- Michael DeLorenzo
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Michael De Lorenzo [[File:michael-delorenzo-58383.jpg|frameless|alt=|]] Background information Birth name Michael Thomas De Lorenzo Born October 31, 1959 Origin Bronx, New York,
United StatesGenres R&B, pop, jazz, Latin Occupations Musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter, actor, dancer, director Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, drums Years active 1980–present Labels Indie Website http://www.michaeldelorenzo.com Michael DeLorenzo (born October 31, 1959) is an American actor, director and musician. He is best known for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Eddie Torres on the Fox Thursday night television series New York Undercover which was aired from 1994-1998.
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Life and family
Michael DeLorenzo was born and raised in the University Heights section of The Bronx, New York. He is half Italian and half Puerto Rican. His late father, Arthur DeLorenzo was from Italy and his mother, Carmen DeLorenzo is originally from Puerto Rico.[1] Michael is the second eldest of 4 children. He has 1 sister and 2 brothers.
Education and early career
Michael DeLorenzo is a veteran of stage and screen with more than twenty-five years in the entertainment spotlight. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, he first began performing at the age of 7 as a dancer with Tina Ramirez's Ballet Hispanico. He went on to receive various scholarships from the School of American Ballet (SAB), the Joffrey Ballet, with a final tenure at the New York School of Ballet. At the age of 10, he danced alongside Rudolph Nureyev at the Royal Canadian Ballet. At the age of 14, he performed with Mikhail Baryshnikov and the American Ballet Theater. He went on to attend the famous Manhattan-based Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Shortly thereafter, while dancing, he was injured and tore the cartilage in his knee, thus affecting his immediate entry into the world of acting.
Television, movie, playwright, and dance projects: 1980 - 2008
One of his first gigs was in the Broadway revival of West Side Story, where he played a member of the Sharks. He also appeared in the 1980 film Fame alongside Irene Cara, Gene Anthony Ray and Debbie Allen.
Upon moving from New York to Los Angeles, DeLorenzo landed a recurring role in the television adaptation of Fame, and guest-starred on other series such as Miami Vice. He also appeared in movies such as "Fast Forward" (1985) directed by Sidney Poitier, and music videos for Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Thriller"; Lionel Richie's "Running with the Night"[2] and "Ballerina Girl";[3] and Alexander O'Neal's "Fake". He was also one of the main dancers during Chaka Khan's performance of "I Feel for You" at the 1985 Grammy Awards.[4]
DeLorenzo won a Dramalogue Award for Best Actor in a play at the Mark Taper Forum entitled A Stand Up Tragedy (1987), where he performed different roles live and on stage. Based upon that performance, he was tapped by the producers of the ABC sitcom Head of the Class to star as high school student, Alex Torres alongside Howard Hesseman during the last two years of the series (48 episodes, 1989–1991). Michael also appeared in Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men (1992) as Pfc. William T. Santiago alongside Tom Cruise, and as Rafael Cano in Alive (1993) with Ethan Hawke. While filming "Alive", he endured months of starvation and freezing cold atop a remote mountain in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. His most notable role came with the Fox television Thursday night series New York Undercover starring as NYPD Detective Eddie Torres opposite fellow actor Malik Yoba. DeLorenzo and Yoba (who is African American) made television history, as the series was the first police drama on American television to feature two people of color in the starring roles.[5]
Mr. DeLorenzo went on to star in the Showtime drama series Resurrection Blvd. as Carlos Santiago, the embittered boxing champion. He was also the director of 2 episodes, "Bruja" (2001) and "El Gato, El Vato, La Cena Y El Padre" (2002).
In 2004, Michael joined forces again with Malik Yoba and The Malik Yoba National Theatre Company (MYNT) to co-star in and direct the live stage musical play entitled "Acoustic Chocolate". Written by Malik Yoba and Raquis Petrie, the main synopsis was based on a true story concerning six (6) young musicians who dealt with issues of mental health, depression, suicide and diabetes while struggling to make the dream of pop stardom come true. The week-long show took place at The Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland from March 30 - April 4, 2004.[6]
After this period, He guest-starred in additional notable TV shows: as Rico Cerda in CSI: NY, Cool Hunter (2006), as Nacio Duque in Numb3rs (2007), as Richard Sanchez in Ghost Whisperer (2007), and as Carlos Santiago in CSI: Miami, Tunnel Vision" (2008).
Recent projects (Actor, Director): 2008 - present
Michael continued his extension of his talents by further venturing into the realm of directing. The episodes he helmed from before were among the highest rated. His feature directing debut for a motion picture was with National Lampoon's "One, Two Many" (2008). The movie is now released on DVD.
Other previous accomplishments and work include completing two independent feature motion picture movies, "Not Forgotten" (2009) with Simon Baker (star of the TV series "The Mentalist") and Paz Vega, and "La Linea" (2009) with Ray Liotta and Andy García.
In mid-May 2010, Michael was in Peru filming for a new movie - a drama entitled "The City of Gardens" (2010).[7] He portrays the power hungry, authoritative role of Lt. Gutierrez. The motion picture is currently in the works, wrapping up recent filming in Lima, Peru and continuing its production in Los Angeles, California.[8] It is expected to be debuted and released later this year.[9]
Music (Vocals, Songwriting, Composing, Instrumentalist)
Mr. DeLorenzo is a multi-talented musician who plays guitar, drums and piano. He also has a talent for singing. He first revealed his singing ability by partnering with an R&B girl group called Teen Dream, under the moniker "Valentino" and released the single, "Get Busy" (1987). He appears in the music video as a paper doll cut-out, but did not actually sing on the record.[10] In the mid- to late 1990s during his tenure on New York Undercover, some of his songs appeared on the popular show's soundtracks - one of them entitled, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight".[11] His songs also have appeared on Showtime's Resurrection Blvd. His most recent debut music CD entitled Rescue Me was released in 2009 and is a mix of pop/Latin/R&B.[12]
Personal life
He is currently single and still resides in Los Angeles
See also
- List of famous Italians
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
References
- ^ Names of his parents retrieved from Us Weekly magazine article, August 28, 2000 Issue.
- ^ YouTube Video: Lionel Richie - "Running with the Night" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PnhlXLHKAE (Michael can be seen starting at 0:40 seconds, where the girl lights his cigarette for him)
- ^ YouTube Video: Lionel Richie - "Ballerina Girl" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz8yg9MYf8Q (Michael can be heard counting the dance steps for the dance students, and can be seen in a blue long-sleeved top and white dancer's tights)
- ^ YouTube Video: Chaka Khan's performance of I Feel for You at the 1985 Grammy Awards http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bahz4qCejSI (Michael can be seen dancing in the red top and black leather pants, directly behind Chaka Khan. He was one of the Main Dancers.)
- ^ "Hip-Hop Cops", TV Guide, Oct. 15, 1994, at p. 29.
- ^ Information paraphrased from: http://100megsfree3.com/delo/ac.html
- ^ Information from his IMDB page at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0217716/
- ^ Press Release: “The City of Gardens Wraps Filming in Lima, Peru…Production Moving to Los Angeles.” http://www.behindthehype.com/movie-news/the-city-of-gardens-news/
- ^ Additional sources found on the following sites: Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cityofgardens; YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/thecityofgardens; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thecityofgardens; and the motion picture official website: http://www.thecityofgardens.com. On the official website, a full synopsis of the new movie is displayed on the front page.
- ^ YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e30IL6lGNk
- ^ YouTube Video of Music Track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf_HM3LlfEk
- ^ From page 3 of his music page on his website, http://www.michaeldelorenzo.com/#/page3.
External links
- Website: http://www.michaeldelorenzo.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mdelorenzo
- MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/michaeldelorenzo
- IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0217716
Categories:- 1959 births
- Actors from New York City
- American film actors
- American people of Italian descent
- American people of Puerto Rican descent
- Hispanic and Latino American actors
- Living people
- People from the Bronx
- Puerto Rican actors
- Puerto Rican people of Italian descent
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