Richard Edson

Richard Edson (born January 1, 1954) is an American actor and musician.

Acting career
Following his music career, Edson has worked as an actor, appearing in over 35 movies. His more notable roles include a disreputable parking garage attendant in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), man at newspaper stand in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Richie in Howard the Duck (1986), Eddie in Jim Jarmusch's cult film Stranger Than Paradise (1984), real-life gambler Billy Maharg in Eight Men Out, and the title character in Joey Breaker (1993). He also appeared in Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dirty Dancing (1987), Tougher Than Leather (1988) Let It Ride (1989), and Do the Right Thing(1989). He starred in the 1993 movie Super Mario Bros as Spike, King Koopa's cousin. Edson played the lead role in three films directed by Raphael Nadjari: The Shade (1999), I Am Josh Polonski's Brother (2001)[2] and Apartment #5c (2002).

In 2003, he appeared in the music video for Cave In's single, "Anchor". Edson played the central character of the video, a depressed man walking down the street with his feet encased in cement blocks.

His television appearances include The Adventures of Pete & Pete and the third season finale of Homicide: Life on the Street. Edson appeared in a 2007 TV commercial for The Travelers Companies Inc., in which he plays the human personification of risk. In total, Edson has appeared in about 85 movies/television shows.

Music career
In 1979, Richard was a founding member of the San Francisco art rock band The Alterboys with Snuky Tate, Tono Rondone, Richard Kelly and JC Garrett, playing both drums and trumpet. From 1981 to 1982, he was Sonic Youth's original drummer and played drums for Konk at the same time. After the release of Sonic Youth's self-titled debut album, Edson left the band to play with Konk full-time.[1] Edson also played trumpet with San Francisco band The Offs on the group's eponymous 1984 album.

Personal life
Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York. He has one brother, Steven, who makes olive loaves in a roadside shack and resides in the Boston area, and two sisters, Andrea, who resides in Newton, Massachusetts and Jennifer, who resides in New York City. His father, Arnold, was one of the first Marine officers to land at Guadalcanal in August 1942. His mother, Marian, a retired school teacher, resides with his father in New Rochelle.

Selected filmography

 * Stranger Than Paradise (1984) .... Eddie
 * Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) .... Man with Newspapers
 * Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) .... Garage Attendant
 * Howard the Duck (1986) .... Ritchie
 * Crime Story (1986, TV Series) .... Jake Rennick
 * Platoon (1986) .... Sal
 * Walker (1986) .... Turley
 * Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) .... Pvt. Abersold
 * Eight Men Out (1988) .... Billy Maharg
 * Tougher Than Leather (1988) .... Bernie Carteez
 * The Chair (1988) .... Riot leader
 * Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) .... Johnny Crackow
 * Do the Right Thing (1989) .... Vito
 * Let It Ride (1989) .... Johnny Casino
 * China Lake (1989) .... Connie Veesk
 * Monsters (1989, TV Series) .... Jack Bateman
 * Eyes of an Angel (1991) .... Goon
 * Love Is Like That (1992) .... Bubba-Lilly
 * Crossing the Bridge (1992) .... Mitchell
 * Split Ends (1993, TV Series) .... Eric
 * Joey Breaker (1993) .... Joey Breaker
 * Posse (1993) .... Deputy Tom
 * Super Mario Bros. (1993) .... Spike
 * What About Me (1993) .... Nick
 * Love, Cheat & Steal (1993) .... Billy Quayle
 * Jury Duty (1995) .... Skeets
 * Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995) .... Gage
 * Strange Days (1995) .... Tick
 * Scorpion Spring (1996) .... Lem Wells
 * Marco Polo The Missing Chapter (1996) .... Bergman
 * Cosas que nunca te dije (1996) .... Steve
 * The Winner (1996) .... Frankie
 * Wedding Bell Blues (1996) .... Tom
 * An Occasional Hell (1996) .... Rodney Gillen
 * This World, Then the Fireworks (1997) .... Joe
 * Snide and Prejudice (1997) .... Rudolph Hess
 * Double Tap (1997) .... Fischer
 * Lulu on the Bridge (1998) .... Dave Reilly
 * Purgatory (1999, TV Movie) .... Euripides
 * Thick as Thieves (1999) .... Danny
 * The Shade (1999) .... Simon
 * Jack of Hearts (1999) .... Henry
 * Cement (2000) .... Robbo
 * The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) .... Joe
 * Timecode (2000) .... Lester Moore
 * Picking Up the Pieces (2000) .... Edsel Farkus
 * A Man Is Mostly Water (2000) .... Bud Guy
 * Desperate But Not Serious (2000) .... Screenwriter
 * I Am Josh Polonski's Brother (2001) .... Abe Polonski
 * Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician (2001) .... Thomas
 * P.O.V. - Point of View (2001) .... Fool on Hill
 * Sunshine State (2002) .... Steve Tregaskis
 * Apartment #5C (2002) .... Harold
 * Highway to Oblivion (2003, TV Movie) .... Leslie
 * Starsky & Hutch (2004) .... Monix
 * Land of Plenty (2004) .... Jimmy
 * Frankenfish (2004, TV Movie) .... Roland
 * Goodnight, Joseph Parker (2004) .... Frankie
 * Welcome to California (2005) .... Husband / Sylvio
 * The Kid & I (2005) .... Guy Prince
 * Hard Scrambled (2006) .... Joe
 * The Astronaut Farmer (2006) .... Chopper Miller
 * Cut Off (2006) .... Mikey
 * Under There (2007, Short) .... Roman
 * Japan (2008) .... Gus
 * Momma's Man (2008) .... Tom
 * Columbus Day (2008) .... Manny
 * Black Dynamite (2009) .... Dino
 * The Smell of Success (2009) .... Nelly the Nose
 * Vicious Circle (2009) .... John
 * The Greims (2009, Short) .... Larry
 * NUMB3RS (2010, TV Series) .... Nick Rowland
 * Happiness Runs (2010) .... Pete
 * Hands & Eyes (2010, Short) .... The Artist
 * A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012) .... Sanchez
 * Averageman (2012)
 * Dark Hearts (2014) .... Ravetti
 * 3 Holes and a Smoking Gun (2015) .... Sam Dunkim
 * Dutch Book (2015) .... Billy Santiago
 * Burning Shadow (2018) .... Ronald