Sunset Beach

Background:

“It's like trying to fit into Shaq O'Neal's shoes. Never gonna happen. I mean, my dad's in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for the most prolific producer in history!” Randy Spelling (on living in the shadow of his father)

American actor Randy Spelling is the son of legendary film and television producer Aaron Spelling and the younger brother of actress Tori Spelling. He has appeared in his father's shows “Beverly Hills, 90210” (1992, as Kenny; 1996-2000, as Ryan), “Malibu Shores” (1996, as Flipper Gage), “Sunset Beach” (1997-1999, as Sean Richards) and “7th Heaven” (2004, as Alex Mandelbaum). After his father death, he starred in the reality series “Sons of Hollywood” (A&E, 2007), opposite musician Rod Stewart's son Sean. Randy has also appeared in several films, including “Held for Ransom” (2000), “National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze” (2003), “Pledge This” (2006), “Hot Tamale” (2006), “Cosmic Radio” (2007) and “Dimples” (2008).

Randy is married to Leah Stutz. He previously dated Annalee Fery in 2000 and is friends with his “Sunset Beach” costars Susan Ward and Cristi Harris. Randy enjoys reading poetry and his favorite poets are Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost and Lord Byron. His other interests include basketball, volleyball and tennis. He mentions “Titanic,” “Good Will Hunting” and City of Angels” as his favorite movies.

In July 2001, Randy was arrested in West Hollywood, California, for DUI after he allegedly drove his car into two other vehicles.

Hollywood's Son

Childhood and Family:

“There's more to life than making money, having nice things and living the high life. I didn't grow up thinking everyone lived in a big house and had tons of money. My parents always raised me with morals and to respect money.” Randy Spelling

Randy Spelling was born Randall Gene Spelling on October 9, 1978, in Los Angeles, California. He was the second child and only son of renowned television producer Aaron Spelling (born April 22, 1933, died June 23, 2006) and his second wife, author and socialite Candy Spelling (born September 20, 1945). Born premature, his weight dropped from 4 1/2 pounds to 2 1/2 pounds and he was kept in the hospital for the first several weeks of his life. Despite his parents’ worries that he was not going to make it, Randy survived and grew up a healthy kid. Randy later enrolled at the Montclair College Prep school in Beverly Hills, where he met his friend and manger David Weintraub.

As a child, Randy often accompanied his dad to work and later followed in the footsteps of his older sister, Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973), known as Tori Spelling, to become an actor.

Randy Spelling married Leah Stutz on September 25, 2010.

Pledge This!

Career:

Randy Spelling made his television debut with a guest role in one of his father's shows, “Beverly Hills, 90210,” where he played Kenny in the episode “Too Little, Too Late/Paris 75001,” which aired on July 29, 1992. He went on to reprise the role in two additional episodes called “Shooting Star/American in Paris” and “Castles in the Sand” (both August 1992). Several years later, he returned to “Beverly Hills, 90210” to play the recurring role of Ryan, the troublemaking stepbrother of Steve (played by Ian Ziering). He appeared in 11 episodes from January 1996 to May 2000. Randy also joined Keri Russell, Tony Lucca, Christian Campbell, Katie Wright, Greg Vaughan, Tia Texada, Charisma Carpenter, Jacob Vargas, Walter Jones, Susan Ward, Essence Atkins, Ian Ogilvy and Michelle Phillips to star in his dad's teen soap opera “Malibu Shores,” which followed the exploits of southern California teens. Debuting on March 9, 1996, the show was originally picked up for six episodes, but was canceled because of poor ratings.

After the cancellation of “Malibu Shores,” Randy landed the regular role of Sean Richards, the rebellious son of Gregory and Olivia Richards (played by Sam Behrens and Lesley-Anne Downs) on the NBC daytime soap opera “Sunset Beach,” the first daytime soap produced by his father. He played the role throughout the entire run of the show from January 6, 1997, to December 31, 1999. The cast also included Susan Ward, Jason Winston George, Clive Robertson, Sarah Buxton, Eddie Cibrian, Hank Cheyne and Timothy Adams.

In 2000, Randy branched out to the big screen when he landed the role of Dexter Martin in the thriller “Held for Ransom,” which was written and directed by Lee Stanley and based on a novel by Lois Duncan. The film starred Dennis Hopper, Zachary Ty Bryan, Morgan Fairchild and Debi Mazar.

Three years later, Randy resurfaced in the comedy film “National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze” (2003), where he played Foosball. Directed by David and Scott Hillenbrand and written by Patrick Casey and Worm Miller, the film was panned by critics but has since developed a cult following. Costars of the film included Tatyana Ali, Boti Bliss, Marieh Delfino, Cameron Richardson, Tony Denman, Patrick Renna, Chris Owen, Danielle Fishel, Jennifer Lyons, Marie-Noelle Marquis and James DeBello.

In 2004, Randy revisited the small screen in an episode of the family drama “7th Heaven,” which was executive produced by his father. The next year, he costarred with Jason Connery, C. Thomas Howell, Mark Holton and Lin Shaye in “Hoboken Hollow” (2005), a horror film written and directed by Glen Stephens.

Randy next teamed up with John Hayden, Richard Riehle, Harland Williams, Daniel Toscano, James Best, Beth Grant, Christian Boewe, Matt Cedeño, Kristen Caldwell, Sandy Martin, Jason Priestley, Mike Starr and Sean Blakemore in the 2006 action comedy “Hot Tamale.” Directed and co-written by Michael Damian, the film won Best Narrative Feature at the 2006 Boston International Film Festival and Festival Prize for Best Comedy and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy at the 2006 Dixie Film Festival. Also in 2006, Randy was cast as Kelly in “National Lampoon's 'Pledge This,” which starred Paris Hilton, who also served as an executive producer. The film was poorly received and went directly to video.

In 2007, Randy teamed up with Jonathan Sachar, Irene Bedard, Rider Strong, Michael Madsen, Taboo, Ricardo Chavira, Wes Studi, Seymour Cassel, Kevin Gage, Lindsay Price, Alisa Schulz and Lauren Greg for the Stephen Savage directed drama “Cosmic Radio,” in which he played the role of Marty. In addition, he starred in the reality show “Sons of Hollywood,” alongside Sean Stewart (son of British rocker Rod Stewart) and agent David Weintraub. The show, which Randy produced, ran on the A&E Network from April 1, 2007, to April 29, 2007. Talking about why he wanted to appear in a reality show, he stated, “I wanted to clear up misconceptions about who I am as I’ve found that having a famous last name there are certain stereotypes associated with that and I wanted to put a face, personality and heart behind my last name.”

In 2008, Randy costarred with Gabrielle Carteris, Elliott Grey, Hugh B. Holub, Reggie Lee, Michael McMillian and Ashley Peldon in the horror film “Dimples.” The film was directed by Dusty DePree and written by DePree and Ron Jordan.

In addition to acting, Randy has branched into the record business. He is the founder of the record label Spellbound/Vocab Records. It was his experience as a member of a three man hip hop group named Lynx in the late 1990s that inspired him to enter the business.

“I definitely want to continue acting and eventually go behind the camera, whether I'm writing scripts, directing or producing. My dad always told me, 'If it's in your heart, then follow your dreams and you will succeed.’” Randy Spelling (on his future)

Awards:
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