Is on the board of directors of "Handgun Control, Inc". In the TV show "MacGyver" (1985), his character always refused to use guns.

Played a firefighter in two different productions: Firehouse (1997) (TV) and the "Stargate SG-1" (1997) episode "The Changeling".

Along with Michael Shanks, he is one of only two actors to appear in the pilots of both "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and the spin-off series "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004).

His father, Stuart Anderson, who died in 2003, taught English, drama and humanities at a high school in his hometown, Roseville, Minnesota, USA.

Played his most famous character, Angus MacGyver, a total of 141 times: in all 139 episodes of "MacGyver" (1985) and in two TV-movies, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994) (TV) and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994) (TV). 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).

Has appeared in two different productions which featured the word "Atlantis" in the title: the TV-movie MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994) (TV) and the TV series "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004).

Was considered for the role of Commander Benjamin Sisko on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993).

Daughter, with Apryl Prose, Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson, born. [2 August 1998]

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 "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)).

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.

Has appeared in episodes of three different series with Dan Shea: "MacGyver" (1985), "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004).

Went to Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, Minnesota.

Has appeared in episodes of two different series entitled "The Enemy Within" and "Last Stand": "MacGyver" (1985) and "Stargate SG-1" (1997).

He has appeared in episodes of four different series based in Colorado, USA: "MacGyver" (1985), "Legend" (1995), "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004).

Performed as a mime before acting in television.

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).

Shares his birthday with Charles Correll, who directed him in 19 episodes of "MacGyver" (1985), MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994) (TV), four episodes of "Legend" (1995) and two episodes of "Stargate SG-1" (1997).

Had dreams of playing professional hockey until he broke both of his arms during separate games. He then turned to acting.

Has 1 daughter, Wylie Quinn Annarose (born 1998), with ex-partner, Apryl Prose.

Has three younger brothers: Jeffrey, Thomas and James.

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, General John P. Jumper. The last recipient of the award was James Stewart in 1987.

Has appeared in the pilots of six different series: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1982), "Emerald Point N.A.S." (1983), "MacGyver" (1985), "Legend" (1995), "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004). The latter is the only one on which he was not a regular.

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, "Everytime She Smiles", the first episode that introduced us to Penny Parker, who was played by Teri Hatcher.

Has appeared in episodes of three different series with Garwin Sanford: "MacGyver" (1985), "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and "Stargate: Atlantis" (2004).

Reprised his role of MacGyver for a Mastercard commercial. The commercial debuted during Superbowl XL (2006), nearly 14 years after the series ended.

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.

Had band called Ricky Dean and Dante during college years.

Reprised his role of MacGyver in The Simpsons 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 for money and is more interested in Stargate SG-1, 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.

In 1985 was voted Sexiest Survivalist by People Magazine.

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.

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).

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).

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).

Although he has never appeared on any "Star Trek" series, he has shared scenes with regulars from all five "Star Trek" series.

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 Minnesota. MacGyver was born in Minnesota, Jack in Chicago.

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) (VG) and the "Stargate SG-1" (1997) episode "Fallout."

His favourite TV show is "The Simpsons" (1989).