 What Rick said about writing his book (from the
introduction):
My wife doesn’t come from the entertainment business and was
singularly uninformed about it when I was introduced to her in Hong Kong. The first time
she was on a movie set, I was guest starring in the TV series Air Wolf. When I
introduced her to one of the co-stars, and an old pal, Ernie Borgnine, she told him he
looked familiar. Ernie started giving her a list of his credits and she kept shaking her
head. He finally gave up and picked an apple from a tray, handed it to her and said,
"Have one, sweetheart." That ended the subject.
The first few years of our marriage, I regaled her with stories of
Hollywood and my experiences in the business; mostly during dinner and over a bottle of
wine. She was always attentive and occasionally asked a question. The conversations always
ended with, "You should write this down, for your autobiography." She’d
been saying it for years and I’d refused. It was hard to believe anybody would be
interested in my life even though I still receive fan mail from avid Combat! fans
who grew up watching the show with their parents and now sit in front of the TV looking at
it with their kids. It’s become a rite of passage. [...]
However, my wife is a very persistent person. She’s never
stopped saying, "You should write your autobiography, just for the fun of it and for
me to read."
Then an interesting thing happened. A package arrived one day in
1995. Until then, I knew Combat! had been in reruns all over the country, but I
wasn’t aware of any organized effort to unite its fans. This was a package from a
group of fans, and it opened my eyes to a Combat! world I had no idea existed. A
website visited by thousands each month, and a Combat! convention that they dubbed
a "recon," along with a Carribean cruise. The enthusiasm of the Combat!
devotees has been staggering. At this writing, they’re planning the third Recon; to
take place this year in Las Vegas.
I’ve been informed, in no uncertain terms, that there are a
lot more people besides my lovely wife who would like to read about my beginning in
television, when it was in its infancy. Infancy? Hell, it hadn’t even been born! And
to read about my entry into the movie business toward the end of the studio system.
To all of you who’ve insisted and encouraged me, to all whom
I’ve entertained, thanks for making my life that much more fulfilled.
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