Jeff Conaway

Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conaway (October 5, 1950 – May 27, 2011) His father Charles His mother Helen, an actress who went by the stage name Mary Ann Brooks,

He spent time living with his grandparents in South Carolina, which gave him a Southern accent. Conaway remained for the entire run, then toured with the national company of the play Critic's Choice. and later transferred to New York University. He played Zuko for about 30 months, while his friend John Travolta, with whom he shared a manager, later joined the play first in the supporting role of Doody. The two reunited in the 1978 motion picture musical Grease, in which Travolta played Zuko and Conaway his buddy Kenickie. The new show premiered in late 1978, and was a critical and popular success.

After the third season, Conaway departed Taxi but two of his performances carried over into the fourth season and he appeared once more as a special guest. The primary reason for his leaving Taxi was drug abuse, which worsened after season one. Conaway was reported as dissatisfied with being typecast as a "blond bimbo" and the "butt of struggling-actor jokes," and found the role repetitive. He also felt creatively stymied, stating he "loved the role" but he also realized Bobby was not as distinctive as other characters on the show: "obody else could do Louie or Jim [DeVito and Lloyd's characters, respectively], they were such defined characters. But Bobby — anybody could walk in and say, 'Hi, Alex.' [to Judd Hirsh's character]."

After Taxi Conaway starred in the short-lived 1983 fantasy-spoof series Wizards and Warriors. He made guest appearances on such shows as Barnaby Jones, George and Leo, and Murder, She Wrote. He appeared in films such as Jawbreaker, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, and Do You Wanna Know a Secret?

From 1989 to 1990, he played Mick Savage on The Bold and the Beautiful. In 1993, he appeared onstage in Real Life Photographs. From 1994 to 1999, he played Sergeant, later promoted to Security Chief, Zack Allan on Babylon 5. In 2010, he provided voice-over for the English version of the animated short film Dante's Hell Animated (released in 2013), in which he is credited as "Hollywood legend Jeff Conaway".

Music career In addition to acting, Conaway dabbled in music. In the mid-1960s, he was the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, The , which recorded four singles for Cameo Records in 1966 and 1967: "Don't Cry to Me Babe" / "R & B In C" (Cameo 425, 1966) "Problem Child" / "Hey Mom Hey Dad" (Cameo 442, 1966) "Hey Gyp" / "Hey Kitty Cool Kitty" (Cameo 451, 1967) (This single was produced by Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, who also wrote the B-side. The A-side is a song by Donovan.) "Angel Baby (Don't You Ever Leave Me)" / "You Turned Your Back on Love" (Cameo 485, 1967)

In 1979, Conaway recorded a self-titled debut album for Columbia Records. "City Boy" was released as a single. Bruce Springsteen's manager, Mike Appel, produced the album. In 2000, he released the album It Don't Make Sense You Can't Make Peace on the KEGMusic label.

Personal life His stepson, Emerson Newton-John, His third marriage was to Kerri Young from 1990 to 2000.

Health problems After experiencing a crisis in the mid-1980s, Conaway came to grips with having a substance abuse problem. He underwent treatment in the late 1980s and often spoke candidly about his addictions.

By the mid-2000s, he had relapsed. Conaway appeared in VH1's Celebrity Fit Club, but was forced to leave and entered rehabilitation. In early 2008, Conaway appeared with other celebrities in the VH1 reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The show revealed that Conaway was addicted to cocaine, alcohol, and painkillers, and that he was in a codependent relationship with his girlfriend, who was also a user of prescription opiates. Conaway had suffered a back injury earlier in his career on the set of Grease while filming the "Greased Lightning" scene, which had been exacerbated by lifting boxes in his home, and he had turned to substances to manage the pain.

Conaway's appearance on the show's first and second seasons drew much attention because of his severely crippled state, his constant threats to leave the facility, and his frequent inability to speak clearly. Upon arrival at the Pasadena Recovery Center (which was filmed as part of Celebrity Rehabs first episode), Conaway, using a wheelchair, arrived drunk, mumbling to Dr. Drew that he had binged on cocaine and Jack Daniel's whiskey the previous night.

During the second episode of Celebrity Rehabs first season, Conaway, fed up with his back pain, withdrawal symptoms, and the humiliation of having to be assisted while using the toilet, told Pinsky that he was thinking of killing himself. After Pinsky asked him to elaborate upon how he would carry out a suicidal act, Conaway glared at the mirror in his room and said, "I see myself breaking that mirror and slicing my fucking throat with it." During group sessions, Conaway revealed he was "tortured" during his childhood, as older boys in his neighborhood would put him into dangerous situations, tying him up and threatening him. He also related that he was molested when he was seven years old. Conaway stated that he had been an addict since he was a teenager.

With John Travolta's support, Conaway took courses and auditing from the Church of Scientology to cope with his drug problem and depression, although he did not intend to become a Scientologist.

In June 2009, Conaway joined Celebrity Rehab castmate Mary Carey at the premiere of her parody film Celebrity Pornhab with Dr. Screw.

In August 2009, Conaway was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight. In the interview, the actor claimed he was much better after a fifth back operation, and that he had yet to use painkillers again. He also discussed unscrupulous doctors and enablers.

In March 2010, shortly after the death of actor Corey Haim, Conaway told E! News that he had warned Haim about dying because of prescription drug abuse.

Death 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 taken to Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center in Encino, California, where he was listed in critical condition. After initial reports, Drew Pinsky, who had treated Conaway for substance abuse, said the actor was suffering not from a drug overdose, but rather from pneumonia with sepsis, for which he was placed into an induced coma.

Though his drug use did not cause his pneumonia, it hampered Conaway's ability to recognize how severely ill he was; he did not seek treatment until it was too late.

An autopsy performed on Conaway revealed that the actor died of various causes, including aspiration pneumonia and encephalopathy, attributable to drug overdoses.

Awards Golden Globe Award 1978 nomination, Best Supporting Actor, Comedy or Musical Series (for Taxi) 1979 nomination, Best Supporting Actor, Comedy or Musical Series (for Taxi) 1984 Covergirl T.C. Sloane 1986 The Patriot Mitchell 1988 Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Travis 1989 Ghost Writer Tom Farrell 1989 The Banker Cowboy 1989 Tale of Two Sisters Taxi driver 1990 The Sleeping Car Bud Sorenson 1991 Dumb Luck in Vegas 1991 Total Exposure Peter Keynes 1991 A Time to Die Frank 1992 Mirror Images Jeffrey Blair 1992 Eye of the Storm Tom Edwards 1992 Almost Pregnant Charlie Alderson 1992 Bikini Summer II / Bikini Summer 2 Stu Stocker (also director) 1993 Alien Intruder Borman 1993 In a Moment of Passion Werner Soehnen 1993 L.A. Goddess Sean 1993 Sunset Strip Tony 1993 It's Showtime Rinaldi 1994 2002: The Rape of Eden Reverend 1997 The Last Embrace Jagger 1998 Shadow of Doubt Bixby 1999 Jawbreaker Marcie's Father 1999 Man on the Moon Jeff Conaway - Taxi Actor Uncredited 2001 Do You Wanna Know a Secret? Agent Owen Sacker 2002 Curse of the Forty-Niner Reverend Sutter 2002 The Biz Gavin Elliot 2003 Miner's Massacre 2004 Ymi Digger's Dad 2004 Pan Dulce Gabriel Levine 2004 The Corner Office Dick 2006 The Pool 2 Agent Frank Gun 2005 From Behind the Sunflower Leo 2006 Living the Dream Dick 2006 The Utah Murder Project Sheriff Dan Patterson 2008 Wrestling Franklin Conner 2010 Dante's Inferno: Abandon All Hope 40-minute short film 2010 Ladron Commander Hill 2010 Dark Games Tom Doyle TV Special by ABC, first aired on May 19, 1978 1979 Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Roy Fletcher TV movie 1980 For the Love of It Russ TV movie 1981 The Nashville Grab Buddy Walker TV movie 1983 Making of a Male Model Chuck Lanyard TV movie 1983 Wizards and Warriors Prince Erik Greystone 8 episodes 1984–1994 Murder, She Wrote Howard Griffin / Nolan Walsh / Tom Powell 4 episodes, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1994 1985 Berrenger's John Higgins 11 episodes 1985 The Love Boat Andy Jackson 1 episode 1985 Who's the Boss? Jeff 1 episode, 1985 1986 Matlock (NBC) Daniel Ward 1 episode, "The Affair" (S01, E5) 1987 Bay Coven Josh McGwin TV movie 1987 Hotel Eric Madison 1 episode 1984–1987 Mike Hammer Harry Farris 2 episodes, 1984 and 1987 1987 Stingray Ty Gardner 1 episode 1987 Tales from the Darkside Peter 1 episode 1988 The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission Sergeant Holt Television movie 1989-1990 The Bold and the Beautiful Mick Savage 61 episodes 1989 Freddy's Nightmares Buddy Powers 1 episode 1989 Monsters Phil 1 episode 1990 Good Grief Winston Payne 1 episode 1990 Shades of L.A. Richard 1 episode 1993 Matlock (ABC) Slick/Waiter 1 episode, "Matlock's Bad, Bad, Bad Dream" (S08, E11) 1994–1998 Babylon 5 Zack Allan 74 episodes 1995 Burke's Law Dr. Alex Kenyon 1 episode 1995 Hope and Gloria Bud Green 1 episode 1996 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Rich Edwards 1 episode 1997 George & Leo 1 episode, "The Cameo Episode" 1998 Babylon 5: The River of Souls Zack Allan TV movie 1998 Babylon 5: Thirdspace Zack Allan TV movie 1999 Babylon 5: A Call to Arms Zack Allan TV movie 2000 L.A. 7 Manager of Radio Station 1 episode 2004 She Spies Zachary Mason 1 episode 2006 The John Kerwin Show Guest 1 episode 2012 Planet Houston Scareglow Voice, 1 episode, "Dedicated to Jeff Conaway", Conaway's final project