Richard John Grieco Jr. was born on 23 March 1965, in Watertown, New York, State USA to mother Carolyn O’Reilly of Irish descent, and father Richard Grieco of Italian descent. He is an actor, musician and ex-fashion model, perhaps still best known for his role as Dennis Booker in the 80s television series “21 Jump Street”.
So just how rich is Richard Grieco? According to sources, Grieco has earned a net worth of over $2.5 million, as of mid-2016. He has acquired his wealth mostly during his modeling and acting career.
Richard Grieco Net Worth $2.5 Million
Grieco was born into a middle-class family. He attended General Brown Junior/Senior High School in Dexter, New York, where he excelled in football, hockey and lacrosse. He later enrolled in Central Connecticut State University, where he majored in Political Science. He also played for the college football team as a linebacker and fullback. Two years later he left the college to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Grieco started as a model for the Elite Agency in New York, and worked for major fashion brands such as Calvin Klein, Armani, Chanel and others. In the mid-80s he took acting classes, and landed a role in the 1985 ABC soap opera “One Life to Live” as Rick Gardner, remaining in the show until 1987. He then moved to LA and made guest appearances in the shows “Who’s the Boss?” and “The Bronx Zoo”. His net worth was at its start. In 1988 Grieco was cast as Dennis Booker in the popular Fox Network’s series “21 Jump Street”, which was his breakthrough role. The series proved to be quite a success, considerably adding to Grieco’s net worth. It led the actor to then be cast in the starring role in its short-lived spin-off series “Booker” the following year.
Grieco made his movie debut in the role of Jewish mobster Bugsy Siegel in the 1991 crime film “Mobsters”. The same year he starred in the action comedy film “If Looks Could Kill” as a slacker, Michael Corben. The movies improved the actor’s wealth, making him a recognized figure in the industry.
In the years since, Grieco has tackled a mix of television and film work. He starred as Tom in the 1993 erotic thriller “Tomcat: Dangerous Desires”, and as Mad Dog Burne in the 1995 action horror “The Demolitionist”. His other films of the time include “Born to Run”, “Sin and Redemption”, “Bolt”, “It Was Him or Us”, “Mutual Needs”, “When Time Expires”, “Sinbad: The Battle of the Dark Knights”, “Captive” among others. He also appeared in several television series of the 90s, such as “Gargoyles”, “Marker”, “The Marvel Action Hour: The Fantastic Four” and “The Incredible Hulk”. He was certainly busy enough for his net worth to continue rising.
Grieco landed starring roles in the 2000s films “Final Payback” and “Fish Don’t Blink”, and also appeared in “Point Doom”, “Manhattan Midnight”, “Sexual Predator”, “Phanton Force”, “Dead Easy”, “Almighty Thor” and “Cats Dancing on Jupiter”, among other. He also appeared as Steve Botando in the 2006 television series “Veronica Mars”. All added to his wealth.
Since 2010 Grieco has been serving as a creator and executive producer of the reality television series “Gigolos”, portraying the lives of several male escorts and their daily interactions with each other as well as with their female clients. His most recent film appearance has been in the 2013 movie “AE Apocalypse Earth”, and a cameo appearance in the 2014 action comedy film “22 Jump Street”. In 2016 he appeared in an episode of the television series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” as himself.
In addition to being a successful actor, Grieco has also found success as a singer. Back in 1994 he was part of the Dunmore Band which became popular among the Los Angeles club hoppers. This led him to sign a recording contract with a German label, and release the CD called “Waiting for the Sky to Fall” the following year, which became a big hit in Europe. In 2004 he collaborated with music manager Cheryl Bogard, with whom he formed a band called Westeland Park which proved an interesting sideline.
In his private life, Grieco hasn’t been married. He prefers to keep his personal life away from public view. Sources believe that he is still unattached.
