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Who is Rick Rossovich?
He’s probably still known best for his role as a naval flight officer with a cocky personality, Ron ‘Slider’ Kerner, in the epic movie “Top Gun”, however, Rick Rossovich has 50 acting credits to his name, and has co-starred in other hit movies such as “The Terminator” and “Roxanna”. TV series lovers will recognize him as Lieutenant Anthony Palermo in the series “Pacific Blue” and as Doctor John ‘Tag’ Taglieri in the popular drama series “ER”.
If you’ve wondered what’s happened in his career and his life and what’s new, let us tell you the naked truth about this renowned actor.
Early life, family, and education
Born Frederic Enrico Rossovich under the zodiac sign of Virgo on 28 August 1957, Rick will soon enough celebrate his 65th birthday. A native of Palo Alto, California USA, he holds American nationality, and was raised by his parents in Grass Valley, California. Rick had an elder brother, Timothy John ‘Tim’ Rossovich, a former American Football player turn out actor, who sadly died in 2018. Nothing is known about their parents, except that their mother is Italian, and their father is Croatian – his ancestors were from a small coastal town in Istria, Croatia.
When it comes to Rick’s educational background, he attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 1975, enrolled at Sacramento State University, from which he graduated with a BA degree in 1979. During his days at college, Rick was a bodybuilder.
Roles in series
Rick made his acting debut playing Ozzie in an episode of the series “Fantasy Island” in 1978, and again appeared in two episodes of this show playing Boris Smolensk in 1980. In the following year, he guest starred as a Football Player in “B. J. and the Bear”.
In the early ‘80s, Rick focused on his movie roles, so his next TV series role came in 1991 when he was cast to play Spud Lincoln in the comedy-drama “Sons and Daughters” focused on an extended family of Bing Hammersmith, who returns home to his first wife and children with a new wife and young son. The show had no nominations but was well-rated by the audience (7.8/10).
Rick’s next notable TV series role came in 1994 when he was seen as Doctor John Taglieri in “ER”, appearing in 11 episodes of the show’s first season. This romantic drama about the doctors and nurses of Chicago’s County General Hospital had 370 award nominations and 156 wins, including 23 Primetime Emmy.
i think about rick rossovich and his nose a lot pic.twitter.com/t3nK1cXmSn
— grudge judy 🏳️🌈 (@mistererickson) May 6, 2022
Between 1996 and 1998, Rick portrayed Lieutenant Anthony Palermo in “Pacific Blue”; he was seen in 57 episodes of this action crime-drama which followed the lives and work of a bicycle officers patrol in Santa Monica, California.
The early 2000s saw Rick as Don Yaeger in an episode of the series “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, which was his most recent TV series appearance.
Roles in movies
Rick made his big-screen debut as a Marine in the 1982 movie “Losin’ It”, followed with his role as Dante ‘Pig’ Pignetii in the 1983 thriller “The Lords of Discipline”, starring David Keith. Rick was next cast to play Officer Cooley in the 1984 action crime-drama “Streets of Fire”, which won the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Later that year, Rick played Matt in the hit action movie “The Terminator”, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was registered in the National Film Preservation Board, USA National Film Registry, in 2008.
Rick was next seen as Bob in “Warning Sign” in 1985, followed by his most recognizable role as Slider in the 1986 Oscar-awarded movie “Top Gun”. This action drama, starring Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins and Kelly McGillis, followed the story of the students at the US Navy’s elite fighter school; it had a total of 17 award nominations, winning 11, including the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song (Take My Breath Away); this movie was also registered in the National Film Registry in 2015.
Rick’s first lead role was his portrayal of Chris in the 1987 romantic comedy “Roxanne”, also starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. This love triangle story about handsome firefighter Chris, his chief C. D. who has a big nose, and beautiful Roxanne, all searching for true love, was one of the favorite rom-com in the late ’80s.
In 1987, Rick was seen as Bogoljub in the comedy “Cognac” (original title: “Tajna Manastirske Rakije”), directed by Slobodan Sijan, a famous Serbian director and writer. Rick starred opposite Catherine Hicks and Gary Kroeger.
The early ‘90s saw Rick in “Navy SEALs” (1990), “Tropical Heat” (1993), “Future Shock” (1994), and “Cover Me” (1995). Two years later, Rick played Robert Boylan in “Truth or Consequences, N.M.”, a crime drama, starring Kiefer Sutherland, followed by Rick’s uncredited role in the 1998 drama “Telling You”.
He was cast to play Bret Rogers in the 2003 romantic crime-drama “Artworks”, in which he starred opposite Virginia Madsen. The plot revolved around the daughter of a police chief, a sales agent for a home security company, who meets the owner of an art gallery. Love and envy lead them to conspire to steal neglected but valuable paintings from her wealthy clients. The movie had four award wins.
After this role, Rick announced his retirement – he sold his house in Hollywood and moved to Sweden with his family. Many assume that he gave up cinema and Hollywood life to spend more time with his wife and children.
Almost a decade later, Rick was seen starring as Ronnie McCubbins in the 2012 movie “Sandbar”, a comedy-drama, written and directed by Nicholas Bushman, which didn’t attract any nominations, but the audience rated it 8.0/10.
Most recently, Rick portrayed Jack in the 2016 short movie “A Beautiful Day”. His fans will be happy to hear that he’s announced his latest movie, “Where the Streets Have No Name”, which is currently in development.
Love life and wife
As a young actor, with his sculpted body and seductive green eyes, Rick drew the sighs of many female fans, and he has been the subject of various rumors. However, it’s widely known that he’s been married to Eva Rossovich since 1985, and the couple has two children together, son Roy born in 1986, and daughter, Isabel in 1991.
If you’ve wondered why Rick moved to Sweden, his wife Eva was born there, and Rick wanted their children to have both sides of their parents’ upbringing. As of July 2023, the family of four lives their lives in Sweden, away from the media’s attention.
How rich is Rick Rossovich? Net worth
In one of his interviews, Rick said that he saved his money earned from acting and invested it. He had some notable roles, however, his acting career started declining in the late ‘90s, and according to critics, came to a halt in the 2000s.
Reportedly, as of July 2023, Rick Rossovich has a net worth estimated at over $4 million.
