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

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

. 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 working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

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 owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

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 orig ...

, the youngest of eight children. He attended

Cardinal Hayes High School Cardinal Hayes High School is an American Catholic high school for boys in the Concourse Village neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York. The school serves the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. It is a member of the Catholic H ...

in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, 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 persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. In 1977, he became a

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

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 an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

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 ...

firefighter film ''

Turk 182 ''Turk 182'' is a 1985 American action comedy-drama film directed by Bob Clark and starring Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, Kim Cattrall, Robert Culp, and Peter Boyle. It is also one of the first movies to receive a PG-13 rating. Plot 34-year-ol ...

''. 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 debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward Bunke ...

'' 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) or backdraught (British English) is the abrupt burning of superheated gasses in a fire, caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a window or door to an enclosed ...

''. 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 mo ...

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 a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...

, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...

, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the

Leary Firefighters Foundation The Leary Firefighters Foundation (LFF) provides funding and equipment to fire departments throughout the United States. On December 3, 1999, six firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse f ...

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 New York City People from the Bronx 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors New York City firefighters