Spencer Milligan

Spencer Milligan (born September 10, 1937) is an American actor best known for playing Rick Marshall, the father of Will and Holly Marshall, on the first two seasons of the 1970s children science fiction TV series, Land of the Lost.

Spencer Milligan
Born (1937-09-10) September 10, 1937
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor, Producer

The fictional Marshalls were an American family who found themselves transported to a mysterious realm overrun with dinosaurs and other exotic, fearsome creatures. The show was the creation of Sid and Marty Krofft and has since become a cult classic. It is now available on DVD.[1]

Acting career

Milligan left the show after the second season. It was widely believed by fans that he left because of a "salary dispute." In fact, Milligan wanted his share of merchandising royalties that the show generated. In a 2009 interview with the Associated Press, Milligan elaborated:

We had a difference of opinion, let's put it this way, on using my face for stuff and paying me—lunch boxes, compasses—where they were selling them and I thought it was only fair that everyone should get their fair share.[2]

On the show, Milligan's character Rick Marshall was replaced by his brother, Jack Marshall, played by actor Ron Harper. Milligan did not return for a brief scene, shot in the credits of the third season, showing Rick Marshall being transported out of the Land of the Lost. One of the show's crew played the role instead, wearing a wig resembling Milligan's hair and standing with his back to the camera.[3][4]

Although Spencer Milligan made various guest-starring roles on TV in the 1970s, his career cooled in the 1980s. During the 1980s Milligan lived in Malibu. He settled in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area in the 1990s, where he taught acting at Adam Roarke's Film Actors Lab (where Lou Diamond Phillips studied). One of Milligan's students was actor Benton Jennings. Milligan eventually moved back to his family's home in Wisconsin.[5] His last known acting performance was in 1987, when he appeared on General Hospital.[6]

In addition to teaching acting, Milligan has directed local plays.

Partial filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1973 Sleeper Jeb Hrmthmg
1974 Land of the Lost Rick Marshall TV
1975 The Man From Clover Grove Fester McLong
The Photographer Clinton Webber
1976 The Keegans Pat Keegan TV
1977 The Bionic Woman uncredited TV
1979 Quincy M.E. Cliff Hanna TV Episodes: "Walk Softly Through the Night" parts 1 & 2
Alice David TV Episode: "Little Alice Bluenose"
1980 Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story Haskell TV
1981 Terror Among Us Alex TV
1982 Police Squad! Eddie Casales TV Episode Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)
1987 You Ruined My Life Detective TV
General Hospital Ray Gibbons TV
gollark: Well, the interface might not be identical, they could just do similar things.
gollark: Also, there are "legacy algorithms" a bit, when you have to keep something around even though it's bad for backward compatibility and such.
gollark: Maybe there should be those things.
gollark: Idea: Forth to Lisp compiler.
gollark: I wonder how they do the type inference. My friend was complaining about that being undecidable on stacks or something.

References
  1. Land of the Lost summary at tv.com
  2. "'Land of the Lost' Stars Found" Associated Press, June 8, 2009
  3. Land of the Lost Archived 2006-11-01 at the Wayback Machine at kensforce.com
  4. Land of the Lost at mediawhack.com
  5. Forum thread at landofthelost.com
  6. Land of the Lost at celebritynooz.com
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