LOS ANGELES—”MacGyver” — known in the trade as a “run and jump show” — is hell on men and equipment. It has been particularly rough on the star, Richard Dean Anderson, who reports to outdoor locations on cold, dank and rainy days in Vancouver from 12 to 14 hours a crack with just about every joint in his broken body aching from work-related injuries.
“The basic nature of an action-adventure series is dangerous to your health,” grumbles Mr. Anderson, who sports a slight limp as he approaches a table at Hugo’s Restaurant in West Hollywood fora power breakfast. “I’m not at the top of my game physically these days because I’ve had back surgery and foot operations in recent years. I should have had a lobotomy, but I was too tired to think of it at the time.”
Mr Anderson, a trim, athletic-type at 6-foot-2 and 180 lbs., shattered both arms at the age of 18 while playing hockey for the Alexander Ramsey Senior High School in St. Paul, Minn., and has dented his physique ever since, skydiving and skiing between car and motorcycle racing. But nothing major happened until 1985, mid-way through the first season of “MacGyver.”
“It was one of those stupid little things where I was running towards the camera, stepped in a chuckhole and did a nasty tumble,” he explains. “To make a long story short, I mangled my feet and blew out a couple of discs. A chunk of one disc found its way into my spinal cord. Though pretty crippled, I went on shooting the show for another 11/2 years, then went under the knife. I do feel better now, but I have to live with discomfort.”
Eirik Knutzen. The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina. 22 December, 1989.
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