Biography
Richard Grieco the eldest child of Richard Sr. and Carolyn
Grieco was born and raised in Watertown, New York. He has one brother,
David and two sisters, Elizabeth and Laura. His interest in performing
began in high school where he was also active in sports such as
lacrosse, hockey and football. He was so good at the latter sport that
he was recruited to play for Central Connecticut University as a
linebacker and fullback. After two years he left the school and had
established himself as a male model for the Elite Agency in New York by
the mid 1980s.
After modeling for such major clients as Calvin Klein, Chanel and
Armani for a while, Richard spent two years studying acting with Alice
Spieack, Warren Robertson and Wally Strauss. In 1986 he landed his
first television role as Rick Gardner on the ABC daytime soap One Life
to Live and remained with the show through 1987, the year he moved to
Los Angeles and began working as a guest star on such television shows
as Who's the Boss?, Rags to Riches, The Big Apple Blues and The Bronx
Zoo.
In 1988, he got the guest role as Officer Dennis Booker at 21 Jump
Street, Fox's extremely successful TV-show starred Johnny Depp.
However, Richard was such popular that he became an series regular. A
year later he got his own show the spin-off Booker which ran until
1990. Though the series didn't last long on network television, it has
had success in syndication. In 1991, Richard received the ShoWest's
"Male Star of Tomorrow" award from the National Association of Theater
Owners (NATO). That same year he made his debut in the James Bond spoof
If Looks Could Kill.
Additional films have included leading roles in Mobsters, Tomcat, Born
to Run, Suspicious Agenda and so on. Since then, Richard has built a
solid career appearing in numerous films and tv shows.
In 1995, he was also star of another short-lived television series,
Marker. The series about a New Jersey carpenter who returns to Hawaii
was made for the United Paramount Network and earned high ratings and
large following during the show's limited run.
In addition to his film and television credits, Richard has found
success as a singer, a side career he launched in 1994. After started
out with the Dunmore Band and gaining a large following among Los
Angeles club hoppers he signed a record contract with the German label
Edel Records in 1995. The released CD "Waiting for the Sky to Fall"
became a smash hit in Europe.
Richard is a race car enthusiast and owner of a Corvette, Jaguar and
several Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He also enjoys writing, painting
and poetry.