Radames Pera
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Born in New York City in 1960 to Eugene Pera and Lisa Pera, Radames moved to Hollywood in 1963 with his single mom as she pursued an acting career. At age eight, he was discovered by director Daniel Mann and cast as Stavros, the dying son of Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas, in A Dream of Kings (1969). Pera's mother found him an agent and he began working in many TV shows from the late '60s through the mid '80s.
His flexibility as a young character actor led to his landing the role of Young Caine, the iconic "Grasshopper", in Kung Fu (1972), and the poet John Jr., Mary Ingalls' fiance, in Little House on the Prairie (1974).
In the summer of '78, he began a three-year intensive study of acting and directing with Stella Adler in New York, where he played Alan Bates's estranged son in the British feature film Very Like a Whale (1980).
Not long after returning to L.A. in 1981 he began encountering the same glass ceiling that all child actors in that era faced: the near-impossible transition to an adult career. His last major feature film role was as Sgt. Stepan Gorsky in John Milius's Red Dawn (1984). His last major TV role was as a Neo-Nazi vigilante youth-gang leader in The New Mike Hammer (1984).
In 1988, he started his own business designing and installing home theaters and sound systems in L.A. quickly acquiring several superstars as clients. In '93, he successfully moved his business to Portland, Oregon and later to Austin, Texas. Pera has lived in France since 2017.
In the summer of '78, he began a three-year intensive study of acting and directing with Stella Adler in New York, where he played Alan Bates's estranged son in the British feature film Very Like a Whale (1980).
Not long after returning to L.A. in 1981 he began encountering the same glass ceiling that all child actors in that era faced: the near-impossible transition to an adult career. His last major feature film role was as Sgt. Stepan Gorsky in John Milius's Red Dawn (1984). His last major TV role was as a Neo-Nazi vigilante youth-gang leader in The New Mike Hammer (1984).
In 1988, he started his own business designing and installing home theaters and sound systems in L.A. quickly acquiring several superstars as clients. In '93, he successfully moved his business to Portland, Oregon and later to Austin, Texas. Pera has lived in France since 2017.
