Kim Milford

Richard Kim Milford was born on February 7, 1951, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. His older sister, Penelope, also pursued a career as an actress. Milford attended New Trier High School and made his first stage appearance at a stock theatre in Chicago at age ten. He worked professionally as an actor, singer-songwriter, and composer until his death on June 16, 1988, at age 37, from complications following open heart surgery. He had been born with several congenital heart defects that required surgical intervention throughout his life.

Milford's Broadway career spanned from 1967 to 1980. At seventeen, he joined the original Broadway production of Hair, taking on the roles of Woof and Claude. He subsequently appeared in Henry, Sweet Henry, Your Own Thing, and More Than You Deserve, as well as Rockabye Hamlet during its 1975–76 run. His most prominent Broadway association was with The Rocky Horror Show, in which he played Rocky as part of the original American production with the Los Angeles Roxy cast before bringing the role to Broadway. He reprised the character again in the 1980 North American Tour. Earlier in his career, in 1971, he performed at the Kennedy Center in Leonard Bernstein's Mass. He also took part in the first concert tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, performing both the roles of Jesus and Judas.

Beyond Broadway, Milford accumulated a range of stage credits. In 1976, the Religious Heritage of America presented him with the Faith and Freedom Award for his portrayal of the Prodigal Son in Round Trip. He also appeared in the productions Sunset, All Bets Off, and Salome, for which he composed the music based on the Oscar Wilde play and starred in the production at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1979.

Milford's television work during the 1970s and 1980s included guest appearances on The Mod Squad, Mannix, and The Highwayman, along with a recurring role as Tommy on the soap opera The Secret Storm. He appeared in the 1975 television movies Song of the Succubus and Rock-a-Die-Baby, the latter also known as Night of the Full Moon, in which he performed music with his band Moon. His film credits include the 1978 feature Laserblast and Corvette Summer, in which he appeared alongside Mark Hamill.

As a musician, Milford served briefly as vocalist for the band billed as the Jeff Beck Group, performing six shows between July 24 and August 8, 1972, alongside Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, with holdover pianist Max Middleton also present. Following Middleton's departure and Milford's dismissal, the remaining trio continued as Beck, Bogert & Appice. Milford also fronted his own band, Moon, which co-wrote songs including "Lovin' Lady," "Jo Anna," and "She's Puttin' Me Through Changes." He recorded the album Chain Your Lovers to the Bedposts and released the 1974 single "Help Is on the Way, Rozea." His recording of "Muddy River Water" was released on Decca Records, and he appeared on the Roxy cast album of The Rocky Horror Show. His song "Justice" appeared on the Ciao! Manhattan soundtrack, and he wrote and performed "My Love Is a Rebel" for the soundtrack of Limbo, starring Barry Bostwick.