James H. Harrington III, professionally known as Jay Harrington, (born November 15, 1971) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as the title character in the ABC sitcom '' Better Off Ted'' in 2009–2010, and from 2017 to 2025 as Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay in '' S.W.A.T.''

Early life

Harrington was born and raised in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

to Judy and Terry Harrington. He has two brothers, actor Adam and Matt. As a child, his family spent summers on Cape Cod up the road from The Harwich Junior Theater. He attended

Wellesley High School Wellesley High School is a public high school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States, educating students on grades 9 through 12. The principal is Jamie Chisum, who took the position in 2014 after the departure of Andrew Keough. As of 202 ...

and then studied theater at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Career

Harrington has been featured as Dr. Simon O'Keefe on the WB drama '' Summerland'', FBI Special Agent Paul Ryan on

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's short-lived '' The Inside'', and Steve on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's version of ''

Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mo ...

''. He appeared in a recurring role on the police drama series ''

The Division ''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. Th ...

''. He has also had roles on '' A.U.S.A.'', ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

'', '' Time of Your Life'', '' Private Practice'', and ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...

''. In 2006, Harrington began appearing as Dr. Ron McCready on the series ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

''. He starred as Ted Crisp in the comedy series '' Better Off Ted'' from March 2009 to January 2010. He had a recurring role in Season 4 of the

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...

comedy series ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom aired on TV Land and starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was ...

''. In 2014, he co-starred on the short-lived

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

comedy series '' Benched''. In 2017, he had a guest role on '' Suits'' as Mark Meadows, Donna's ex-boyfriend. He starred as Sergeant II David "Deacon" Kay on ''S.W.A.T.'', based on the 1975 television series and 2003 movie of the same name, and was a series regular for all eight seasons. Harrington has appeared in films such as '' American Reunion'' (with his character again – like in Desperate Housewives – being called "Dr. Ron"), '' Whatever It Takes'', '' Anywhere but Here'', ''Catalina Trust'', ''A Little Inside'', and ''Partner(s)''. He has also performed on stage, starring as Jack in ''Boy's Life'' and appearing in the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy stage play by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ...

'' and '' Tony and Tina's Wedding'', Harrington is an avid sports fan who plays in the Entertainment League, a private celebrity basketball league (formerly the NBA-E League), and skates for a local amateur ice hockey team.

Filmography

Film

Television

Director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Jay Male actors from Massachusetts American male television actors Living people Syracuse University alumni 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors People from Wellesley, Massachusetts American male film actors 1971 births Wellesley High School alumni