Rich was born on October 12, 1968, Growing up as a child actor, Rich lived in
Granada Hills, Los Angeles, with his parents and younger brother. The family briefly lived in Florida where he learned how to act at the local gym. He was active in sports, including baseball,
football, bicycle riding, skateboarding, and swimming. He also had an interest in drawing. At age 14, he tried smoking
marijuana, and at 17, in 1986, he dropped out of high school. He almost died of a
valium overdose in 1989. On April 16, 1991, he was arrested after a shoplifting spree at a pharmacy and a
Bullock’s department store in
Northridge, Los Angeles. He was released, with his television father
Dick Van Patten paying his bail. In 1996, there was a
media hoax that Rich had been murdered; the story was published in the San Francisco-based magazine
Might, with Rich's consent. In 2002, Rich was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). Rich had publicly discussed his experiences with depression and substance abuse in the months before he died and had a history of many
drug rehabilitation stints and several overdoses. He tweeted in October 2022 that he had been sober for seven years after arrests. He urged his followers never to give up. ==Career==