It used to be the worst thing you could say about Rick Springfield was that "Bop Till You Drop" wasn't really up to the high standards set by his 1981 No. 1 "Jessie's Girl." All that changed on Monday, September 18, when the Australian
actor/singer was arrested and charged with physically abusing his wife, Barbara Springthorpe.
Police were called to the family's Malibu, Calif., home on Monday night after an emergency call was made. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman William Hines, the 51-year-old Springfield was taken into custody "after officers determined he was a suspect in spousal abuse." Police found on Barbara "minor injuries to her face and arm," including redness and scratches.
Springfield was released on Tuesday afternoon after posting $50,000 bail. Hines said that the alleged incident was still under investigation, but that he expected charges would be made soon.
Although it was feared Springfield would miss taping a Behind the Music third-anniversary special with Leif Garrett and members of Poison, he put in an appearance and told reporters that he and Barbara had an argument. "A third party called the police," he said. "We're together and we're going to work it out."
The couple have been married for 18 years and have two sons. In the past, Springfield has credited Barbara for sticking by him during the good times and the bad.
"I've always been a pretty dark guy. As a kid, we called it moody," Springfield told the Los Angeles Times in March. "I kind of halfheartedly tried to off myself at one point. It did get pretty intense."
Rick Springfield was born Rick Springthorpe in Sydney in 1949. He originally performed with the Australian band Zoot, but became a solo act in 1972 and briefly appeared on the U.S. chart with a cover of the Zoot single "Speak to the Sky."
Springfield began a successful acting career later in the decade, making appearances on English TV. Then he landed the role of Noah Drake on the American daytime soap General Hospital.
Springfield's heartthrob status during the early '80s was confirmed with a string of hit singles, beginning with "Jessie's Girl." After another 16 top 40 hits and the flop 1984 film Hard to Hold, Springfield returned to TV acting as a regular on NBC's Suddenly Susan sitcom. He released a new solo album, Karma, in April 1999.
|
