- Born
- Birth nameJack Tomaso Scalia
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- 1980's TV heartthrob Jack Scalia, a Brooklyn native of Italian descent, was born Giacomo Tomaso Tedesco on November 10, 1950. The son of former Brooklyn Dodger Rocky Teseco, Jack's name was changed to his stepfather's surname after his mother remarried. Raised in Brentwood, NY, he was considered an All-American athlete by the time he graduated from Brentwood High School in 1969. He went on to play three sports through college while participating in four triathlons and six marathons.
A promising pitcher for the Montreal Expos, an injury ended his three-year pro career. In 1975, he took advantage of his muscular build and macho good looks by modeling with Armani, later joining the Ford Modeling Agency and signing on as the "Jordache Jeans Man". In January 1980, Scalia made a surprisingly easy transition into acting, which led to his first film role in the mini-movie The Star Maker (1981) starring the late Rock Hudson.
The blue-eyed, cleft-chinned hunk got his first taste of series stardom as an unshaven, rough-and-tough detective who joins forces with his slick and debonair father (Hudson again) in the TV series, The Devlin Connection (1982). Though the series had a short life, Scalia received scads of attention. His more popular credits during this busy time included I'll Take Manhattan (1987), Ring of Scorpio (1991), Lady Boss (1992) and Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1993), playing infamous tabloid news maker Joey Buttafuoco, with Alyssa Milano as his teenage object of desire.
Though Scalia didn't quite manage to scale the super star heights of a Tom Selleck or Pierce Brosnan, the tall, dark, handsome actor remained a durable "ladies' man" and "man's man" for over three decades. Never finding that one smash series that would have put him over the top, he would headline or co-star in a near-record nine TV shows that kept him constantly in the running, including Hollywood Beat (1985), Wolf (1989), Tequila and Bonetti (1992) and Pointman (1995). Nabbing a recurring role on Remington Steele (1982) and an early season on Dallas (1978), Jack later joined the cast of All My Children (1970) for a period of time in 2001, earning a daytime Emmy nomination in the process. He also copped a recurring role in 2003 on the dramatic series Saints & Sinners (2016)
Living in Rome during the early 1990's, he returned and moved into typical hero/villain roles in low-budget thrillers and good-looking lovers in romantic comedies/dramas with flicks include The Rift (1990) (aka "Endless Descent"), Illicit Behavior (1992), Amore! (1993), Under Oath (1997), Boys Klub (2001), Shattered Lies (2002), Red Eye (2005), Honeymoon with Mom (2006), Act of War (1998) and Ground Zero (2000). He also received assorted producing credits for other on-camera films including T-Force (1994), The Silencers (1996), Dark Breed (1996), Follow Your Heart (1999), The Genius Club (2006) and Black Widow (2010).
Jack made his stage debut in 1994 as a former Vietnam vet in the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play "Red River Rats" in Los Angeles. Divorced twice, Jack was married to one-time model Joan Rankin and then to Karen Baldwin, a former "Miss Universe" (1982). He has two daughters, Olivia and Jacqueline, from his second marriage.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpousesKaren Dianne Baldwin(1987 - 1996) (divorced, 2 children)Joan Rankin(1980 - ?) (divorced)
- In 1971, he was the first team draft pick, and 3rd overall MLB pick, of the Montreal Expos (now known as the Washington Nationals) Major League Baseball club.
- Speaks fluent Spanish and Italian.
- A Brooklyn native of Italian and Irish decent.
- Modeled briefs in newspaper and magazine ads for Eminence Underwear in the late 1970s.
- The September 7, 1988, issue of Variety announced in the New Film Starts column that the movie "Demon Hunters", directed by David Layton, began filming September 6, 1988, in Hong Kong. The cast included Jack Scalia. It was to be an English version of the Hong Kong film Mr. Vampire (1985) but was never completed.
- I stopped doing liquor ads and underwear ads rather early in my modeling career. They brought me a lot of recognition and I got to work with great photographers, but I've tried very hard to keep my morals intact. I believe in the family, I believe in God, and I believe in my country. I'm pretty tight with those three things. - Why he left modeling.
- Running and acting both have periods that are long and monotonous. With marathons, it's simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other for hours. With acting, there's all the waiting around. But running helps my endurance and helps me set goals, to work in a direction that's character building. - The difference between Sports & Acting.
- The physical part of my life is very important to me because it burns off all my frenetic energy. I have always been the type who could never sit still. - How important is exercise?
- I knew it was over. I was totally numb. And I'll never forget the next day. I was cleaning out my locker. I heard the cleats go clicking down the cement sidewalk. Then I heard the locker-room door slam closed. I was by myself. And I would stay that way for a very long time. - About losing his sports career.
- I was extremely insecure. Modeling fed the shell of the ego, but it wasn't the spirit inside. It helped me put up a front, because that is involved in performing, but that was only the shell. It made it much easier for me to take compliments, but I didn't have the awareness of myself as a person. - How did modeling help his insecurities.
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