Personal details
Official sites :
Born:
- Birthday: 1958-07-30
- Born Place: Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Also Known As:
Richard William Burgi
Richard Burgi
Born on July 30, 1958, in Montclair, New Jersey, Richard Burgi is a seasoned American actor whose career spans over four decades across daytime soaps, primetime dramas, and cult horror films. He was raised in a family deeply involved in community theater and is the brother of well-known rock drummer Chuck Burgi. After high school, he traveled extensively through the U.S. and Europe before launching his professional career in New York City with roles on iconic Manhattan-based soap operas such as One Life to Live, Another World, and As the World Turns. He eventually transitioned to primetime television, achieving leading-man status as Detective Jim Ellison on the supernatural procedural The Sentinel (1996–1999). Burgi is perhaps most widely recognized for his long-running role as Karl Mayer, the roguish and often meddlesome ex-husband of Susan Mayer on the hit ABC series Desperate Housewives (2004–2012). His ability to balance charm with a sense of mischief made him a fan favorite throughout several seasons. In addition to his work on Housewives, he has maintained a strong presence in the horror and thriller genres. He collaborated with Eli Roth on the splatter-horror sequel Hostel: Part II (2007) and appeared in the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th. In The Green Inferno (2013), he played the role of Charles, the father of the protagonist Justine, representing the domestic world she leaves behind for the dangers of the Amazon. In recent years, Burgi has remained a fixture in the television industry, notably portraying Paul Hornsby on General Hospital and Ashland Locke on The Young and the Restless from 2021 to 2022. Though he made headlines for a departure from the latter due to a COVID-19 protocol violation, he has continued to be active in the independent film circuit and convention scene, appearing as recently as March 2025 at the NJ Horror Con to discuss his extensive contributions to the genre. His recent filmography includes roles in the action-thriller The 2nd (2020) and the sci-fi feature Final Frequency.
