Parker Stevenson

Richard Stevenson Parker Jr. (born June 4, 1952), known professionally as Parker Stevenson, is an American actor best known for playing Frank Hardy in the 1970s series The Hardy Boys and Craig Pomeroy on the 1990s series Baywatch. He is also a descendant of the Lee Family of Virginia.

Early life

Parker Stevenson was born on the Main Line of Philadelphia, on June 4, 1952, as Richard Stevenson Parker Jr., one of two sons of Richard Stevenson Parker Sr., an investment advisor, and Sarah Meade, an actress who worked on Broadway and in television commercials. Meade took him to a filming session when he was five years old, which resulted in him making two small television appearances. The elder Parker moved his family to Rye, New York and disapproved of the whole business. Richard Jr. appeared in a few plays at Brooks Preparatory School, but initially had no intention of becoming an actor and wanted to be an architect.

Career

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

Stevenson became well known from starring with 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. In 1983, he co-starred in the movie Stroker Ace as Stroker Ace (Burt Reynolds)'s brash race-car driving nemesis, Aubrey James. The film was a critical and financial failure.