Rick Lenz

Rick Lenz is an American actor, author, and playwright born on November 21, 1939, in Springfield, Illinois. He built a career spanning stage, film, and television, earning recognition across multiple decades of work in the entertainment industry.

Before pursuing acting in New York, Lenz spent two years directing the Jackson, Michigan Civic Theater. He made his Broadway debut in 1965 in Mating Dance, a production starring Van Johnson that closed on its opening night. Despite the show's brief run, producer David Merrick was present in the audience and subsequently cast Lenz in Cactus Flower, the Broadway hit in which he served as understudy for the juvenile lead role of Igor Sullivan. Lenz eventually assumed the role outright and performed it for a full year. Film producer Mike Frankovich and actor Walter Matthau saw him in the part, which led directly to his being cast as Igor in the 1969 film adaptation of Cactus Flower, alongside Goldie Hawn.

Throughout the 1970s, Lenz appeared in a number of Hollywood productions, including How Do I Love Thee? (1970), Scandalous John (1971), Where Does It Hurt? (1972), and The Shootist (1976). He continued his film work into the following decade with The Little Dragons (1980) and Melvin and Howard (1980).

Lenz married his spouse, Linda, in May 1982, and as of 2017 the couple resided in Los Angeles. He has three children: sons Scott and Charlie, and a daughter, Abigail.