Georg Olden (actor)

Georg Olden
Georg Olden, c. 1982
Born	(1968-01-14) January 14, 1968 (age 49) Tarrytown, New York, U.S.A.
Occupation	Actor, model, musical performer
Years active	1981–2005

Georg Olden (born January 14, 1968) is an American former actor, model and musical theatre performer. Beginning his career as a professional child actor and model at the age of ten, Olden is best known for his television roles; as "Drag" in the ABC Weekend Special: The Joke's On Mr. Little and as "Robbie Stuart" on the 1980s TBS sitcom Rocky Road. Rising to prominence as a teen idol in the mid-1980s, Olden is also known for his feature film roles; as "Piper" in the teen comedy Bad Manners (aka: Growing Pains) and as one of the teenage bullies in the science fiction adventure Explorers.

Olden was born Georg Olden, Jr. on January 14, 1968 in Tarrytown, New York, the son of renowned graphic designer Georg Olden and professional stage actress and singer Terri Phillips Baker. His father died when he was seven and he grew up spending his summers traveling the country with his mother as she appeared in numerous roadshow engagements and stage plays. In a 1986 interview, Olden recounted his early childhood saying "I think we ended up seeing just about all of the U.S.A. except Alaska and Hawaii." Although an accomplished stage performer, Baker did not want her son to enter show business and discouraged him from embarking on a career within the entertainment industry.

In 1978, at the age of ten, Olden heard about a local theatrical production of the musical Oliver! that was looking for boys. He asked his mother to allow him to audition and, in spite of some misgivings, she eventually consented on the condition that he could audition for the part, but if he didn't get the role, he would agree not to pursue a career in show business. If he did get the part, she would accept it as fate and would allow him to pursue an acting career. After a series of auditions to evaluate his acting, singing and dancing abilities, Olden landed the title role and immediately began rehearsals for a full-scale production of the musical at the famed Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood, which co-starred comic Dick Shawn.