Chad Allen

Chad Allen is the American actor who played Jono in the fourth season episode . Performing on television since the age of four, he is perhaps best known for his role as Matthew Cooper on CBS' .
== Personal life ==
Allen was born in Cerritos, California, and he grew up in Long Beach. He was the youngest of four boys and was born along with his twin sister, Charity. When he began acting, it was decided that "Chad Lazzari" was a name more fitting for a "dark-haired Italian" rather than a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, so his professional name became "Chad Allen."
In 1996, Allen was outed as gay when a tabloid published photographs of him kissing another man. Since then, Allen has become an open advocate of the gay community. In 2006, he appeared on the CNN talk show Larry King Live to support the legalizing of gay marriage.
== Career ==
=== 1978 – 1992 ===
Allen's first acting job was a commercial for fast food restaurant McDonald's at the age of four. When he was six, he filmed a role in the pilot episode of CBS' , which later had a brief run in 1983. Fellow Star Trek alumni K Callan, Jim Metzler, and Noble Willingham were regulars on this series. In 1981, director Michael Vejar cast Allen in an episode of Simon & Simon with Michael Ansara. 
Between 1983 and 1988, Allen appeared as Tommy, the autistic son of Dr. Donald Westphall, on NBC's . Although initially a minor role, Allen's character took on a greater significance during the show's final episode, in which it was indicated that the entire series had taken place in his mind. Many Star Trek veterans had regular or recurring roles on St. Elsewhere, including William Daniels, Ed Begley, Jr., Ellen Bry, Ronny Cox, Bruce Greenwood, Norman Lloyd, Deborah May, France Nuyen, Kavi Raz, Jennifer Savidge, Alfre Woodard, and Jane Wyatt.
From 1986 through 1988, Allen was a regular cast member on NBC's . Allen was nominated for three Young Artist Awards for his work on this series, winning one. He then became a regular on , winning another Young Artist Award.
Allen made his film debut in (1986), about a family whose satellite TV system becomes a passageway to an alien world. Gerrit Graham portrayed Allen's character's father in this film, while Bert Remsen played his grandfather. Allen received a Young Artist Award nomination for his performance in this film.
Allen has also been nominated by the Young Artist Awards for his guest appearance on (1984, with James Whitmore, Jr.) and for his recurring role as Rob on the sitcom Webster (which starred Eugene Roche). He was also nominated for his performance in the 1985 NBC TV movie Code of Vengeance and for voicing in (1986).
His other credits during the 1980s include three other TV movies which aired in 1985: Not My Kid (with Andrew Robinson), (1985, with Anne Haney, Richard Kiley, and David Ogden Stiers), and A Death in California (with Michael Cavanaugh, Bruce Gray, Kerrie Keane, William Lucking, John McLiam, Joel Polis, Liam Sullivan, Kenneth Tigar, Granville Van Dusen, George D. Wallace, and Fritz Weaver). He also guest-starred on such shows as Tales from the Darkside (with Seymour Cassel) and (1988, starring Charles Hallahan, directed by Alexander Singer). In the early 1990s, Allen starred in such TV movies as Camp Cucamonga (with Richard Herd) and (1991, with Larry Drake).
=== Dr. Quinn and beyond ===
In 1992, Allen was offered the role of Matthew Cooper on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. He signed on for the show's pilot to earn money for his college tuition, believing it would not be picked up as a series. Dr. Quinn was not only picked up, it ended up lasting for six years. Allen's co-stars on Dr. Quinn included Joe Lando, who previously appeared in , and Erika Flores, who played Marissa Flores in the Next Generation episode . Many other Star Trek veterans had significant roles on this series, including Barbara Babcock, Michelle C. Bonilla, Nick Ramus, Gail Strickland, and Hélène Udy.
After Dr. Quinn came to an end in 1998, Allen made guest appearances on The Love Boat: The Next Wave (directed by Anson Williams and starring Phil Morris) in 1998 and (starring Gordon Clapp and Sharon Lawrence) in 1999. Allen made a second appearance on NYPD Blue, playing a different character, in a 2004 episode with fellow Next Generation guest star Steven Anderson. 
In 2005, Allen and guest star Brett Rickaby played the younger and older versions of the same character in an episode of (The episode also feature fellow Next Generation guest stars Daniel Roebuck and Patti Tippo). Allen has also appeared on such shows as , , and . For the latter, he appeared in an episode with Enterprise regular Jolene Blalock. In 2008, he had a recurring role on .
In addition to his many TV guest appearances, Allen has also starred in What Matters Most (with Jim Metzler and Marshall R. Teague), A Mother's Testimony (a TV movie with Keith Szarabajka), (2003, with Biff Yeager), (2007, with John Savage), and End of the Spear. He has also starred as gay detective Donald Strachey in several films, from (2005) through (2008).
=== 2010 and beyond ===
In 2010, Allen portrayed Loogie in the comedy Spork, with Richard Riehle, on which he also worked as producer. He then portrayed Lance Robinson in the episode "Everything Is Illuminated", with Peter Weller and Shawn Crowder. Allen worked also as co-producer on the documentary Hollywood to Dollywood, a television documentary about . Allen himself and Leslie Jordan were interviewed on this documentary.
Allen later appeared in the horror film Fright Flick (2011) and the romance For Better of for Worse (2011, with Stanley Kamel).
In 2015, Allen announced his retirement from acting to become a clinical psychologist.
== External links ==
* – official fan site
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