Little House on the Prairie NBC TV Cast Information
Radames
Pera was born in New York City in 1960. He moved to Hollywood with
his mother in 1963 so she could pursue her acting career (their
first apartment was around the corner from the historic Chinese
Theater on Hollywood Blvd.). In 1967 Radames was discovered by
director Daniel Mann and cast as Stavros, the dying son of Anthony
Quinn and Irene Papas in A Dream of Kings (1968). His mother found
him an agent and he ended up guest-starring in several TV shows in
the late 1960s and 1970s. An early live television appearance was as
Oliver Twist on The Red Skelton Show (1969). For the first few years
of his career he tended to be cast in roles as the sensitive or
troubled boy. This reputation led to his landing the co-starring
role of the Shaolin monk, Grasshopper in the seminal TV series Kung
Fu (1972) and later as the writer/poet John Jr. (and Mary Ingalls’
fiancée) in Little House on the Prairie (1975).
In the summer of 1978 Radames began his three-year intensive study
of acting and directing with Stella Adler, first in L.A. and then at
her Conservatory in New York City. While in New York he portrayed
Alan Bates' estranged son in the British feature film, Very Like a
Whale (1981).
After returning to Los Angeles in 1981 Radames discovered for
himself the painful reality that nearly every child actor faces:
"The Business" was done with him. Because he was no longer a “child
actor” and was now (un-)officially an “ex-child star” he was
basically un-hirable! Even though he was as the top of his game,
experience and training wise, casting executives were unable to see
beyond their pidgeon-hole. As strange as this might sound, imagine
being on the receiving end of it!
Radames’ last feature film role was working opposite Charlie Sheen,
Patrick Swayze and Lea Thompson as the Soviet Radar Tracking Expert,
Sgt. Stepan Gorsky in John Milius' Red Dawn (1984). That same year
he wed his wife, Marsha Mann. His last TV role was working with
Stacy Keach as a Nazi vigilante youth-gang leader in The New Mike
Hammer (1985).
In 1988 he started his own business designing and installing home
theaters and residential sound systems. In 1993 he successfully
moved his family and business to Portland, Oregon, then returned to
Southern California in 2002, living in Ventura from 2002-2004. Since
the end of ’04 Radames has been a resident of Austin, Texas, where
he has continued pursuing his writing and directing talents.
Click here to read our interview with Radames.
