Zach Galligan
About
Biography
Biography
While the career of this handsome dark-haired actor began as promising, Zach Galligan seemingly has found himself trapped in playing roles in direct-to-video genre fare. The New York native first gained prominence in the mid-1980s as the wide-eyed male lead in Joe Dante's horror comedy "Gremlins" (1984). A more mature Galligan reprised the role in the unnecessary but not unentertaining sequel "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990). In between, he had found a series of small screen roles that displayed his charm and talent, most particularly "Surviving" (ABC, 1985), in which he and fellow up-and-comer Molly Ringwald co-starred as teenaged lovers who carry out a suicide pact. Galligan's best small screen role, however, was as turn-of-the-century prep school prankster "The Prodigious Hickey" (PBS, 1987) and its two sequels, "The Return of Hickey" (PBS, 1988) and "The Beginning of the Firm" (PBS, 1989).
Despite a turn on Broadway in Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" in 1985, Galligan soon became remanded to genre fare, predominantly horror films like the middling "Waxwork" (1988) and its even worse sequel "Waxwork II: Lost in Time" (1992). He fared slightly better as the gullible young husband in "Mortal Passions" (1989), which at least had festival screenings before being consigned to the video shelves. More recent outings like "All Tied Up" (1994) and "Cupid" (1997) have gone directly to video stores. Galligan continues to make the occasional guest appearance on TV episodics such as "Melrose Place" and "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1982
TV acting debut in the "ABC Afterschool Special" entitled "A Very Delicate Matter"
1983
Cast as Hector Timerman in the NBC TV-movie "Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number"
1984
Breakthrough screen role as Billy Peltzer in "Gremlins"
1984
Film acting debut, "Nothing Last Forever"
1985
Appeared on Broadway as Eugene Morris Jerome in "Biloxi Blues"
1985
Co-starred with Molly Ringwald as teenaged lovers in a suicide pact in the powerful ABC TV-movie "Surviving"
1987
Played the title role of "The Prodigious Hickey" in the PBS "American Playhouse" presentation
1988
Starred in the horror film "Waxwork"
1988
Reprised role of Hickey in PBS' "The Return of Hickey"
1989
Again played Hickey in the second sequel "The Beginning of the Firm" (PBS)
1990
Reprised role of Billy Peltzer in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch"
1992
Made guest appearance on "Melrose Place" as Allison's villainous date
1992
Reprised role in the sequel "Waxwork II: Lost in Time"
1994
Had the lead in the direct-to-video release "All Tied Up"
1997
Co-starred in the direct-to-video release "Cupid"
Family
