On 10th August 1954, comedian Richard Overton came into the world. His parents were Nancy also known as Anne Swain Overton and Hall Overton. The mother was a musician and member of the Chordettes. This group comprised of girls only and was well known for singles Mr. Sandman and Lollipop. Hall was a music teacher at Juilliard Institute. Apart from teaching music, he was music arranger with the group Thelonious Monks. New York was where Richard was born. His family relocated to New Jersey which became his home for the rest of his life.
Having musical blood in him, Rich dabbles in music as he occasionally performs with local blues bands. His instrument is the harmonica. His career as a stand-up comedian started when he attended Dick Morrow High School as part of the comedy team Overton and Sullivan. Later in the 1970s, he went solo.
Overton made other appearances in films and television shows in the 80s. In 1984, he played a role in Beverly Hills Cop, Odd Jobs and Modern Girls both of 1986, Million Dollar Mystery of 1987 and Blind Fury of 1989. The 1980s was a busy decade for him as he took part in 7 television shows and 13 different films. Towards the end of the 80s, he wrote the TV episode, The New Adventure of Beans Baxter.
FOX Network offered him a role in the comic show The Edge in 1992 which came to an end in 1993. Later that year, Rich acted in two episodes of Seinfeld and later Mrs. Doubtfire which starred Robin Williams. In 1994, he received recognition by winning an Emmy honors for writing an episode of Dennis Miller Live.
Career spanning for Rick over three decades has seen him play parts in many movies and TV shows. The Bad Teacher which starred Cameron Diaz is the latest movie to offer him an acting role. Rick is very busy and is mainly on the road hosting comedy shows in various clubs countrywide.
Over the three decades that Rick has been acting and play writing, he has received recognition that includes an Emmy Award for writing the winning Dennis Miller episode in 1997. He had his most recent acting role in 2011 in The Bad Teacher which starred Cameron Diaz.
Apart from acting, Rick has been a motor cycling enthusiast for about two decades. He participates in many charity rides such as the Muscular Dystrophy ride that takes place every year. His main hobby is model-building. He makes his own designs from various model kits as well as household items. His creativity has earned him different honors in Sci-Fi conventions.
Richard Overton says that his imagination was inspired by Jonathan Winters. His own father played songs by Jonathan Winters for him while he was a kid. This inspired his creativity and provided him with the drive he needed to move on in his career. Rick says it was as if his father knew that would be the career path he would take in his life and appreciated his move.
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