RALPH MACCHIO Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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RALPH MACCHIO

Name: Ralph George Macchio                                                         
Born: 4 November 1961 Huntington (CDP), New York U.S.                             
                                                                                   
Ralph George Macchio (born November 4, 1961) is an American actor with             
Italian ancestry. He is best remembered for his role as Daniel LaRusso in the     
Karate Kid series. Macchio and his family currently reside in Miller Place, New   
York.                                                                             
                                                                                   
Born in Huntington, Long Island, New York, Macchio attended Half Hollow Hills     
High School West.                                                                 
                                                                                   
Macchio began his acting career during the mid 1970s, as star of television       
commercials for products like Bubble Yum and Dr Pepper. His first big role was     
playing Jeremy in the television series Eight Is Enough. In 1983, he starred       
alongside many young actors who had yet to become major stars such as C. Thomas   
Howell, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze and Matt Dillon in The Outsiders. It was not   
until 1984, however, that he became an international teen idol, after the         
release of the first Karate Kid movie, where he starred alongside Pat Morita and   
Elisabeth Shue. With his boyish looks, Macchio became one of the most famous       
teen idols of the mid-1980s, his face appearing on the cover of many teen "bubble 
gum" magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16, and Teen Beat.                             
                                                                                   
Macchio participated in the first three Karate Kid movies, which came out in       
1984, 1986 and 1989.                                                               
                                                                                   
In 1992, he starred opposite Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in the hit comedy My       
Cousin Vinny, playing the part of a big city boy wrongly accused of murder while   
passing through a small southern town. Also of note is his appearance in the       
1986 film Crossroads. He played music student Eugene Martone, who battles Jack     
Butler (played by guitarist Steve Vai), a protege of the Devil. Since the mid     
1990s Macchio's film appearances have been occasional cameo or supporting roles,   
notably and recently A Good Night to Die (2003) and Beer League (2006).           
                                                                                   
In 2005, Macchio played himself in HBO's Entourage.                               
                                                                                   
On May 1, 2007 Macchio played himself in an episode of the Starz series Head       
Case with Alexandra Wentworth and Liz Phair.