Booker is Back

Richard Grieco, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum at the premiere of 22 Jump Street
(c) Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

I'll be honest. I haven't seen 22 Jump Street yet.

I'm on my way to do that now. But, I've been waiting quite a while to write this post.

Back in November, I received confirmation from a very reliable source that Richard Grieco would be making an appearance in the sequel to Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill's 21 Jump Street movie--but, that it wasn't going to be publicly confirmed before the movie released.

So, I've been biting my tongue (and eagerly awaiting the movie), even when some skeezy set jockey sold the tip and several publications ran the story.

But, the day is here. If life (obligations with children and all that) hadn't intervened, I'd have seen the movie already.  Many of you have. So, we're free to talk about it.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything to say, since I'm just on my way out to see the movie now. Stay tuned, though. I'll be updating late tonight.

Update: I've seen the movie now and...well...it turns out that I'm not going to be updating this post after all. There's nothing I can tell you except that if you have any sense of humor at all, you should go see this movie.

New Richard Grieco Interview

It's no surprise that a publication with the subtitle "Charity Meets Style" would get around to interviewing Richard Grieco.

"Miss A" talked to Grieco about his charitable involvements, including The Wolf Connection, Cops4Causes and Fueled by the Fallen.

She was kind enough to share a nice screen cap from everyone's favorite episode of Booker, too.

Read the full article here: Charity Meets: Richard Grieco

Richard Grieco Salt Lake Comic Con Video

Richard's appearance at Salt Lake Comic Con last month was, a bit surprisingly, his first Comic Con experience. In the video below, he talks about 21 Jump Street, voicing Ghost Rider, the video games he played with Peter DeLuise back in the day (Madden) and the ones he's playing today (Call of Duty).

 And, in case you're into that kind of thing, he gives out his gamer tag.

 Stop back and share your experience if you happen to play Titanfall with him or anything...

 

SLCC Richard Grieco Photos

No, I wasn't there.

And, I'll be totally honest: I'm not at all sure who Rob Joseph is.

However, he was at Salt Lake Comic Con this past weekend, and he snapped quite a few pictures of Richard with various other celebs, fans, news crews and the like...and then it appears that he was kind enough to make his Facebook album open to all of us.

So, if you missed Richard at SLCC last weekend (or saw him there but can never get enough), check out Rob's pictures.

Throwback Thursday - Richard Grieco as Marker

Just in time for another Throwback Thursday, I got my hands on a copy of Richard's 1995 television series, Marker.

If you were a fan of Dennis Booker, you're probably going to want to seek this one out. Richard's character in Marker is the same type of smart-assed, reluctant hero as we saw in 21 Jump Street and Booker.

The premise of the show is that Richard's character (also named Richard) is estranged from his billionaire father and working in construction far from his native Hawaii. When he returns to the island for his father's funeral, Richard learns that he's inherited property and a mission: his father has asked that he take on responsibility for markers he's distributed to a number of people.

As he helps people from all walks of life to whom his father had in some way been indebted, Richard learns that there was far more to the man than he realized.

Some things never change. The
credits end at 4:00, and within 45 seconds
Richard is stripping down in the limo.

Like Richard's best-known character, the lead in Marker is witty, irreverent, good-hearted and prone to getting  in over his head in the name of justice or saving the girl (or child, or old man, or family business, or...)

He's also prone to whipping his shirt off at a second's notice, and with very little provocation. Just in case you're into that kind of thing. This is made easy and plausible by the fact that he's living on an island, approximately 50 feet from the ocean.

We see a hint of the college
football player Richard once was
in this series.

You know that (in my view, at least), Richard's film work covers a very broad spectrum--some I've watched more than once, one or two I've turned off before reaching the end or gone on about my business while letting them play in the background. This one is worth a watch for any Grieco fan, or anyone who was a fan of the 90s-era series like Silk Stalkings and High Tide. I'm a little surprised that it didn't last longer.

Richard Grieco at Salt Lake Comic Con this Weekend

If you happen to be in or around Salt Lake City or you're attending Salt Lake Comic Con this weekend, you'll have the opportunity to meet Richard Grieco on Saturday (only). You can buy tickets here.

It's not yet clear if/when photo ops will be available and at what price (that's all "TBD" on the convention website).

Here's a list of other celebrity guests and their schedules: FanX Master Guest Schedule

Happy Birthday, Richard Grieco

Richard Grieco is 49 today, and it's been roughly 28 years since he landed his first significant role on the daytime drama One Life to Live.  Here he is making his appearance in Llanview (and on fan radar).




In the intervening years, Richard had a key role in the popular Fox television drama 21 Jump Street, the lead role in his own spin-off from that series (Booker) and the lead in the television series Marker. He's also appeared in other television shows, including a recurring role in the cult favorite Veronica Mars. 

In 1991, he had starring roles in two major motion pictures: If Looks Could Kill and Mobsters. After that, Richard's profile dropped somewhat and less devoted fans may have lost track of him. But, he was never really off the radar. Since 1991, Richard has made 44 additional movies, including the SNL-branded A Night at the Roxbury. Two others are currently rumored, and 2014 looks like it could be a very big year for Richard.

But, this long list of acting credits only scratches the surface of what Grieco has been up to in the years since 21 Jump Street. He released a CD, Waiting for the Sky to Fall, and toured Europe. He voiced video game characters, automobile advertisements and cartoon characters. He conceived of an produces the Showtime reality show Gigolos. Oh, and all the while, he was actually an artist at heart.

That's more than a lifetime's work, but Grieco shows no signs of slowing down. Here's hoping he's having a great birthday and looking back with pleasure on the rich life he's led thus far.