| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Announced he is reducing his presence on Stargate SG-1 (1997) after playing the role of Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill for eight years. He will using the time away to work on other endeavors [January 2005] |
| 2 | Playing Brigadier General Jack O'Neill in the TV series Stargate SG-1 (1997). [August 2004] |
| 3 | Lives in Malibu, California. |
| 4 | He has played the same character, Colonel/General Jack O'Neill, in three different television series: Stargate SG-1 (1997), Stargate: Atlantis (2004) and SGU Stargate Universe (2009). |
| 5 | He was considered for the part of Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice (1984). |
| 6 | He was considered for the part of John McClane in Die Hard (1988). |
| 7 | Birthday is January 23, 1950, while his TV character "Angus MacGyver"'s birthday is January 23, 1951. MacGyver's birthday can clearly be seen on his passport in episode 1-15, MacGyver: Every Time She Smiles (1986), the first episode that introduced us to "Penny Parker", who was played by Teri Hatcher. |
| 8 | Reprised his role of "MacGyver" on The Simpsons (1989) in April 2006. He played himself, Richard Dean Anderson, who is desperately fanned by Patty and Selma (who have been obsessive MacGyver fans throughout The Simpsons series). Anderson disappoints the women by saying that he only did MacGyver (1985) for money and is more interested in Stargate SG-1 (1997), after which Patty and Selma kidnap him and force him to play "MacGyver" again and to escape from traps. After a while, Anderson gets so keen about actually trying to be MacGyver that he starts to harass Patty and Selma. Finally, Patty and Selma get sick of "that nut-case" and get rid of him by boring him with their holiday slide shows. |
| 9 | Reprised his role of MacGyver for a Mastercard commercial. The commercial debuted during Superbowl XL (2006), nearly 14 years after the series ended. |
| 10 | In 1985 was voted Sexiest Survivalist by People Magazine. |
| 11 | His father, Stuart Anderson, who died in 2003, taught English, drama and humanities at a high school in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, USA. |
| 12 | Has three younger brothers: Jeffrey, Thomas and James. |
| 13 | Shares his birthday with Charles Correll, who directed him in 19 episodes of MacGyver (1985), MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994), four episodes of Legend (1995) and two episodes of Stargate SG-1 (1997). |
| 14 | He has appeared in episodes of three different series set in Colorado, USA: Legend (1995), Stargate SG-1 (1997) and Stargate: Atlantis (2004). |
| 15 | Has appeared in two different productions entitled "Fallout" which featured scenes at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA: Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game (1997) and the Stargate SG-1 (1997) episode "Fallout." |
| 16 | From the time he first appeared on television in 1976 until his "retirement" in 2005, he was a regular on one series or another every year except for 1984, 1993, 1994 and 1996: General Hospital (1963) from 1976 to 1981, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982) in 1982, Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983) in 1983, MacGyver (1985) from 1985 to 1992, Legend (1995) in 1995 and Stargate SG-1 (1997) from 1997 to 2005. |
| 17 | Played a firefighter in two different productions: Firehouse (1997) and the Stargate SG-1 (1997) episode "The Changeling". |
| 18 | At the Spacey Awards 2005, he won the Favourite Male TV Character award for his portrayal of Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill on Stargate SG-1 (1997). The other nominees were Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor of Smallville (2001), Edward James Olmos (Commander William Adama of Battlestar Galactica (2004)) and Chris Kramer (Morgan Pym of The Collector (2004)). |
| 19 | Like his two most famous characters, Angus MacGyver of MacGyver (1985) and Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill of Stargate SG-1 (1997), he was raised in the Upper Midwest--Minnesota. MacGyver was born in Minnesota, Jack in Chicago, IL. |
| 20 | Has appeared in episodes of two different series entitled "The Enemy Within" and "Last Stand": MacGyver (1985) and Stargate SG-1 (1997). |
| 21 | Has starred in two different series in which his character's main adversary (seemingly) dies multiple times: Murdoc (Michael Des Barres) in MacGyver (1985) and Apophis (Peter Williams) in Stargate SG-1 (1997). |
| 22 | His Stargate SG-1 (1997) character Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was ranked #10 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue). |
| 23 | Was considered for the role of Commander Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). |
| 24 | Went to Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, Minnesota. |
| 25 | Was presented with an award and made an honorary brigadier general at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, 14 September 2004, because of his role as star and executive producer of Stargate SG-1 (1997), a series which has portrayed the Air Force in a positive light since it first premiered. It was presented by the Air Force Chief of Staff, John P. Jumper. The last recipient of the award was James Stewart in 1987. |
| 26 | Played his most famous character, Angus MacGyver, a total of 142 times: in all 139 episodes of MacGyver (1985) and in two TV-movies, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994) and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994). The only characters he has played more times are Dr. Jeff Webber in General Hospital (1963) and Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1 (1997). He briefly reprised the role in a 2006 Superbowl TV ad for Mastercard. |
| 27 | Has appeared in episodes of three different series with Dan Shea: MacGyver (1985), Stargate SG-1 (1997) and Stargate: Atlantis (2004). |
| 28 | His favourite TV show is The Simpsons (1989). |
| 29 | Has been a regular on six different series: General Hospital (1963), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982), Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983), MacGyver (1985), Legend (1995) and Stargate SG-1 (1997). |
| 30 | Has appeared in the pilots of seven different series: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982), Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983), MacGyver (1985), Legend (1995), Stargate SG-1 (1997), Stargate: Atlantis (2004) and SGU Stargate Universe (2009). The latter two are the only ones on which he was not a regular. |
| 31 | Has appeared in episodes of three different series with Garwin Sanford: MacGyver (1985), Stargate SG-1 (1997) and Stargate: Atlantis (2004). |
| 32 | Although he has never appeared on any "Star Trek" series, he has shared scenes with regulars from all five "Star Trek" series. |
| 33 | Is good friends with John de Lancie (who is best known for playing the character of Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995)). They have appeared in three different series together: MacGyver (1985), Legend (1995) and Stargate SG-1 (1997). |
| 34 | Along with Michael Shanks, he is one of only two actors to appear in the pilots of Stargate SG-1 (1997) and the spin-offs Stargate: Atlantis (2004) SGU Stargate Universe (2009). |
| 35 | Has appeared in two different productions which featured the word "Atlantis" in the title: the TV-movie MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994) and the TV series Stargate: Atlantis (2004). |
| 36 | When he was 17, he rode his bike 5,641 miles from Minnesota to Alaska. He started out with some friends but travelled the last 33 days alone. |
| 37 | When he was 16, Richard Dean Anderson broke both of his arms in separate accidents on the ice. He broke his left arm first, and while skating 3 weeks later he broke his right arm so badly he was in the hospital for 3 months. His elbow snapped backwards and he's still got pins in there. |
| 38 | Had band called Ricky Dean and Dante during college years. |
| 39 | Performed as a mime before acting in television. |
| 40 | Had dreams of playing professional hockey until he broke both of his arms during separate games. He then turned to acting. |
| 41 | Daughter, with Apryl A. Prose, Wylie Quinn Anderson, was born. [August 1998] |
| 42 | Is on the board of directors of "Handgun Control, Inc". In the TV show MacGyver (1985), his character always refused to use guns. |
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