Peter Billingsley , also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor, director, and producer best known for his role as Ralphie in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. He began his career as an infant, in television commercials. Billingsley was born in New York, New York. His father, Alwin Michaelsen, is a financial consultant who graduated from Princeton in 1954, and his mother, Gail Billingsley was once Alwin's secretary. Gail is the niece of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley. Gail's cousin, Glenn Billingsley, was briefly married to actress Barbara... Billingsley ; she continued to use his last name for her stage name. Gail was the one who initially took the children around to auditions. All five of the children in the family had acting careers when they were young. The oldest of Billingsley's siblings, Dina and Win, had the briefest acting careers working mostly in commercials with brief guest spots on television shows. Dina and her current husband live in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Win is now an attorney in Istanbul, Turkey.
more