Person Biography:
Richard Sandlin Fullerton was born in Marion, North Carolina, where he spent his early years looking up at Mt. Mitchell from his grandparents' front porch. His family moved frequently due to his father's profession as a Command Pilot in the USAF, living in Lincoln, England, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Fort Worth, Texas.
After his father's death in 1960, Richard and his mother moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he attended prep school in Austin, Texas until his graduation in 1963. He won a "best supporting actor" award for his performance in "The Crucible" and was elected Senior Speaker by his class.
Richard spent almost three semesters at Duke University and a summer at Wake Forest before deciding to take a break from education and work in a Durham, North Carolina junkyard. He discovered a knack for running a smelting furnace and grew physically strong.
After a summer working in a tobacco factory, Richard auditioned for the North Carolina School of the Arts and became a play-writing major. However, he was forced to pretend to study acting for a year due to a lack of instructors in his major.
Richard then spent three years in exercise and scene study at UCLA, where he earned his Equity card playing Lucky in "Waiting for Godot". He also worked as a cab driver, built sets, and assistant stage managed.
In the 1970s, Richard landed a double episode of "Little House on the Prairie" and continued to act on stage, in commercials, industrial films, and TV. He also built houses, remodeled stores, wrote a column for a magazine, and got married to Susan Grace Deneen.
Richard and his wife moved back to North Carolina in 1994 and he continued to act, write, and build things. He also earned his BFA from the North Carolina School of the Arts after 30 years. His son, Colin, became an extraordinary classical guitarist and earned an MFA.
Richard currently uses IMDb Pro to try to revive his acting career, but things have slowed down due to his age.
