James Joseph Baio (born March 15, 1962) is an American former actor. He began acting on TV at the age of 13. Baio is best known for playing Billy Tate on ''

Soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

''. His last role was in the 1996 film ''

The Mirror Has Two Faces ''The Mirror Has Two Faces'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Barbra Streisand, who also stars. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is loosely based on the 1958 French film ''Le Miroir à deux faces'' wri ...

.''

Career

Baio first appeared onscreen in 1975 at age 13. He made

guest appearances The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

on series such as '' The Facts of Life'', ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...

'' and ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', but his best known role was as Billy Tate on the comedy series ''

'' (1977–81). Baio's other credits include '' Matlock'', '' Trapper John, M.D.'', ''

Matt Houston ''Matt Houston'' is an American crime drama television series starring Lee Horsley as the title character, a wealthy oilman who holds a side job as a private investigator. Created by Lawrence Gordon and produced by Aaron Spelling, it origin ...

'', ''

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' ...

'' and ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

''. Baio, along with Susan Richardson, participated in the ''Junior Pyramid'' special of ''

The $20,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is an American game show franchise that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The show was developed by Bob Stewart. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on CBS on March 26, 1973, and spawned ...

'' in 1979. He also appeared in the comedy movie ''

The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training ''The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training'' is a 1977 American sports comedy-drama film and a sequel to the 1976 feature film '' The Bad News Bears''. Plot One year after their infamous second-place finish in the North Valley League, the Bad ...

'' (1977) as Carmen Ronzonni.

Personal life

He was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He is the cousin of actor

Scott Baio Scott Vincent Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on the s ...

and

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

band member

Chris Baio Christopher Joseph Baio (born October 29, 1984) is an American musician, best known for being the bassist for the New York City-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend. He also releases as a record producer under the mononym Baio, and his debut so ...

. He is also the uncle of Major League Baseball player

Harrison Bader Harrison Joseph Bader (born June 3, 1994), nicknamed "Tots", is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees ...

Filmography

References

External links

* 1962 births Living people American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Brooklyn 20th-century American male actors People of Sicilian descent American people of Italian descent {{US-screen-actor-1960s-stub

Career

Personal life

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links