Jack McGee (born February 2, 1949) is an American television and film

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. He has appeared in over 100 films and television series. Known for his gravelly raspy voice, McGee tends to play gruff,

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...

type characters. He is best known as Chief Jerry Reilly on the television series '' Rescue Me''. He was a regular cast member on the FX series for three seasons. In 2010, he co-starred as Hickey on the

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

comedy series '' Players''.

Life and career

McGee was born in the

South Bronx, New York The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was ori ...

, the youngest of eight children. He attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, where he was class president and also played on the Football team, and appeared as a member of the background harmony in

The Young Rascals ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. In 1977, he became a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

for the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

in order to pursue his acting career. As a firefighter, he served with FDNY Engine Company 38 and Ladder Company 51 in the Bronx. In the TV Series ''Rescue Me'', he portrayed FDNY 15th Battalion Chief Jerry Reilly. His first wife was Eileen. His first major role was in the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

firefighter film '' Turk 182''. McGee provided the voice for Mr. White in the 2006 ''

Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarant ...

'' video game. He also is the voice of Big Ed in the game ''Real Heroes: Firefighter'', as well as Otis Schmidt, the driver and engineer in the movie ''

Backdraft A backdraft (North American English), backdraught (British English) or smoke explosion is the abrupt combustion, burning of superheated gases in a fire caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a windo ...

''. McGee is a

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

survivor, and is committed to several cancer organizations, particularly the WeSpark Cancer Support Center, where his wife Stephanie serves as Guest Services Manager. McGee also supports

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is an American non-profit autism awareness organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governm ...

, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Leary Firefighters Foundation.

Filmography

Films

Television

Public service announcements (PSAs)

References

External links

*
WeSpark Cancer Support Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Jack 1949 births American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from the Bronx 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors New York City firefighters