Richard Rifkin - Biography
Richard Rifkin has worked in Hollywood and Europe in the entertainment business for over four decades as an actor, writer, director and teacher. He was also the first American Radio DJ on live radio in English in Central Europe on Radio Bridge 102.1 FM in Budapest, Hungary in the early 1990's.
Mr. Rifkin grew up in the small country town of Yardley in Bucks County, Pennsylvania as well as in New York City which gave him a nice balance of the tranquil life as well as the culture and fast pace of a major city. He felt as comfortale on his bicycle riding down a country road as on a NYC subway car. A family move to the Los Angeles area in California at the age of fourteen broadened his spectrum of the world and opened his eyes to a whole new area. That of the entertainment business.
Still in high school and at the age of fifteen Richard auditioned for and got his first role in the professional theatre in Los Angeles. He followed this up with two more roles in the theatre before realizing that he would pursue acting as a career. Thus began the training in acting classes and workshops and also in school and university. Upon finishing high school he attended LACC as an theatre arts/acting major and then went on to the University of Southern California in the film making department. Working all along as an actor in theatre, feature films, TV and commercials as well as always attending workshops and acting classes given by such notables as Guy Stockwell, Rudy Solari, John Milford and Bruce Glover.
He has had a working and personal relationship with many top professionals in the entertainment business over the years including Donald Sutherland, John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Michael Keaton, John Malkovich, Rod Steiger, Tony Curtis, Geena Davis, Charles Bronson, Beau Bridges, David Hemmings, Alfred Molina, Christopher Lambert, Vilmos Zsigmond, Frank Zappa, Eric Burdon, Jim Belushi, Connie Sellecca, and Goldie Hawn.
Mr. Rifkin has been coaching actors privately and teaching his acting workshop/classes for nearly two decades in Los Angeles as well as having success giving his class in Warsaw, Poland at the Rafal Kosecki Theatre. He finds giving his acting lessons to be a wonderful experience and looks forward to his teaching the young as well as older actors. Mr. Rifkin finds giving something back after all his years of work and experience in the business is a joy as well as work.
He has also coached Hungarian singers and pop bands with the lyrics in English.
Mr. Rifkin has been a visitor to Hungary on and off since 1984 and also a resident there. He has been seen in Hungary on TV 2, VIVA and MTV in commercials, music videos, doing interviews for television and special programs over the years. He has also acted in numerous English speaking feature films and TV series and continues to act in films shooting in and around Budapest.
Mr. Rifkin also continues writing and is working on two new film script ideas as well as a TV series and a new play which he is considering doing in the theatre in Budapest.