Rick Schroder always has been a favorite. What's he been doing since NYPD Blue, and why did he leave the series?
—Kay S., California
After spending most of his life in front of the camera, Rick Schroder decided it was time to devote more time to his wife of 10 years, Andrea, and their children. They live on a 15,000-acre working ranch in Grand Junction, Colo., that the one-time child actor bought in 1990, after falling in love with the West while working on Lonesome Dove. A native of Staten Island, N.Y., Schroder started appearing in commercials when he was 3 months old. At just 9 years old, he won a Golden Globe award for his searing performance opposite Jon Voight in The Champ and went on to a successful NBC series, Silver Spoons, which ran for five seasons. He worked steadily while growing up. He decided he wanted to work on a series again and was chosen to replace the void left by Jimmy Smits on NYPD Blue. Schroder surprised everyone who still thought of him as a child actor, nailing the role and fitting right in with the gritty ABC cop show. After three seasons, with his wife pregnant with their fourth child, Schroder felt he was spending too much time away from his family and left the series.
