Adrian Zmed

Biography for Adrian Zmed

Adrian Zmed (born March 4, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American television and film actor. Zmed is better known for his roles as "Johnny Nogerelli" in Grease 2, and as "Officer Vince Romano" in the T.J. Hooker television series, where he starred alongside William Shatner.

Zmed became a member of a group of older actors who played teenagers in 1980s films, when he landed his character of "Johnny" in Grease 2. This group would later include such other actors as Michael J. Fox and Ralph Macchio. Using grown ups to play teenagers in film was a trademark of the Hollywood industry during the era.

Adrian Zmed made his television debut as "Socks Palermo" in the 1979 series "Flatbush".

In 1980, he went on to participate in another television series, "Goodtime Girls", playing "Frankie Millardo".

Zmed, it can be said, looked like a Hispanic or Italian person. This has led him to play many Hispanic or Italian-American characters during his career.

After "Goodtime Girls", a job as "Fernando" in "For the Love of It" followed. This television movie was followed by a guest appearance in 1982's "An Evening at the Improv".

Zmed reached celebrity status when he began to play "Officer Romano" in his next series, the aforementioned "T.J. Hooker", which was a series based on a the life of a real Los Angeles cop of the same name. He lasted there until 1985.

Next was his work as "Johnny Nogerelli", the new leader of the "T-Birds", in "Grease 2". In that movie, he played Michelle Pfeiffer's former boyfriend. "Johnny Nogerelli", however, believed he was still dating Pfeiffer's character.

His characterization of "Johnny" led Zmed to a short period where he played other teenagers in film, including 1983's "The Final Terror', where he played "Gerone". While "The Final Terror" "bombed" at the box office, his next movie, while not neccesarily a hit by Hollywood movie economical standards, did much better: in 1984's Bachelor Party, he played "Jay O' Neill".

Later on that year, he participated in a television show named "Glitter".

"Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story" followed, with Zmed playing "Fred Feliciano".

Zmed, who is bilingual as he also speaks fluid Romanian, took a hiatus from acting after that, marrying actress Susan Wood and having two children in between his portrayal of "Fred Feliciano" and his next job, 1991's "Eyewitness to Murder", where he played "Tyler".

In 1992, he played "Greg Mathews" in "The Other Woman", which was followed by 1994's "Improper Conduct', as "Doug".

Adrian Zmed took another hiatus from acting following that television movie. But in 1998, he returned, playing character in some B-rated or sexually charged movies, one exception being the 2002 video game, "Star Wars Jedi Starfighter", where he voiceovered "Toth".

Zmed's other notable appearances include one in MTV's "I Love the 80s", and another one in "Saturday Night Live".

He met success thanks to Hooker in the 80s, then in the series "Dance Fever".

A few years ago, he played Danny Zuko in the original version of Grease, on Broadway. The role will be resumed by John Travolta in the cinema in 1978.

He returned to Broadway thereafter, and plays Marvin in "Falsettos" which experienced a huge success through the USA, and received a Tony Award.

Adrian Zmed is an American actor born March 14, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for his role as T.J. Hooker in the television series of the same name, as well as for having played in films such as Grease 2 and Bachelor Party. Zmed began his acting career in Broadway, where he played in productions such as Grease and They Playing Our Song. He also appeared in television series like Emergency! and Happy Days. Zmed is also a talented singer and dancer, and he continued to tour musicals throughout his career. Apart from his acting career, Zmed is also known for his commitment to various charities.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• Spouse : Susan Wood (? - present) 2 sons (Zach and Dylan).

Family

• Bilingual : speaks Romanian as well as English.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by stals
• Last update: 01/05/2007 by piaf28