Richard Grieco

Richard John Grieco Jr. (born March 23, 1965) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his role as Detective Dennis Booker from the popular Fox series 21 Jump Street (1988-89) and its spin-off Booker (1989-90). He also starred in various movies like If Looks Could Kill and Mobsters (both 1991). Since the height of his fame, he has voiced characters in several video games and appeared as either himself or his 21 Jump Street character in several films and television shows. For the last decade, he has painted in a style he calls abstract emotionalism.

Early life
Richard Grieco was born in Watertown, New York, the son of Carolyn (née O'Reilly) and Richard Grieco. He is of Italian and Irish descent. After moving to Franklin, Massachusetts, in his teenage years, Grieco played football, hockey and lacrosse in high school. Grieco was "All-State in all three sports." Grieco also played football for Central Connecticut State University.

Modeling, TV and film
Grieco worked as a model for Armani, Calvin Klein and Chanel. He played Rick Gardner on One Life to Live from 1985 to 1987. In 1988, Grieco began appearing as Detective Dennis Booker on the shows 21 Jump Street and its spinoff Booker. Grieco's feature film debut was as Michael Corben in If Looks Could Kill (1991) and has appeared in numerous films since then. Later in 1991, he played the young Jewish bootlegger and mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel in the movie Mobsters. He also appeared in the TV series Marker in 1995. He played himself in the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury.

Music
Grieco began a singing career in 1994 with the Dunmore Band. He signed to a German label and released a CD, Waiting for the Sky to Fall, in 1995. Later on he teamed up with music manager Cheryl Bogart and formed the band Wasteland Park in 2004.

Art
In 2009, several years after being encouraged by Dennis Hopper, Grieco publicly revealed that he has been painting since 1991. He calls his work "Abstract Emotionalism".

In popular culture
In the WB sitcom Off Centre, Grieco is idolized by Chau Presley, a character played by John Cho. In the show, Chau met Grieco at a Department of Motor Vehicles and traded him an Oingo Boingo shirt for the one he was wearing. Several references are made to Grieco and his movies (especially Point Doom).

In A Night at the Roxbury, Grieco is idolized by the main characters. His lifestyle ("Clothes, Cars, Women") was what Doug and Steve Butabi were trying to achieve.

In 2016, he appeared as himself in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.