20 Facts About Peter Billingsley

Peter Billingsley is best known for portraying Ralphie Parker in A Christmas Story and A Christmas Story Christmas.

Peter Billingsley played Jack Simmons in The Dirt Bike Kid, Billy in Death Valley, and Messy Marvin in a series of commercials for Hershey's Syrup in the 1980s.

Peter Billingsley's father, Alwin Michaelsen, is a financial consultant, and his mother, Gail, was once Alwin's secretary.

Peter Billingsley is the niece of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley, and the cousin of Glenn Billingsley, who was married to actress Barbara Billingsley.

Peter Billingsley received his early education from a combination of tutors, public schools, and private institutions, Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, Arizona and Longview Elementary School in Phoenix and eventually passed his California High School Proficiency Exam at age 14.

Peter Billingsley seems to have attended some public secondary schools prior to passing the CHSPE, including Arcadia High School.

Peter Billingsley was a spokesman for the young-astronaut program and was present in 1986 at launch pad 39B during the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Peter Billingsley's first acting role was when he was 2 in a 1973 Geritol commercial.

Peter Billingsley went on to star in about 120 television advertisements throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1982, Peter Billingsley starred in several features, including Death Valley, Massarati and the Brain, and the made-for-TV movie Memories Never Die with Lindsay Wagner and his sister, Melissa.

Peter Billingsley had a featured guest role as Gideon Hale on Little House on the Prairie, began a three-year stint as a co-host on NBC's popular Real People, and hosted a two-episode offshoot of the show called Real Kids.

In 1983, Peter Billingsley starred in A Christmas Story, based on Jean Shepherd's In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, which built its audience slowly over the years and is broadcast each year for 24 hours from Christmas Eve until Christmas Day on sister cable networks TBS and TNT.

Peter Billingsley appeared on a "Super Teen" special edition of Family Feud, and on Celebrity Hot Potato.

Peter Billingsley appeared in The Dirt Bike Kid, Russkies, and Beverly Hills Brats.

The early 1990s had Peter Billingsley tackling older roles such as a would-be athlete who gets hooked on steroids in the CBS Schoolbreak Special The Fourth Man.

Peter Billingsley was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role.

Peter Billingsley was an executive producer for the Universal Pictures production The Break-Up in which he had a small acting role, as Andrew, appearing alongside frequent collaborator Jon Favreau.

Peter Billingsley served as executive producer on director Favreau's Iron Man feature film; he acted in the film playing William Ginter Riva, a scientist who works for Obadiah Stane; he reprised the role later in 2019 in the film Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Peter Billingsley took an acting part in an experimental film for the new Maxivision 48 projection system which was developed by Dean Goodhill.

Peter Billingsley signed on as executive producer of a musical adaptation of A Christmas Story that opened in Seattle in December 2010.