Theodore Martin "Ted" McGinley (born May 30, 1958 in Newport Beach, California) is an American actor. His famous roles include Stan Gable in Revenge of the Nerds and Jefferson D'Arcy in Married... with Children.
In television circles, McGinley is known as the "patron saint of shark-jumping" by Jump The Shark founder Jon Hein, due to his historical tendency to join shows near the end of their production, when interest was waning and producers tried to shake things up to stay relevant (most notably, he appeared in the later phases of The Love Boat, Happy Days, Dynasty (1981), Married... with Children, and The John Larroquette Show). Bat-Mite even pointed that out when he used his powers to make McGinley replace Aquaman's voice actor in the Series Finale of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which was themed around shark-jumping moments.
McGinley's stint on Married... with Children, where he played Marcy's scheming second husband Jefferson D'Arcy, subverted his tendency to join shows near the end of their runs; he became a regular in season 5, and it didn't end until season 11. Nonetheless, he did join the cast late and his arrival represented a later phase of production, so it conforms to his overall motif (though most fans don't consider McGinley to be the reason why the show went downhill).note
Despite (or possibly because of) his reputation, McGinley has had steady work for decades in made-for-tv films and sitcoms, many of them in large roles. He’s also transitioned into parts in faith-based media.
Notable Roles
Film
- Young Doctors in Love (1982) - Bucky DeVol
- Revenge of the Nerds (1984) - Stan Gable (reprised for made-for-tv sequels The Next Generation and Nerds in Love)
- Major League: Back to the Minors (1998) - Leonard Huff
- Dick (1999) - Roderick
- Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010) - Thornton "Thorny" Blake the Fifth
- A-X-L (2018) - George Fontaine
- God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (2018) - Thomas Ellsworth
Television
- Happy Days (1980-1984) - Roger Phillips
- The Love Boat (1983-1986) - Ashley "Ace" Evans
- Dynasty (1986-1987) - Clay Fallmont
- Married... with Children (1991-1997) - Jefferson D'Arcy
- Sports Night (1998-2000) - Gordon
- Hope & Faith (2003-2006) - Dr. Charley Shanowski
- Transformers Robots In Disguise (2015-2017) - Denny Clay
- Shrinking (2023-) - Derek