Christopher Rich Wilson (born September 16, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his roles on ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'', '' Reba'', and ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

''.

Career

Rich first became popular playing the role of Alexander "Sandy" Cory on the

daytime drama A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' Another World'' from 1981 to 1985. He also starred in the short-lived 1987–1988 series '' The Charmings'' as Prince Eric Charming, with Carol Huston, Caitlin O'Heaney,

Judy Parfitt Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt (born 7 November 1935) is an English theatre, film, and television actress. She made her film debut in the 1950s, followed by a supporting role in the BBC television serial ''David Copperfield'' (1966). She also ap ...

, and

Paul Winfield Paul Edward Winfield (May 22, 1939 – March 7, 2004) was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film '' Sounder'' (1972), whi ...

. In 1990, Rich played the role of popular cartoon character

Archie Andrews Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,

in the TV film '' Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again''. The film was based on the characters of

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

. Rich then appeared in the 1993 film '' The Joy Luck Club''. During the 1990s, Rich had guest appearances in several television shows like '' Renegade'', ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...

'', ''

Suddenly Susan ''Suddenly Susan'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to December 26, 2000. The series was created by Clyde Phillips and starred Brooke Shields in her first regular series. Shields played Susan Keane, a ...

'', and '' ER'', among others. He also had recurring roles in ''

The George Carlin Show ''The George Carlin Show'' is an American sitcom that aired Sunday at 9:30 pm on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created by Sam Simon, who executive produced the show jointly with the show's namesake, comedian George Car ...

'' (as Dr. Neil Beck), ''

'' (as Miller Redfield), and ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The seri ...

'' (as Agent David Katz). In 2001, Rich joined the cast of '' Reba'' playing Brock Hart, the ex-husband of the title character (played by

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

). Rich stayed in the show until the end of the series in 2007, as well as directing several episodes in Seasons 5 and 6. During this time, Rich also had a recurring role on ''

'' playing attorney Melvin Palmer. After that, he also played Bree's book publisher, Bruce, on two episodes of ABC's ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

''. He also played Mel's father in the TV series ''

Melissa & Joey ''Melissa & Joey'' is an American television sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence that aired for four seasons between 2010 and 2015 on ABC Family (now Freeform). The series title reflects the actors' names, not their characters ...

''.

Personal life

Rich attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

and received a master's degree in theater arts from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He was married to ''Another World'' co-star Nancy Frangione from 1982 until 1996. He is currently married to his second wife (since 2003), Eva Rich ( Ewa Halina Jesionowska), a Miss Poland 1985 finalist and former gymnast who participated at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Rich has fraternal twin daughters with Eva, Lily and Daisy Rich, and a daughter with Frangione, Mariel Rich. In 2015, Christopher and Eva Rich and their two daughters appeared in the first two seasons of the Polish reality TV series called ''Żony Hollywood'' ( English ''Hollywood Wives'') based on ''

The Real Housewives ''The Real Housewives'' is an American reality television franchise that began on March 21, 2006, with '' The Real Housewives of Orange County''. Each installment of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives of a group of afflu ...

'' franchise, in which his wife, Eva, was one of the stars. In 2018 Christopher Rich suffered a massive stroke which disabled him from using the left side of his body.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

≤ Missing from his history of acting- He played the ''Station Manager'' at WKRP in Cincinnati.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Christopher American male soap opera actors American male television actors Cornell University alumni 1953 births Living people Male actors from Dallas 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors University of Texas at Austin alumni