Daniel Joseph Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor, known
for playing the role Jack Arnold in The Wonder Years.Lauria, an
Italian-American, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Carmela
(née Luongo) and Joseph J. Lauria. He also lived in Lindenhurst, New
York. He graduated from Lindenhurst Senior High School in 1965 as a
varsity football player, and he briefly taught physical education at
Lindenhurst High School. A Vietnam War veteran, Lauria served as an
officer in the United States Marine Corps; he served at the same point
in his life that Jack Arnold, his character in The Wonder Years, did
during the Korean War. In Vietnam, he served as a platoon commander at
An Loc near the Cambodian border. He got his start in acting while
attending Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven,
Connecticut, on a football scholarship.Lauria is best known for his
portrayal of Jack Arnold, the money-conscious father on the TV series
The Wonder Years, that ran from 1988 to 1993. He also played NASA
Administrator James Webb in the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to
the Moon and Commanding Officer, USA in 1996's Independence Day. More
recently he has appeared as Police Commissioner Eustace Dolan in The
Spirit. He appeared as Coach Hamstrung in The Three Stooges N.Y.U.K.
on AMC in 2000. Lauria appeared on stage in New York in the summer of
2006 in an Off Broadway production of A Stone Carver by William
Mastrosimone with Jim Iorio and Elizabeth Rossa. Lauria also had a
small role in a season two episode of Army Wives, as well as a season
one episode of The Mentalist. In 2009, Lauria has appeared as General
Lee Whitworth, M.D. in Criminal Minds season 4. He has also appeared
in an episode of Boy Meets World, starring Ben Savage, the younger
brother of Fred Savage. In late 2009, Lauria returned to the Off
Broadway stage, appearing as Jimmy Hoffa in Brian Lee Franklin's Good
Bobby, a fictionalized account of Robert F. Kennedy's rise.In 2010,
Lauria appeared as Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play Lombardi. The
play received positive reviews, with sportswriter Jim Hague
commenting, "Lauria truly becomes Vince Lombardi. You almost forget
you're watching an actor. He's Lombardi through and through, down to
the wire-framed glasses and intimidating scowl." North Bergen football
coach Vince Ascolese, who met Lombardi, commented "I really felt like
he was Lombardi. It was uncanny." Lauria's portrayal of Lombardi was
used during the NFL on FOX introduction to Super Bowl XLV, where one
of the two participating teams was the Green Bay Packers; the team
Lombardi coached to victories in the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and
1968. The Packers went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in that
game.
for playing the role Jack Arnold in The Wonder Years.Lauria, an
Italian-American, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Carmela
(née Luongo) and Joseph J. Lauria. He also lived in Lindenhurst, New
York. He graduated from Lindenhurst Senior High School in 1965 as a
varsity football player, and he briefly taught physical education at
Lindenhurst High School. A Vietnam War veteran, Lauria served as an
officer in the United States Marine Corps; he served at the same point
in his life that Jack Arnold, his character in The Wonder Years, did
during the Korean War. In Vietnam, he served as a platoon commander at
An Loc near the Cambodian border. He got his start in acting while
attending Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven,
Connecticut, on a football scholarship.Lauria is best known for his
portrayal of Jack Arnold, the money-conscious father on the TV series
The Wonder Years, that ran from 1988 to 1993. He also played NASA
Administrator James Webb in the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to
the Moon and Commanding Officer, USA in 1996's Independence Day. More
recently he has appeared as Police Commissioner Eustace Dolan in The
Spirit. He appeared as Coach Hamstrung in The Three Stooges N.Y.U.K.
on AMC in 2000. Lauria appeared on stage in New York in the summer of
2006 in an Off Broadway production of A Stone Carver by William
Mastrosimone with Jim Iorio and Elizabeth Rossa. Lauria also had a
small role in a season two episode of Army Wives, as well as a season
one episode of The Mentalist. In 2009, Lauria has appeared as General
Lee Whitworth, M.D. in Criminal Minds season 4. He has also appeared
in an episode of Boy Meets World, starring Ben Savage, the younger
brother of Fred Savage. In late 2009, Lauria returned to the Off
Broadway stage, appearing as Jimmy Hoffa in Brian Lee Franklin's Good
Bobby, a fictionalized account of Robert F. Kennedy's rise.In 2010,
Lauria appeared as Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play Lombardi. The
play received positive reviews, with sportswriter Jim Hague
commenting, "Lauria truly becomes Vince Lombardi. You almost forget
you're watching an actor. He's Lombardi through and through, down to
the wire-framed glasses and intimidating scowl." North Bergen football
coach Vince Ascolese, who met Lombardi, commented "I really felt like
he was Lombardi. It was uncanny." Lauria's portrayal of Lombardi was
used during the NFL on FOX introduction to Super Bowl XLV, where one
of the two participating teams was the Green Bay Packers; the team
Lombardi coached to victories in the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and
1968. The Packers went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in that
game.
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