Name
Jeff Conaway
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1950-10-05
Deathday
2011-05-27 (61 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway was an American actor, best known for his roles in the movie Grease, and the US TV series Taxi and Babylon 5. He also directed the 1992 film Bikini Summer 2.
Jeff spent some of his time living with his grandparents in South Carolina, which gave him enough of a Southern accent that when he accompanied his mother to a casting call for director Arthur Penn's Broadway play All the Way Home, a story set in Knoxville, Tennessee, the 10-year-old Conaway landed a featured role as one of four boys. The 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning play was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and ran 333 performances and one preview from November 29, 1960, to September 16, 1961.Conaway remained for the entire run, then toured with the national company of the play Critic's Choice.
Conaway worked as a child model, and attended high school at the Quintano School for Young Professionals. He attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and later transferred to New York University. While at NYU, he appeared in television commercials and had the lead in a school production of The Threepenny Opera. He made his movie debut in the 1971 romantic drama Jennifer on My Mind, which also featured future stars Robert De Niro and Barry Bostwick.
The following year Conaway appeared in the original cast of the Broadway musical Grease, as an understudy to several roles including that of the lead male character, Danny Zuko, and eventually succeeded role-originator Barry Bostwick. He played the role for 2 1/2 years while his friend John Travolta, with whom he shared a manager, later joined the show, playing the supporting role of Doody. After breaking into series television in 1975 with Happy Days, followed by guest spots in several other TV shows, and three more movies including Grease, he was cast as aspiring actor Bobby Wheeler on Taxi, which premiered in fall 1978.
Conaway starred in the short-lived 1983 fantasy-spoof series Wizards and Warriors. He made guest appearances on such shows as Barnaby Jones, George & Leo and Murder, She Wrote. He appeared inJawbreaker, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Do You Wanna Know a Secret? He also played Mick Savage on The Bold and the Beautiful. From 1994 to 1999, he played Zack Allan on Babylon 5. In addition to acting, Conaway dabbled in music. In the mid-1960s, he was the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, The 3 1/2, which recorded four singles for Cameo Records in 1966 and 1967.
On May 11, 2011, Conaway was found unconscious from what was initially described as an overdose of substances believed to be pain medication and was treated in Encino, California, where he was listed in critical condition. The actor was suffering not from a drug overdose but rather from pneumonia with sepsis, for which he was placed into an induced coma. On May 26, 2011, Conaway's family took him off life support after doctors determined they could do nothing to revive him. Conaway died the following morning at the age of 60.
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- 1978 Grease as Kenickie
- 1998 Shadow of Doubt as Bixby
- 1999 Babylon 5: A Call to Arms as Zack Allen
- 1998 Babylon 5: The River of Souls as Zack Allen
- 1998 Babylon 5: Thirdspace as Zack Allen
- 1977 Pete's Dragon as Willie
- 1988 Elvira: Mistress of the Dark as Travis
- 1976 The Eagle Has Landed as Frazier
- 2013 Dante's Hell Animated as Narrator (voice)
- 1990 The Banker as Cowboy
- 1971 Jennifer on My Mind as Minstrel #2
- 1992 Almost Pregnant as Charlie Alderson
- 2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star as Self
- 1988 The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission as Sgt. Holt
- 1999 Jawbreaker as Marcie's Father
- 1991 A Time to Die as Frank
- 1992 Mirror Images as Jeffrey Blair
- 1990 The Sleeping Car as Bud Sorenson
- 1992 Bikini Summer II as Stu Stocker
- 1981 Nashville Grab as Buddy Walker
- 2006 The Utah Murder Project as Sheriff Dan Patterson
- 2004 Y.M.I. as Digger's Dad
- 1987 Bay Coven as Josh McGwin
- 1994 2002: The Rape of Eden as Reverend
- 2002 The Biz as Gavin Elliots
- 1989 Tale of Two Sisters as Taxi driver
- 1980 For the Love of It as Russ Moran
- 1989 Ghost Writer as Tom Farrell
- 1983 Making of a Male Model as Chuck Lanyard
- 1993 Alien Intruder as Borman
- 1993 L.A. Goddess as Sean
- 1993 Sunset Strip as Tony
- 1992 Eye of the Storm as Tom Edwards
- 2008 Naked Movie as Self
- 1986 The Patriot as Mitchell
- 2008 Wrestling as Franklin Conner
- 1999 Man on the Moon as Self (uncredited)
- 2002 Curse of the Forty-Niner as Reverend Sutter
- 1993 European Night as Werner Soehnen
- 2010 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift as (archive footage)
- 1997 The Last Embrace as Jagger
- 1995 Golden Tales 2
- 1991 Total Exposure as Peter Keynes
- 2001 Do You Wanna Know a Secret? as Agent Owen Sacker
- 1996 The Russian Godfather
- 1994 The Devil's Pet
- 1993 Golden Tales as Peter Prentice
- 2017 The Grease Story as Kenickie (archive footage)
- 1984 Covergirl as T.C. Sloane
- 1993 It's Showtime as Rinaldi
- 1977 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden as Lactamaeon
- 2011 Dark Games as Tom Doyle
- 1977 Delta County, USA as Terry Nicholas
- 2005 The Pool 2 as Agent Frank Gun
- 1980 The Cheryl Ladd Special: Souvenirs
- 2006 Living the Dream as Dick
- 2025 Dante's Inferni as Circles Introduction (archive audio)
- 2017 The Fabulous Allan Carr as Self (archive footage)
- 2006 The Time, the Place, the Motion: Remembering Grease as Self – Kenickie
- 1979 Breaking Up Is Hard to Do as Roy Fletcher
- 1984 Murder, She Wrote ( 1 episode ) as Nolan Walsh
- 1974 Movin' On ( 1 episode )
- 1984 Tales from the Darkside ( 1 episode ) as Peter Prentice
- 2004 The Tony Danza Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1984 Who's the Boss? ( 1 episode )
- 1978 Taxi ( 69 episodes ) as Bobby Wheeler
- 1986 Matlock ( 1 episode ) as Daniel Ward
- 2005 The Tyra Banks Show ( 1 episode )
- 1974 Happy Days ( 1 episode )
- 1982 Hotel ( 1 episode )
- 1970 The Mary Tyler Moore Show ( 1 episode )
- 1973 Kojak ( 1 episode ) as Bert Gaines
- 1994 Babylon 5 ( 74 episodes ) as Zack Allan
- 1988 Freddy's Nightmares ( 1 episode ) as Buddy Powers
- 1985 Stingray ( 1 episode )
- 1976 Battle of the Network Stars ( 1 episode )
- 1996 Mr. & Mrs. Smith ( 1 episode )
- 2005 Celebrity Fit Club ( 8 episodes ) as Self - Contestant
- 1983 Wizards and Warriors ( 8 episodes ) as Prince Erik Greystone
- 1985 Berrenger's ( 12 episodes )
- 2008 Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew ( 19 episodes ) as Self
- 1999 Where Are They Now? ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1990 Shades of L.A. ( 1 episode )
- 2004 Living in TV Land ( 7 episodes )
- 1984 Murder, She Wrote ( 1 episode ) as Tom Powell
- 2006 1 vs. 100 ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1994 Burke's Law ( 1 episode ) as Alex Kenyon
- 1995 Hope and Gloria ( 1 episode ) as Bud Green
- 1999 S Club 7 ( 1 episode ) as Jerry Parker
- 1997 George & Leo ( 1 episode )
- 2002 She Spies ( 1 episode ) as Zachary Mason
- 2015 Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales ( 1 episode ) as Kenickie (archive footage)
- 1984 Murder, She Wrote ( 2 episodes ) as Howard Griffin
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Nominee
- 1986 Matlock ( 1 episode ) as Slick / Waiter
- 1974 Dinah! ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1975 Joe Forrester ( 1 episode ) as Cliff
- 1979 Breaking Up Is Hard to Do ( 2 episodes ) as Roy Fletcher
- 1988 Monsters ( 1 episode ) as Phil
- 2025 Hollywood Demons ( 1 episode ) as Self (archive footage)
