Jack Scalia

Scalia was born Giacomo Tomaso Tedesco in Brooklyn, New York City, of Italian and Irish descent.^[2] His father was former Brooklyn Dodger Rocky Tedesco.^[3] His parents divorced and when his mother remarried his name was changed to Scalia.^[4] In 1969 he graduated from Brentwood High School on Long Island.^[5] He was drafted in the first round third overall by the Montreal Expos in 1971 as a pitcher.^[1] and moved to AA ball for his second year. However, he then sustained a shoulder injury and never got to play in the majors.^[6][1]

After brief stints as a construction worker, and as a factory worker at Campbell's,^[6] he began his career as a clothes model, most notably in a series of ads for Eminence briefs^[6] and Jordache jeans,^[7] both of which capitalized on his "beefcake" appeal. In 1982, to promote his TV series, The Devlin Connection where he plays Rock Hudson's character's son,^[6] Scalia took off his shirt and posed, cigarette in hand, for a pin-up wall poster.

Scalia was a regular cast member during the final season of Remington Steele in 1987,^[6] after which he joined the cast of Dallas in the role of Nicholas Pearce, love interest to Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray). Scalia's character was killed off at the end of the 1987–1988 season when he fell to his death after being pushed from a balcony during a fight with J. R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). He returned to the series finale in a dream sequence in which he was married to Sue Ellen.

From 1989 to 1990 he starred in another TV series, the CBS crime drama Wolf.

In 1992 Scalia was cast as Detective Nico "Nick" Bonetti in the short-lived television series Tequila and Bonetti. Scalia replaced another actor in the role during production of the show's first episode. Eight years later, in 2000, Scalia reprised the role of Bonetti in a revival of the series, which was filmed and aired in Italy.

From 1994 to 1995 he starred in Pointman, a television series on the Prime Time Entertainment Network. He was an investment banker framed and convicted of fraud. When eventually cleared, Constantine "Connie" Harper becomes the owner of a Florida beach resort, Spanish Pete's, and aids people in need with the use of former prison mates and "the list". He appeared in the 1998 Lorenzo Doumani film Follow Your Heart as a rich playboy in need of a wife.^[8]

Scalia is also known for his role as Chris Stamp on All My Children from 2001 to 2003. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor" for his AMC role in 2002. In 2006, Scalia starred as President Halstrom in The Genius Club^[9] for writer/director Tim Chey.^[10] The film is about seven geniuses who must try to solve the world's problems in one night.

He is currently married to Edna Blixseth Scalia, ex-wife of Tim Blixseth.^[23] He was previously married to former model Joan Rankin^[24] and to 1982 Miss Universe Karen Baldwin, with whom he has two daughters.^[25]