James H. Harrington III, professionally known as Jay Harrington, (born November 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his role as the title character in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

sitcom ''

Better Off Ted ''Better Off Ted'' is an American satirical sitcom series, created by Victor Fresco, who also served as the show's executive producer. The series ran on the ABC network from March 18, 2009, to January 26, 2010. ''Better Off Ted'' focuses on t ...

'' in 2009-2010 and since 2017 as Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay in ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

Early life

Harrington was born and raised in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a New England town, town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson Col ...

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 2022 ...

and then studied theater at

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

.Herbert, Geoff
"Actors Taye Diggs, Jay Harrington celebrate Syracuse University homecoming"
''Syracuse.com'', 5 October 2013. Last accessed 11 April 2016.

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 (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

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

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

'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 mov ...

''. 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. The ...

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

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

'', '' Time of Your Life'', ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

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

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

''. He starred as Ted Crisp in the comedy series ''

'' 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. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

comedy series ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land 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 TV Land's hig ...

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

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

comedy series '' Benched''. In 2017, he had a guest role on Suits as Mark Meadows, Donna's ex-boyfriend. He currently stars as Sergeant II David "Deacon" Kay on ''S.W.A.T.'' based on the 1975 television series and 2003 movie of the same name. Harrington has appeared in films such as ''

American Reunion ''American Reunion'' (also known as ''American Pie 4: Reunion'' or ''American Pie: Reunion'' in certain countries) is a 2012 American ensemble sex comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth installm ...

'' (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 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 ''Barefoot ...

'' and ''

Tony and Tina's Wedding ''Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding'' is an "environmental/ immersive theatre" event based on a traditional Italian-American wedding and reception, with warm and intrusive stereotypes exaggerated for comic effect. Audience members are treated as guests at ...

'', 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

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