Gary Riley

Gary Riley
Riley in 2015
Born (1967-04-28) April 28, 1967 (age 57)
Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1984–1996

Gary Riley (born April 28, 1967)[1] is a former child and teen American character actor with numerous film, made-for-TV films and television credits.

Film and television career

Riley played Charlie Hogan, one of his best-known roles, in the 1986 film Stand by Me, and also received notice for his portrayal of Dave Frazier in the 1987 comedy Summer School. He made notable appearances as a thief who steals money from Steve Martin's character's wallet in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and as a naive metalhead customer whom Ken Kessler (portrayed by Judge Reinhold) cannot bear to rip off after discovering his girlfriend is pregnant in Ruthless People. He also made guest appearances on such TV shows as Knots Landing, Growing Pains, a special hour-long episode of Amazing Stories directed by Steven Spielberg, and Airwolf. His last role was as a thug in Fear, with Mark Wahlberg.

In 1986 he auditioned for the roles of "Bill S. Preston Esquire" and Ted "Theodore" Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, being one of the final picks along with Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Matt Adler, and Donovan Leitch. In 2020, his audition tapes, which had never been released publicly, were released exclusively by the Daily Mail.[2][better source needed][3][better source needed]

Personal life

Riley grew up in Irvine, California, attended Newport Harbor High School, and did acting training at South Coast Repertory Young Conservatory Players.[citation needed]

As the 1980s came to a close, he spent much of his time following the Grateful Dead and later Phil Lesh and Friends.[4]

In addition, Riley has been a frequent guest of the "Adventure Club Podcast"[5] on ACPN, with hosts Guy Hutchinson and John J. Galbo. He will call in from different bars and restaurants with various guests in the entertainment industry.[citation needed] He participated in the Summer School Q&A at New Beverly Cinema in the summer of 2013.[6]

Riley has said he lived off residual checks for almost twenty years after leaving Hollywood.[4]

He has lived in Portland and Eugene, Oregon and currently resides in the Los Angeles area.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Gary J Riley, Born 04/28/1967 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". www.californiabirthindex.org.
  2. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: EXCLUSIVE unseen Bill and Ted auditions: Keanu Reeves and Gary Riley. YouTube.
  3. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: EXCLUSIVE unseen Bill and Ted auditions: Gary Riley and Donovan Leitch Jr. YouTube.
  4. ^ a b "Adventure Club Podcast Sequence 84: That Bar in Burbank". March 9, 2015. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Adventure Club Podcast
  6. ^ "I Celebrated My 40th Birthday at Summer School!". October 16, 2013. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  7. ^ "Sequence 88: Christmas in July with Gary Riley". July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.