Rick Overton

{{short description|American actor (born 1954)}}

{{BLP sources|date=July 2021}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Comedian Rick Overton (2017-10-26).jpg

| caption = Overton performing at the Nerdist Showroom in Los Angeles in 2017

| birth_name = Richard Overton

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1954|08|10}}

| birth_place = Forest Hills, Queens, New York, U.S.

| occupation = {{flatlist|

  • Actor
  • screenwriter

}}

| years_active = 1982–present

}}

Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American actor and screenwriter. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live (1994–2002), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award, while his acting credits include Gung Ho and Odd Jobs (both 1986), Million Dollar Mystery (1987), Willow (1988), The Rocketeer (1991), Eight Legged Freaks (2002) and Northfork (2003).

Life and career

Overton was born on August 10, 1954, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, the son of Nancy Overton (née Swain), a singer, and Hall Overton, a teacher and music arranger.{{cite web|website=filmreference.com|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/70/Rick-Overton.html|title=Rick Overton Biography}} He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey,{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} where he attended Dwight Morrow High School.{{cite web|author=Hu, Winnie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/education/16major.html|title=Forced to Pick a Major in High School|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 16, 2007|accessdate=August 17, 2007|quote=The comedians David Feldman and Rick Overton, alumni of the high school, are scheduled to conduct a comedy writing workshop in October.}}

Overton made his first onscreen appearance performing his standup act in 1981's HBO Presents The 6th Annual Young Comedians.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387006/ "HBO Presents The 6th Annual Young Comedians"], imdb.com. Accessed February 2, 2025. His first movie role was in the 1982 film Young Doctors in Love, followed by a small role in Airplane II: The Sequel later that year. In 1987, he wrote an episode of The New Adventures of Beans Baxter while also appearing in various films and television shows including Willow, Amazing Stories and Million Dollar Mystery.

In 1992, he landed a role in the FOX Network sketch comedy show The Edge. The show ended in 1993. Later that year, Overton appeared in two episodes of Seinfeld and landed a small role in Mrs. Doubtfire. The following year, he won an Emmy for writing an episode of Dennis Miller Live.

In 2005, Overton appeared on Alias and Joan of Arcadia; in the latter he played God explaining to the title character the meaning of real wealth. He also portrayed both H. G. Wells and Orson Welles in a podcast episode of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd that same year.

In 2009, Overton appeared in the film A Fork in the Road alongside Jaime King.{{cite web|title=A Fork in the Road|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_fork_in_the_road/cast-and-crew}}

In 2010s, Overton appeared in a General Electric commercial.{{cite web|url=https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/television-q-a-the-catch-martin-milner-and-more/article_3ef3cd0e-b414-5f1f-a76e-ed99b7cec3e0.html|newspaper=The Virgin Islands Daily News|title=Television Q&A: 'The Catch,' Martin Milner, and more|date=August 1, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250401234937/https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/television-q-a-the-catch-martin-milner-and-more/article_3ef3cd0e-b414-5f1f-a76e-ed99b7cec3e0.html|archivedate=April 1, 2025|author=Heldnefels, Rich}}

Filmography

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Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

  • Nominated: Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program, Dennis Miller Live (1997)
  • Won: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program, Dennis Miller Live (1996)

Writers Guild of America Award

  • Nominated: Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series, Dennis Miller Live (1997)

References

{{Reflist}}