Andrew McCarthy

American actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]
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* Actor
* travel writer
* television director

**Andrew Thomas McCarthy** (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as *St. Elmo's Fire*, *Pretty in Pink*, and *Less Than Zero*. He is ranked #40 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars of all-time list. As a director, he is known for his work on the Emmy Award-winning series *Orange Is the New Black*.

## Early life and education

McCarthy was born in Westfield, New Jersey, the third of four boys. His mother worked for a newspaper, and his father was involved in investments and stocks. McCarthy moved to Bernardsville, New Jersey, as a teenager and attended Bernards High School and the Pingry School, a preparatory academy. At Pingry, he played the Artful Dodger in *Oliver*, his first acting role. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at NYU, but was expelled after two years.

## Career

McCarthy's first major role was in the 1983 comedy *Class* opposite Jacqueline Bisset. He involuntarily became a member of the 1980s Hollywood group of young actors known as the "Brat Pack". The group starred in a few films, among them *St. Elmo's Fire* and *Pretty in Pink*. McCarthy appeared in the 1987 films *Mannequin* and *Less Than Zero*, a cinematic adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel. In 1985, McCarthy starred with Donald Sutherland and Kevin Dillon in *Heaven Help Us* (also known as *Catholic Boys*) as Michael Dunn. McCarthy made his Broadway debut in *The Boys of Winter.* He quickly returned to Hollywood in 1988 to star in several films, such as *Fresh Horses* and *Kansas*. He had another hit with the 1989 comedy film *Weekend at Bernie's*.

He returned to Broadway to star in *Side Man*, and the production won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Play. In 2003 McCarthy was set to guest star in two episodes of *Law & Order: Criminal Intent*. Due to bad relations with actor Vincent D'Onofrio, series creator Dick Wolf decided against it. Wolf later stated, "Mr. McCarthy engaged in fractious behavior from the moment he walked on the set." McCarthy fired back in a statement of his own saying, "I was fired because I refused to allow a fellow actor to threaten me with physical violence, bully me and try to direct me." Despite this incident, he later guest starred in an episode of *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* (with Chris Noth, not D'Onofrio) that originally aired in November 2007. In 2004, he played Dr. Hook in *Kingdom Hospital*. He appeared in five episodes of the 2005 NBC television series *E-Ring*. In 2008, he starred in the NBC television series *Lipstick Jungle* as billionaire Joe Bennett and had a minor role in *The Spiderwick Chronicles*.

McCarthy directed several episodes of the hit CW television series *Gossip Girl*, including "Touch of Eva" in the fourth season. In 2010 and 2011, he appeared in the hit USA show *White Collar*. He returned to the series in the next season to direct the episode "Neighborhood Watch". In 2015, he directed three episodes in Season 2 of the NBC hit television show *The Blacklist* starring James Spader and Megan Boone.Template:Circular reference In 2016, he starred in the short-lived ABC drama *The Family*. In 2020, he has a recurring role in NBC's TV series *Good Girls*.

## Writing

McCarthy began travel writing and served as an Editor at Large at *National Geographic Traveler* magazine. In 2010, McCarthy was escorted out of an underground church in Lalibela, Ethiopia, for entering the site without documentation. He had been in the church on assignment for the travel magazine *Afar*. McCarthy's book *The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down* was published in 2012.

In February 2015, *National Geographic* published McCarthy's account, titled "A Song for Ireland", of his return to the house in the townland of Lacka West in the parish of Duagh in County Kerry in Ireland from which his great-grandfather John McCarthy had emigrated in the late 1800s.

McCarthy has received several awards from the Society of American Travel Writers, including Travel Journalist of the Year in 2010.

In 2017, Algonquin Books published McCarthy's YA novel, *Just Fly Away*. The novel became a *New York Times* bestseller.

McCarthy's memoir about his life and career in the 1980s, titled *Brat: An '80s Story*, is set to be released in May 2021 by Grand Central Publishing.

## Personal life

 File:Dolores Rice Andrew McCarthy Shankbone 2010 NYC.jpg  In 1992, McCarthy entered a detoxification program and has been sober since. In 2004, he announced that he once had a serious alcohol problem, which began at age 12.

In 1999, McCarthy married his college sweetheart Carol Schneider 20 years after they first dated. He later stated his reasons for tracking her down after they had drifted apart: "I ran into someone who said they had seen Carol and her boyfriend and they seemed really happy, and for some reason it bothered me for a week. I called her and asked her if she was really with this guy and asked her out for coffee." In 2002, Schneider gave birth to a son, Sam, who also became an actor. McCarthy and Schneider divorced in 2005.

On August 28, 2011, McCarthy married Dolores Rice. They have a daughter, Willow. In September 2013, it was announced that the couple was expecting their second child together. McCarthy mentioned on *Good Day New York* on March 29, 2017, that his third child is a son, Rowan, and was then two years old.Template:Cn

## Awards and nominations

**Fantafestival**

* 1987: **Won**, "Best Actor" – *Mannequin*

**Rhode Island International Film Festival**

* 2004: **Won**, Grand Prize for "Best Short Film" – *News for the Church* – qualifying it as an Official Entry with the Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film

Full Info Including Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD produced by Al Gomes and A. Michelle of Big Noise

**Sedona International Film Festival**

* 2005: **Won**, "Best Short Film" – *News for the Church*

## References

1. ↑ "UPI Almanac for Friday, Nov. 29, 2019", United Press International (November 29, 2019). "…actor Andrew McCarthy in 1962 (age 57)"
2. ↑ Thomas, Bob (March 1, 1987). "McCarthy a hot ticket in acting market".
3. ↑ "Andrew McCarthy Biography". http://www.tv.com/people/andrew-mccarthy/biography/.
4. ↑ Schwartz, Lexi. "Celebrity Then And Now: Andrew McCarthy", *Albany Daily News*. Accessed September 5, 2019. "Enjoying a rather ordinary childhood and attending the Pingry School and Bernards High School, McCarthy set his sights on acting after high school graduation and landed his first starring role at 19 years old in the 1983 feature film, *Class*."
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Newman, Melinda (15 August 2011). "From Brat Pack to Backpack", *New Jersey Monthly*.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Andrew McCarthy (I) – News
7. ↑ "McCarthy Fired From Law + Order". 28 May 2003. https://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/mccarthy-fired-from-law-.-order.
8. ↑ Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith (November 29, 2007). "Once Fired From "Law & Order," Andrew McCarthy Returns". http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=19&num=17452.
9. ↑ List of The Blacklist episodes#Season 2 .282014.E2.80.9315.29
10. ↑ [1]
11. ↑ "Archived copy". http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Andrew-McCarthy-talks-Pretty-In-Pink-wig--travel-writing:-9-facts/8833252.
12. ↑ Nudd, Tim (8 February 2010). "*Lipstick Jungle* Star Andrew McCarthy Detained in Ethiopia" (in EN). https://people.com/celebrity/lipstick-jungle-star-andrew-mccarthy-detained-in-ethiopia/.
13. ↑ Strayed, Cheryl (21 September 2012). "Where Is He Now?" (in en-US), *The New York Times*.
14. ↑ McCarthy, Andrew (2 February 2015). "A Song for Ireland -- National Geographic Traveler" (in en). https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/a-song-for-ireland/.
15. ↑ "Hollywood star discovers he's from Kerry and not Cork after supporting Cork all his life!'", *evoke.ie* (February 6, 2015).
16. ↑ "Past Winners SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Competition". http://www.satwf.com/past-winners-satw-foundation-lowell-thomas-competi/2010-satw-foundation-lowell-thomas-travel-journali.
17. ↑ Hong, Catherine (2017-07-12). "Summer Y.A. Escapes from Sarah Dessen, Andrew McCarthy and More" (in en-US), *The New York Times*.
18. ↑ "Just Fly Away" (in en-US). https://www.workman.com/products/just-fly-away.
19. ↑ Gillette, Sam (10 November 2020). "*Pretty in Pink* Star Turned Director Andrew McCarthy Revisits the '80s with Memoir *Brat*" (in EN). https://people.com/movies/andrew-mccarthy-pretty-in-pink-looks-back-at-the-80s-with-his-memoir-brat/.
20. ↑ "Andrew McCarthy discusses his alcoholism", *USA Today* (March 26, 2004).
21. ↑ Freydkin, Donna (March 20, 2008). "'Pretty' heartthrob Andrew McCarthy loves his 'Lipstick'", *USA Today*.
22. ↑ McCarthy, Andrew (16 December 2014). "News for the Church". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rpi9Alt0So.

## External links

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* Andrew McCarthy's Official Website

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