Zachary Wolfe Galligan (born February 14, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Billy Peltzer in the comedy-horror films ''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice ...

'' (1984) and '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990).

Early life and education

Galligan was born on February 14, 1964, in New York City, the son of Carol Jean (née Wolfe), a psychologist, and Arthur John Galligan, a lawyer who was a founding partner of the law firm of

Dickstein Shapiro Dickstein Shapiro LLP (formerly Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky) was a large U.S. law firm and lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., with five offices across the United States. According to the National Law Journal's 2012 rankings, it wa ...

. He has a sister, Jessica, and graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Galligan's first major and most widely seen role was as Billy Peltzer in the 1984 film ''

''. Prior to being cast in ''Gremlins'', he filmed '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', which had its theatrical release cancelled and went unreleased in any form for years. In 1988, he starred as Mark Loftmore in the horror comedy '' Waxwork''. He reprised his role as Billy in the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', and returned to the role of Mark for '' Waxwork II: Lost in Time.'' In 2016, UK progressive rock band Gandalf's Fist announced that Galligan would voice a character on their album '' The Clockwork Fable''. In early 2021, Galligan appeared in a Mountain Dew commercial in which his ''Gremlins'' character, Billy, gives Gizmo a drink of his Mountain Dew. Galligan is set to return to the ''Gremlins'' franchise again in the upcoming animated series '' Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai''.

Personal life

Galligan married Ling-Ling Hu Ingerick at the Yale Club in New York on September 25, 2005; they divorced in 2010. In 2003, Galligan was arrested for allegedly shoplifting a CD from a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

store.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

References

External links

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Zach Galligan's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galligan, Zach 1964 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Collegiate School (New York) alumni Columbia University alumni Male actors from New York City