What Is Rick Springfield's Net Worth?
Rick Springfield is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor who has a net worth of $10 million. Rick Springfield is probably best known for his 1981 hit single "Jessie's Girl" and for his role as Dr. Noah Drake on "General Hospital." He played Dr. Drake from 1981 to 1983 (while simultaneously touring with his band) and reprised the role from 2005 to 2008.
Early Life
Rick Springfield was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe on August 23, 1949, in Sydney, Australia. His mother was of English descent, and his father had a Scottish heritage. Because his father was in the Australian Army, Springfield moved frequently to military bases in Australia and the UK. When he was 13 years old, he learned how to play the guitar.
Zoot
During his teenage years, Rick played in a variety of bands in the UK and Australia, the most successful being Zoot, which he joined in 1969. To produce hype and market themselves, Springfield had the idea for a promotional campaign called "Think Pink—think Zoot." in which they would perform exclusively in pink satin clothing. The trick did bring the band attention and increased their fanbase of teenage girls, but it had unintended consequences, leading them to not be taken seriously as a rock band. They ended up burning all the pink adornments a year later in an attempt to shed their pop image, but the stunt was largely unsuccessful, with their next album being a flop. Rick left the band in 1971 and began to pursue a solo music career.
Solo Career in the US
After leaving Zoot, Springfield found greater success for a period, and his first single, "Speak to the Sky," was a hit in Australia and the US. He recorded his debut album, "Beginnings," in 1972 and then moved to the US. He signed with Columbia Records in 1973 to record his second album, "Comic Book Heroes," which unfortunately was a dud. Rick was a main character in the 1974 US educational children's show "Mission: Magic," which ran for 16 episodes and featured songs written by Springfield. The bubblegum pop songs were released as an album in Australia, where the show also aired. However, Rick's music career was yet to take off with Columbia shelving his 1974 album, so he decided to focus on acting for the remainder of the 70s. He took acting lessons from legendary acting coach Vincent Chase and learned how to speak with an American accent.
Springfield signed a contract with Universal Studios and began to land guest roles and minor speaking parts in television shows. He had a recurring role on "The Young and the Restless" and minor roles in "The Rockford Files" and "The Six Million Dollar Man." Music and songwriting remained his passions, and he continued to write and record music. In 1981, Rick landed a recurring role on the soap opera "General Hospital" and released his next album.
"Jessie's Girl" Superstardom
"Working Class Dog" was released by RCA Records in February 1981 and featured the worldwide hit single "Jessie's Girl." The song was slow to catch on but would end up being the biggest hit of his career. It charted at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and was ranked #5 on their end-of-the-year list. Springfield won his first and only Grammy in the Best Rock Vocal Performance category with "Jessie's Girl" in 1982. The song remains popular in television and film and is widely recognizable. The television show "Glee" covered the hit in 2010, and it has been featured in numerous films over the years. In 2006, VH1 ranked it #20 on their "Greatest Songs of the Eighties" list.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Rick's album "Working Class Dog" Charted at #7 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. He continued to star on "General Hospital" while he toured for the album, cementing his image as a teenage heartthrob. His next album performed even better. "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" was released in 1982 and produced three charting singles and was certified Platinum. His third album with RCA, "Living in Oz," was a shift from his previous pop-rock style and had a harder vibe. It was released in 1983 and earned him a Grammy nomination.
Acting Career
In addition to being notable for his role on "General Hospital," Springfield starred on the detective television show "High Tide" from 1994 to 1997. He appeared in the 1984 musical drama "Hard to Hold" and recorded the soundtrack to the film. In 1995, he was in the Tony-nominated play "Smokey Joe's Café," and from 2000 to 2002, he had a residency in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. Rick had a recurring role on "True Detective" in 2015, and he was in the twelfth season of The CW's "Supernatural." In 2017, he starred on FX's "American Horror Story: Cult."
Personal Life
Springfield struggled with depression throughout his early life and attempted suicide when he was seventeen. He began a lengthy relationship with actress Linda Blair, who is 10 years his junior, when she was 15 years old. In 1984, Rick married Barbara Porter, who had a small part working on the production of his album "Working Class Dogs." They have two sons together.
In 2018, in response to a question related to the deaths of Chris Cornell and Robin Williams, Springfield revealed that he had contemplated suicide the year before and empathized with their depression. He released an autobiography titled "Late, Late at Night: A Memoir" in 2010, and it reached #13 on the "New York Times" Best Seller list. It was ranked #23 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "Top 25 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time."
Real Estate
For much of the 1980s, Rick lived in an estate in Malibu called Lavender Hill Farm. In 1989, he sold the 2.5-acre property, which is located in the gated community Sierra Retreat, to Mel Gibson for $3 million. Mel sold the home in 2013 for $9.3 million. In 1996, Rick paid $490,000 for a new home in Malibu. Today this home is worth an estimated $3 million.
