Stephen Weaver Collins (born October 1, 1947) is an American former actor and writer. He is known for playing Eric Camden on the television series 7th Heaven from 1996 to 2007. Afterwards, Collins played the roles of Dayton King on the ABC television series No Ordinary Family and Gene Porter in the television series Revolution, father of Elizabeth Mitchell's character, Rachel Matheson. Before 7th Heaven, Collins was known for his role as Commander Willard Decker in the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the television series Tales of the Gold Monkey. In 2014, his career ended after he confessed to sexual misconduct against multiple minors . Early life Stephen Collins was born on October 1, 1947, in Des Moines, Iowa, to mother Madeleine (née Robertson) and father Cyrus Stickney Collins, an airline executive. Collins was raised with his two older brothers in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, graduating cum laude. While at Amherst, he played bass guitar in a number of bands. Career Stephen Collins is known for his role as Eric Camden in the television drama series 7th Heaven during the series' run from 1996 to 2007 and for his role as Captain Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. His other notable television credits include Jake Cutter in the cult series Tales of the Gold Monkey and his role in Tattingers, as well as guest appearances in The Waltons, Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels, and numerous miniseries and television films. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work opposite Ann-Margret in the miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles and he played John F. Kennedy in the miniseries A Woman Named Jackie, which won the Emmy for Best Miniseries. He also played the lead role opposite Lauren Hutton in the television film The Rhinemann Exchange, based on Robert Ludlum's bestselling novel. Collins has co-starred with Diane Keaton in both The First Wives Club (1996) and Because I Said So (2007). He has co-starred with Meredith Baxter in three films, All the President's Men, A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story, and Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter, both of which were television films broadcast on CBS in 1992. In the 2010–11 television season, Collins starred in the short-lived ABC series No Ordinary Family. On ABC's Brothers & Sisters, he played a potential love interest for Ron Rifkin's character Saul Holden.