Radames Pera now 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 then 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.
