Richard Hammond was born in Gardena, CA and grew up in Bakersfield, CA. He graduated from North High in 1962, joined the Air Force in 1964 and is a Veteran of the Viet Nam War. His career in television included head of art department at KBAK-TV Channel 29 and KJTV-TV Channel 17 Bakersfield CA. He was a photographer/producer at KMPH-TV Channel 26 Fresno, CA. In 1995 he moved to Napa Valley and founded WinPages.com a website development company.