Biography

Born 2 Dec, 1968 in Dearborn, Michigan. The third of four siblings, Rick grew up in Michigan's Sterling Heights and, attended Henry Ford II High School. From an athletic family, he developed a love for the game of hockey at the early age of 6. Graced with natural agility, Rick grew up competitive in this sport, eventually expanding his athletic portfolio into both baseball and football. In fact, Rick made his sophomore football squad as a starter even after missing the first two weeks of pre-season conditioning due to a family back country camping adventure. His father, Robert Schimmelpfenneg, was remarkably devoted to the family, spending nearly all of his free time with them in the great outdoors, whether fishing the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, or camping the Canadian Wilderness.

Before finding himself as an actor, Rick excelled academically in architectural drafting and design, leading into a two decade long career in the new homes construction industry; framing over 800 homes, designing and building custom decks with new composite materials and contracting major renovations, inclusive of problem solving for handicap accessibility. During this time, Rick also trained extensively as a technical SCUBA diver, logging in over 100 dives while obtaining his Rescue and then Master SCUBA Diver certifications. He went on to volunteer with the St. Clair Co. F.D. in 2004-2005 as a first response diver during the (OSS) Offshore Super Series boat races on the St. Clair River.

While in Las Vegas in '94 Rick walked onto the set of Casino as an extra, an experience that instantly developed into a passion for the industry. His decision to move to LA and work in entertainment became concrete in 2008, and progressed quickly. Becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild by the end of his first year, Rick worked a number of commercial spots for clients such as Callaway Golf and Universal Studios. He has also appeared as Det. Mattson on the Investigation Discovery Channel's series, Solved (Betrayal) and has had featured slots on prime time television's Desperate Housewives (City on Fire) and DollHouse (True Believer).
- IMDb mini biography by: Arlo Hemphill