Richard Burgi was born in Montclair, New Jersey (a town roughly 15 miles west of New York City), to a musical family: His father was a drummer, his mother was a singer, and one of his three siblings became a drummer. Burgi started participating in community theater during his youth; after graduating from Montclair High School, he traveled throughout Europe for a while.
Burgi began his acting career in the mid-1980s, and from 1986 through 1989 he had recurring roles on two daytime staples, Another World and As the World Turns.
