Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Cathy Rigby is a Actor American born on 12 december 1952 at Los Alamitos (USA)

Cathy Rigby

Cathy Rigby
  • Infos
  • Photos
  • Best films
  • Family
  • Characters
  • Awards
If you like this person, let us know!
Nationality USA
Birth 12 december 1952 (71 years) at Los Alamitos (USA)

Cathleen Roxanne Rigby (born December 12, 1952), known as Cathy Rigby, is an actress, speaker, and former gymnast. Her performance in the 1968 Summer Olympics helped to popularize the sport of gymnastics in the United States. After her retirement, she became a stage and television actress. She is most noted for the role of Peter Pan, which she played for more than 30 years. She also became a public speaker on the subject of eating disorders, which she struggled with and overcame.

Biography

Early life
Cathy Rigby was born in Los Alamitos, California on December 12, 1952.
She has an older brother, Steve Rigby; older sister, Michelle; younger brother, Jeff; and a younger sister, Jill. She is the daughter of Anita & Paul Rigby.


Gymnastic career

Rigby's participation in the 1968 Summer Olympics as the highest-scoring American gymnast made her a favorite with American television audiences and helped to popularize gymnastics in America. She was U.S. National Gymnastic Champion in 1970 and 1972. She became the first American woman to win a medal at a World Gymnastics Championships, the silver medal on the balance beam at the 1970 Championships.

She also competed in the 1972 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team, but was hampered by injury. Prior to the games, she had been working on a move for the balance beam that was quite risky for the time: an aerial walkover, in which she somersaulted forwards. Because she was injured, she did not attempt this move during the competition and did not win a medal.

Rigby retired from gymnastics after the 1972 Summer Olympics. She married professional football player Tommy Mason, ran a successful gymnastics camp, had two sons, and began acting.


Acting career
In 1974, the producers of a showy, theater-in-the-round version of Peter Pan were trying to capitalize on her fame and skill when they offered her the title role. The shy gymnast commented that she was "scared to death" during rehearsals; only 20 and just a year into "retirement," she had no idea what she would be doing with the rest of her life when the role came along. To her surprise, she discovered she could not only pull off playing Peter Pan, but that she actually enjoyed doing it.

In the mid-1970s, Rigby shattered an old taboo by appearing in a series of TV commercials for Stayfree maxi-pads created by Young & Rubicam copywriter Peter Cornish, thereby becoming the first celebrity to endorse a feminine hygiene product. Rigby then turned her efforts to television, working for 18 years as a commentator for ABC Sports and appearing in made-for-television movies. In 1976, she appeared in a role as a guest star Russian gymnast on the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.

In 1981, Rigby starred as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. During that production, Rigby met her second husband, Tom McCoy. She credits McCoy with enabling her to fight bulimia, a disease which she had lived with since the end of her gymnastics career. She had two daughters, Theresa and Kaitlin, with her second husband. Other theatrical appearances included Annie Get Your Gun and Meet Me In St. Louis.

During the 1980s, Rigby began publicly speaking about her experiences with eating disorders. Rigby, who suffered from bulimia for 12 years, in an article she wrote for People Magazine in 1984, said: "I wanted to be perfect in my attitude and in my weight. Inside I was going crazy. I probably consumed 10,000 calories a day or more in fast foods. I can tell you where every McDonald's and Jack in the Box was along the way (to my voice lessons)—and every bathroom where I could get rid of the food." According to a People Magazine interview in 1991, "twice she was hospitalized and nearly died from electrolyte imbalance."

In 1990, Rigby again appeared as Peter Pan on Broadway and later took the production on tour. Rigby received excellent reviews for her performance and was nominated for a Tony Award. She played the role again in 1998–1999. In 2002-2003, she played the lead in the touring production of the musical Seussical, but in 2004–2005 she again toured as Peter Pan, billing it as her farewell. Yet she returned to the role in 2008 at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh and in 2009 at the Mansion Theater in Branson, Missouri.

In August of 2011, Rigby showed audiences that she "won't grow up" when she started another Peter Pan tour at the age of 60, continuing through 2013. In 2012, she appeared in American Girl's McKenna Shoots for The Stars, as McKenna's gymnastics coach. Rigby confirmed that she was leaving the role of Peter Pan for good when her tour concluded on April 28, 2013. She said, "No, we don't say goodbye, because saying goodbye means forgetting, and I'm not forgetting, I'm just going to find another adventure."

In late August 2015, Rigby reprised her role once again as Peter Pan in a limited 15 day run at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver.

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Cathy Rigby (4 films)

Display filmography as list

Actress

An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars, 1h31
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Children's films
Actors Nia Vardalos, Ian Ziering, Jade Pettyjohn, Cathy Rigby, Sarah Silverman, Kerris Dorsey
Roles Coach Isabelle Manning
Rating57% 2.87912.87912.87912.87912.8791
The beginning starts in the Shooting Star gym. McKenna is practicing her backhand spring on the beam. Coach Isabelle tells McKenna that the move she was doing is too advanced. McKenna tries to protest, but loses. Then the coach tells her to just stretch. As McKenna is feeling depressed, her best friend Toulane comes over and tells McKenna she was great. She then gets on about how the two of them will get into the 2016 Summer Olympics. Toulane explains that she will be on the podium with her gold, and McKenna next to her with her silver. McKenna tells her that she will get a gold instead. The two get back to gymnastics until McKenna's grandma comes into the gym with McKenna's twin younger sisters, Maisey and Mara. The four of them leave the gym.
An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars, 1h31
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films, Gymnastique, Children's films
Actors Jade Pettyjohn, Nia Vardalos, Ian Ziering, Cathy Rigby, Kerris Dorsey, Christina Ricci
Roles Coach Isabelle Manning
Rating57% 2.87912.87912.87912.87912.8791
In the Shooting Star gym. McKenna Brooks is practicing her back handspring on the beam. Coach Isabelle Manning tells McKenna that the move she's doing is too advanced. McKenna tries to protest, but loses. Then the coach tells her to just stretch. As McKenna's feeling depressed, her best friend Toulane Thomas comes over and tells McKenna she was great. She then gets on about how the 2 of them will get into the 2016 Summer Olympics. Toulane explains that she'll be on the podium with her gold, and McKenna next to her with her silver. McKenna tells her that she'll get a gold instead. The 2 get back to gymnastics until McKenna's grandma comes into the gym with McKenna's younger twin sisters, Maisey and Mara. The 4 of them leave the gym.
Perfect Body, 1h40
Directed by Douglas Barr
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films
Actors Amy Jo Johnson, Brett Cullen, Cathy Rigby, Ray Baker, Wendie Malick, Chelsea Hobbs
Roles Brenda Gray
Rating60% 3.049783.049783.049783.049783.04978
Andie Bradley, (Johnson) is a gymnast whose ambition is to participate in the Olympics. When offered the opprtunity to train with one of the leading coaches in the U.S., she gratefully accepts. This requires her to move from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. When she attends her first session, she is scrutinized by the coach about her weight and feels the pressure to lose the pounds. At first she adopts a sensible diet, but it soon leads to anorexia. When she meets a fellow team member, Leslie (Tara Boger), she realizes there are ways around it. "You can eat what you want, and not gain a pound." Andie continues with her diet, but once she cannot handle it she turns to purging methods. Her mom notices changes in her weight, while her boyfriend and best friend also notice changes in her attitude. Andie eventually comes out to her best friend, telling her that she sees the changes and can't stop her behavior. She faints twice, both during competitions, and goes to hospital, after fainting the second time, where a doctor talk to her parents about her body problems. Her parents decide to move back home. Andie runs away to the gym, where she sees a new girl being given the same lecture about her weight that was given to her. She decides that she is not ready to go back to training. After moving back to Portland, Andie joins a support group where she is encouraged to eat as part of her therapy. At the end of the movie, she is seen walking into the school gymnasium and getting back on the balance beam.
Challenge of a Lifetime, 1h33
Directed by Russ Mayberry
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy
Themes Seafaring films, Sports films, Transport films, Athletics films
Actors Penny Marshall, Jonathan Silverman, Richard Gilliland, Mary Woronov, Paul Gleason, Cathy Rigby
Roles Virginia
Rating63% 3.177163.177163.177163.177163.17716
Since her divorce from her husband, 35-year-old Nora Schoonover (Penny Marshall) has relocated from New York to Los Angeles and has fallen into a depression. She is working a low salary job and has gotten into great debts. Will Brodsky (Richard Gilliland) is assigned to help her work off her debts, and they quickly fall for each other. One day, her estranged 16-year-old son Steven (Jonathan Silverman), who has been living with his father since the divorce and is supposed to be on computer camp, shows up on her doorstep. A television interview with former class mate and recent Triathlon winner Mary Garritee (Mary Woronov), inspires Nora to enter and complete the Hawaiian Triathlon as a way of starting a new life. Steven, who has no interest in returning to his father in New York, promises to help and train her.