Born as Gregory Ralph Evigan in South Amboy, NJ on October 14, 1953. Greg was the first child of father Ralph and mother Barbara Evigan. He moved to Sayreville, NJ where he graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School. Upon his graduation from high school he auditioned for and got a role in the first touring production of
Jesus Christ Superstar. After a year on the road he joined the Broadway production cast for another year.
His second major role was landing the role of Danny Zuko in Grease when Barry Bostwick left the production.
Following his run with Grease, Evigan went to California where he auditioned for a lead role in A Year at the Top (1977). He and Paul Shaffer play two aspiring rock stars who sell their souls to the Devil (played by Mickey Rooney) for a year at the top. Evigan and Shaffer wrote the theme music for the show and also recorded an album together entitled Greg and Paul. The show was a pilot and was not picked up as a series.
His next project was in the 1977 pilot All That Glitters, a Norman Lear project that was too edgy for network execs.
Greg Evigan finally hit TV pay dirt when he landed the role in 1979 as Billie Joe McKay in the hit series BJ and the Bear. He played a truck driver who encountered adventure and pretty women galore. Evigan also did double duty as singer of the show's theme music. The show had enough steam to make it through 3 seasons.
Following BJ and the Bear Evigan worked in a number of Movie of the Week features for TV.
He returned to another hit with My Two Dads (1987), co-starring with Paul Reiser as two men raising the daughter of a deceased woman both of the men had dated. Not knowing which was the father, they shared the duties.
Evigan has worked in a number of film projects including the Tekwar movies penned by Star Trek icon William Shatner.
Greg Evigan has continued to work in TV, films, and in music as writer/singer/producer. He owns a music label named Amboy Music Productions as well as his own recording studio.
His most lasting legacy was his work in BJ and the Bear, a series which did more to foster a false image of trucking than almost any other. He made it look like such fun. Every yahoo with a hankering for truckin' crawled out of the weeds and into the seat of a big rig. Thanks Greg, it wasn't your fault. Really.
Greg Evigan was married to Pam Serpe on June 3, 1979. They are the parents of daughter Vanessa Leigh Evigan, son Jason Evigan, and daughter Briana Evigan.
Selected Filmography
TELEVISION
B.J. and the Bear- Billy Joe "BJ" McKay
My Two Dads- Joey Harris
TekWar- Jake Cardigan
Melrose Place- Dr. Dan Hathaway (1996-97)
Pacific Palisades- Robert Russo
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Hoboken Hollow (2005)
Straight From the Heart (9-Feb-2003)
Earthquake in New York (11-Oct-1998)
TekWar (23-Jan-1994)
Lies Before Kisses (3-Mar-1991)
DeepStar Six (04-Jan-1989)
Stripped to Kill (20-Mar-1987)
Sources:
http://www.nndb.com/people/294/000025219/
http://www.fans4greg.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/