Parker Stevenson

Early life

Stevenson was born on June 4, 1952, in the Main Line of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Richard Stevenson Parker, Jr., one of two sons of Richard Stevenson Parker, Sr., an investment advisor, by an actress who acted in numerous television commercials using the stage name Sarah Meade the latter took him to a filming session when he was five years of age. This resulted in his making two small television appearances. The elder Parker, who had moved his family to the city of Rye, New York, disapproved of the whole business, and although Richard Jr. himself appeared in a few plays at Brooks Preparatory School, he then had no intention of becoming an actor.

Career

His first notable screen appearance was a starring role in the 1972 movie A Separate Peace; it was then that he was first credited as Parker Stevenson. After graduating from Brooks School and Princeton University, where he studied architecture, he moved to Hollywood, where he landed a role opposite Sam Elliott in the 1976 film Lifeguard.

Stevenson became well known from starring with then teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries series, produced by Glen A. Larson's production company through MCA-Universal Television (now NBCUniversal) under license from the Stratemeyer Publication Syndicate, from 1977 to 1979 on ABC-TV. In 1983, he co-starred in the movie Stroker Ace as Burt Reynolds's brash race-car driving nemesis, Aubrey James. The film was a critical and financial failure.

In 1986, Stevenson starred as Billy Hazard in the television miniseries North and South: Book II. He co-starred with his then-wife Kirstie Alley, who portrayed his sister Virgilia Hazard. He starred on the short-lived 1988 TV series Probe in the lead role of Austin James. He was part of the original cast of Baywatch in the 1989 season, returning for the syndicated 1997 and 1998 seasons. He had a recurring role as a computer tycoon on Melrose Place during the second season. He starred in Legion. In 2014 he had a guest role on the Western/Mystery series Longmire.

Stevenson has been a serious photographer since he was young; his work can be found at his photography website, ShadowWorks.