series NYPD Blue (1998–2001). He made his directorial debut with the film Black Cloud (2004) and has produced several films and television series, including the anthology film Locker 13 and the war documentary The Fighting Season.
He was ranked at #18 and #33 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" and “100 Greatest Teen Stars” list, respectively.
Early life
Schroder was born in Brooklyn, New York City and raised on Staten Island, the son of Diane Katherine Bartlett and Richard John Schroder, both former employees of AT&T. His paternal grandparents were German immigrants.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Schroder's mother quit her job to raise him and his sister Dawn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a child, Schroder appeared in many catalogs, and by age six, he had appeared in 60 advertisements.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
As a child actor
Schroder made his film debut as the son of Jon Voight's character in The Champ, a 1979 remake of the 1931 film of the same title. He was nominated for, and subsequently won, a Golden Globe award in 1980 for Best New Male Star of the Year in a Motion Picture,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> becoming at age nine the youngest Golden Globe winner in history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following his role in The Champ, Schroder was removed from school by his parents in the third grade to focus on his career. He moved to Los Angeles with his mother, but his father remained in New York City and kept his job with AT&T. The following year, Schroder appeared in the Disney feature film The Last Flight of Noah's Ark, with Elliott Gould. He also starred as the title character in Little Lord Fauntleroy, alongside Sir Alec Guinness.
Schroder then became well known as the star of the television series Silver Spoons. He played a starring role as Ricky Stratton, the son of a wealthy and eccentric millionaire, Edward Stratton. His performance earned him two Young Artist Awards. He struggled with his identity as an actor when Silver Spoons ended. Prospective roles were rare, and he was mainly designated to play boyish-looking teenagers or blond-haired heartthrobs. Schroder avoided the vices of other child actors and attempted to establish himself as a more mature actor, dropping the "y" from his first name. His mother enrolled him in Calabasas High School, but Schroder had trouble adjusting to the new environment.<ref name= wiser>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1988, a year after Silver Spoons ended, Schroder starred in a prime time CBS TV movie based on a true story, the drama Too Young the Hero, as 12-year-old Calvin Graham who passes for 17 to enlist in World War II.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also appeared as the guest timekeeper in Wrestlemania 2 for a match between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy. In 1990 he was in Across the Tracks as the younger brother of Brad Pitt.
Later career
After graduating from high school, Schroder enrolled in Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado. His co-starring role in the Western miniseries Lonesome Dove and its sequel, Return to Lonesome Dove, helped him to be recognized in more mature roles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His roles as Danny Sorenson on three seasons of NYPD Blue, nurse Paul Flowers in Scrubs, Dr. Dylan West on Strong Medicine, and Mike Doyle on the 2007 season of 24 worked to cement that perception with the viewing audience. In the fall of 2002 he hosted The New American Sportsman on ESPN2, a remake of the 1965–1986 outdoor TV series The American Sportsman.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Schroder made his directorial debut in 2004 with the feature film Black Cloud, a drama also written by him about a Navajo boxer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Black Cloud received positive receptions at film festivals,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> including two awards at the Phoenix Film Festival<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Best Director award for Schroder at the San Diego Film Festival.<ref name=SDFF/> He also directed and starred in the music video for "Whiskey Lullaby",<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> a song by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. The video garnered Schroder an award for Best Music Video at the 2005 Nashville Film Festival, while at the 2005 CMT Music Awards, the video won an award for Collaborative Video of the Year, and Schroder won for Director of the Year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2009, he directed the adventure horror film Hellhounds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He guest-starred in a January 2011 episode of ABC's No Ordinary Family.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
With his production company, Ricky Schroder Productions, he produced Starting Strong, a series of recruiting commercials for the U.S. Army shot as reality series in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His production company has well as other documentaries The Fighting Season, My Fighting Season, and The Volunteers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Schroder spent 110 days in Afghanistan with the US military in 2014 to capture footage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2013 he directed, produced, and starred in the TV film Our Wild Hearts for the Hallmark Channel,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> and the following year co-produced and starred in the anthology film Locker 13.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He portrayed the father of Dolly Parton in the 2015 TV film Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors and its sequel, Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.
Personal life
Schroder married Andrea Bernard on September 26, 1992. They have four children: Holden, Luke, Cambrie, and Faith.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> They all appeared in Schroder's Our Wild Hearts (2013).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 2000, Schroder joined his wife's church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is not very vocal about his religious beliefs,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and said in a 2015 interview: "I don't consider myself an extremely religious person, but at the same time I do believe there is higher power."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He and his wife separated in 2016, and she filed for divorce later in the year.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
He is an avid hunter and fisherman, having learned to shoot at the age of 10 from actor William Holden on the set of The Earthling.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> For 16 years he owned a 15,000-acre ranch near Grand Junction, Colorado, adjacent to Grand Mesa National Forest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A 2004 news article called Schroder "one of the few out-of-the-closet conservatives" in the entertainment industry.<ref name=":4" /> Schroder has long identified as a Republican, and he spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention,<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> although he said in 2010 that he did not align with either major political party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2019, Schroder was arrested twice within a month for suspicion of domestic violence; no charges were filed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In November 2020, Schroder contributed $150,000 towards the $2Template:Nbspmillion bail fund for Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year old charged and later acquitted in the shooting deaths of two people during the August 2020 unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2021, Schroder created controversy when he uploaded a video to social media that showed him harassing a Costco employee regarding the company's policy and California mandate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> requiring face masks or coverings to be worn inside stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Shortly after the incident, Schroder began receiving backlash, causing him to upload a second video apologizing to the employee, stating that while he stood by his beliefs on the mask mandate, he was sorry if he hurt the employee's feelings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On March 6, 2022, while traveling with the U.S. freedom convoy, Schroder entered the Dwight D. Eisenhower museum without the mask, and upon being notified that masks are required for entry, he called the security guard a "Nazi" for enforcing "evil federal government" mask rules. He left the building without an incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Schroder married Julie Trammel on July 9, 2025, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.<ref>Speakman, Kimberlee & Erin Clack. “NYPD Blue” Star Ricky Schroder Marries Theater Actress Julie Trammel in Seaside Cabo Wedding: 'Our Hearts Are Grateful', People, August 25, 2025.</ref>
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Template:Sortname | Timothy Joseph ("T.J.") Flynn | |
| 1980 | Template:Sortname | Bobby | |
| 1980 | Template:Sortname | Shawn Daley | |
| 1980 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | Ceddie Errol (Little Lord Fauntleroy) | |
| 1984 | Broadway Danny Rose | Thanksgiving Parade Celebrity | Uncredited |
| 1991 | Across the Tracks | Billy Maloney | |
| 1994 | There Goes My Baby | Stick | |
| 1995 | Crimson Tide | Lt. Paul Hellerman | |
| 2002 | Poolhall Junkies | Brad | |
| 2003 | Face of Terror <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Nick Harper | |
| 2003 | Consequence<ref>Consequence, DVD, HBO Video, 2003</ref> | John Wolfe | |
| 2004 | Black Cloud | Eddie | |
| 2009 | Locker 13 | Tommy Novak | |
| 2010 | Blood Done Sign My Name | Vernon Tyson | |
| 2010 | Get Him to the Greek | Himself |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Something So Right | Joey Bosnick | Movie |
| 1982–1987 | Silver Spoons | Ricky Stratton | 116 episodes |
| 1983 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Hansel | Episode: "Hansel and Gretel" |
| 1983 | Two Kinds of Love | Robbie Farley | Movie |
| 1985 | Template:Sortname | Alex Stewart | Movie |
| 1988 | Too Young the Hero | Calvin Graham | Movie |
| 1989 | Terror on Highway 91 | Clay Nelson | Movie |
| 1989 | Out on the Edge | Danny Evetts | Movie |
| 1989 | Lonesome Dove | Newt Dobbs | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 1990 | A Son's Promise | Terry O'Kelly | Movie |
| 1990 | The Stranger Within | Mark | Movie |
| 1991 | Blood River | Jimmy Pearls ("The Kid") | Movie |
| 1991 | My Son Johnny | Johnny Cortino | Movie |
| 1992 | Miles from Nowhere | Frank Reilly | Movie |
| 1993 | Call of the Wild | John Thornton | Movie |
| 1993 | Return to Lonesome Dove | Newt Dobbs | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Texas | Otto MacNab | Movie |
| 1994 | To My Daughter with Love | Joey Cutter | Movie |
| 1994 | In the Heat of the Night | A bad guy | Episode: "Dangerous Engagement" |
| 1996 | Innocent Victims | Billy Richardson | Movie |
| 1997 | Ebenezer | Samuel Benson | Movie |
| 1997 | Too Close to Home | Nick Donahue | Movie |
| 1997 | Detention: The Siege at Johnson High | Jason Copeland | Movie |
| 1997 | Heart Full of Rain | Isaiah Dockett | Movie |
| 1998–2001 | NYPD Blue | Det. Danny Sorenson | 58 episodes |
| 1999 | Murder at Devil's Glen | Henry | Movie (aka What We Did That Night) |
| 2001 | Template:Sortname | Major Charles White Whittlesey | Movie |
| 2003 | Scrubs | Nurse Paul Flowers | 4 episodes |
| 2005 | 14 Hours | Dr. Foster | Movie |
| 2005–2006 | Strong Medicine | Dr. Dylan West | 19 episodes |
| 2006 | Robot Chicken | Cloudkeeper | Episode: "Password: Swordfish" |
| 2007 | 24 | Mike Doyle | 12 episodes |
| 2008 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | Jonathan Brock | Movie |
| 2008 | Template:Sortname | Major Bill Keane MD | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2010 | No Ordinary Family | Dave Cotten | Episode: "No Ordinary Friends" |
| 2011 | To the Mat | Aaron | Movie |
| 2013 | Goodnight for Justice: Queen of Hearts | Cyril Knox | Movie |
| 2013 | Our Wild Hearts | Jack Thomas | Movie |
| 2014 | Hell's Kitchen | Himself | Season 13 Episode 15: "4 Chefs Compete" |
| 2015 | Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors | Robert Lee Parton | Movie |
| 2016 | Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love | Robert Lee Parton | Movie |
Director
- 2004: Black Cloud
- 2009: Hellhounds<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 2013: Our Wild Hearts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Awards and nominations
References
Bibliography
- Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell. pp. 379–380.
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- Rick Schroder's Television Schedule
- 1970 births
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- American male child actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American people of German descent
- American people of Norwegian descent
- American people of Scandinavian descent
- Converts to Mormonism
- Film directors from California
- Film directors from New York City
- Living people
- New Star of the Year (Actor) Golden Globe winners
- Male actors from Brooklyn
- Male actors from Staten Island