Richard Burgi

Richard William Burgi (, born July 30, 1958) is an American film and television actor best known for the roles of Det. Jim Ellison on The Sentinel and as Karl Mayer on Desperate Housewives. He also portrayed Paul Hornsby in the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, and Ashland Locke in the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. Early life Burgi was born in the suburbs of New York City in Montclair, New Jersey. His family was involved in community theatre. His brother, Chuck Burgi, is a well-known rock drummer who has most recently toured with Billy Joel. After high school, Burgi travelled through the US and Europe, taking odd jobs. Career Burgi began his career in New York, which led to regular roles on the Manhattan-based daytime soap operas One Life to Live, Another World and As the World Turns. After moving to Los Angeles, he appeared on the serial, Days of Our Lives. He made a number of guest appearances on episodic television shows, and was also cast in Chameleons, a TV movie, in 1989. He had a role on Viper, and landed his first lead role in the 1994 television series One West Waikiki. Burgi was cast as the lead in the series The Sentinel. The show ran for three seasons; its cancellation left key plot issues unresolved, which led to a successful fan campaign for additional episodes to end the story. Burgi went on to roles on The District, 24 and Judging Amy as well as bit parts in other television series and films, including Matlock. In the 1998 made-for-TV remake of the movie I Married a Monster, Burgi starred as Nick Farrell (the monster).