Robert Carradine

Despite a lengthy and successful movie career, working with directors like Martin Scorsese and John Carpenter, Carradine is probably best known for portraying fraternity president "Lewis Skolnick" in the Revenge of the Nerds series of comedy films and father Sam McGuire on the Disney Channel sitcom Lizzie McGuire.

Carradine was born in Hollywood, California, the son of actress and artist Sonia Sorel (née Henius) and actor John Carradine. He is one of a number of prolific actors in the Carradine family. He is the brother of Christopher and Keith Carradine, paternal half-brother of Bruce and David Carradine, and maternal half-brother of Michael Bowen. His maternal great-grandfather was biochemist Max Henius, and his maternal great-grandmother was the sister of historian Johan Ludvig Heiberg.

Carradine's parents were divorced when he was 2 years old. A bitter custody battle lead to his father gaining custody of him and his brothers, Christopher and Keith. During the custody battle, the children had spent three months in a home for abused children as wards of the court. His brother, Keith, said of the experience, "It was like being in jail. There were bars on the windows, and we were only allowed to see our parents through glass doors. It was very sad. We would stand there on either side of the glass door crying". Read Less

To prepare for the comedy, Carradine spent time at The University of Arizona, where the movie was filmed, participating in rush week. "No fraternity picked him, convincing Carradine that he was indeed right for the part of the nerd that nobody wanted to claim as their own." Carradine reprised the role of Skolnick in several sequels.

Carradine's first television appearance was in 1971, on the classic western series, Bonanza. He also appeared on his brother David's series, Kung Fu, as Sunny Jim, the mute companion of Serenity Johnson, played by his father, John, in an episode called Dark Angel (1972). In 1979, he was along side Melissa Sue Anderson in Survival of Dana. Read Less