Ted McGinley
Ted McGinley has appeared as a regular on many television shows, but this fall, he will put on his dancing shoes as he and partner Inna Brayer compete against other couples on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Ted McGinley was born in Newport Beach, California on May 30, 1958. He played water polo in high school and graduated from Newport Harbor in 1976. He then attended the University of Southern California where he was the captain of the water polo team and a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
In 1982, Ted took 16 year old Brooke Shields to her high school senior prom. This was in the middle of his stint on “Happy Days” as Roger Phillips, a nephew of the Cunninghams. When that run ended in 1984, he made his big screen debut in Revenge of the Nerds as preppy Stan Gable. He would go on to reprise that role in two more Nerd sequels. From 1986 through 1987, Ted played Clay Fallmont on “Dynasty.” He also made appearances as a photographer on “The Love Boat” in the mid-‘80s. In 1991, he began playing Jefferson D’Arcy on “Married with Children,” a role while lasted until the show ended in 1997. Ted also played Charley Shanowski on “Hope & Faith” for three years, beginning in 2003. He remains close friends with Kelly Ripa and has even co-hosted several episodes of “Live with Regis & Kelly.”
After Revenge of the Nerds, Ted made appearances in many more films including 1993’s Wayne’s World 2, 1998’s Major League: Back to the Minors, and 2001’s Pearl Harbor.
Ted has been named the Patron Saint of Jumping the Shark by the web site jumptheshark.com, although the web site owner states that he means no disrespect to Ted’s acting. Jumping the Shark is a term used for past its peak television shows that develop ridiculous storylines and bring in new characters to help declining ratings. The term originated from the “Happy Days” episode where Fonzie jumped over a shark on water skis. Ted has been named the patron saint for joining shows like “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” “Dynasty” as they were on the downslide.
Ted is married to actress Gigi Rice and the couple has two sons.
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