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Sunday, January 13th, 2008
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3:03 am
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Bradley Howe Ryder was born on October 3, 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland as an only child to parents Douglas and Abigail Ryder. Growing up, Brad started out as kind of a loner -- he played alone, made up his own games, and (just for fun) pretended to have imaginary friends for years just to make his parents worry for his sanity. His parents worried further when the little boy displayed aggression toward the other children when he began his schooling, fearing he may grow up to be some kind of serial killer. In fact, the boy had no friends to speak of until one afternoon when he spotted a little redheaded boy being bullied by children who seemed much stronger than he was. Brad didn't like it, intervened and greeted the larger children with a pair of balled fists -- and that was when Tommy and Brad's friendship began. Of course, it didn't stay very close for very long. When Tommy was ten, he left for Boston for a while and Brad stayed as he was, down one friend. By that time, he was going on eleven and still pretending to have an imaginary friend (again, just to make his parents worry).
Brad mostly went through school on his own, barely (if ever) being very friendly toward others and instead focusing on writing. By his teenage years, he started getting into the performing arts, throwing his energy into music and theatre respectively. That interest at least made him more approachable and accessible to his peers, but aside from something that consumed a lot of his time, Brad had a bit of a problem. No career really called to him -- technology wasn't that big yet, medical was out of the question, psychology took too much faux concern for him to muster, teaching took too much patience. The list went on. But entertainment always kept his interest. That didn't change when he hit a crossroads in his life, forcing him to decide whether to continue with the performing arts or to try a hand at higher education. Opting to instead perform, it was then that his plans took motion.
Finishing his schooling around 1991, the 18 year-old started his effort to put a foot into the entertainment industry. Performing in local plays, he wrote and played music on the side, fine-tuning it as a sort of side project. Three years later, he and three other guys had a band organized and they thought they had a good gig ready when they suddenly found themselves without a vocalist. 1995 found them placing an ad in the paper for a vocalist, and after a handful calls, Brad heard from none other than Tommy Callahan. Striking up conversation and jumping back into friendship as if he'd been living in Scotland the entire time, he was quickly accepted as the vocalist, only to find that the group hit a major road bump: a rift with the other guys. Intimidated by Tommy's success in Espresso only years beforehand, they protested his presence in the band, claiming he was trying to take over. Regardless, Ryder defended him, and as a result, the group turned into a duo. That seemed to be enough of a recipe for success, because not too long after Eclipse was born, they were catapulted into an amount of success that probably wouldn't have been gained if it hadn't been for Tommy's recognizable face and talent to add to the combination.
From 1996 to 2000, Eclipse had a successful run, with catchy songs, ballads that almost anyone could recognize, and two growing stars. Tommy may have had the better chance than Brad, but that never bothered him. He liked being in entertainment, but he never demanded the spotlight. It just seemed like too much pressure to him. Contrary to anyone's beliefs, the group disbanded in 2000 under friendly circumstances, remaining close. While Tommy went onto a solo music career, Ryder tried another entertainment medium, putting his acting bug to work: Scrubs. Cast as Todd Quinlan, the musician-turned-actor took what he could get, accepting the supporting role gratefully. He was known on the streets simply as "The Todd" for nearly a year until he was approached to host the upcoming show, Celebrity Duets. This he accepted without any second thoughts, hosting the show that only ran for a season before it was canned.
Now at the present, Ryder is content with his single role. What he's going to do next is unsure to anyone -- including himself -- and all anyone can do is watch and wait.
( credits )
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