Bio
Ed Marinaro is an American actor and former football player best known to television audiences for his role as Officer Joe Coffey in the police procedural Hill Street Blues, playing the role from 1981-1986.
Other television shows he has appeared in include Laverne & Shirley, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, The Twilight Zone, Sisters, Touched By An Angel, Grace Under Fire, Third Watch, 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and Monk.
Aside from his major role in Hill Street Blues, the majority of Marinaro's screen career has been in the following made-for-TV movies:
Born Beautiful (1982)
Policewoman Centerfold (1983)
Tonight's the Night (1987)
Shades of Love: The Emerald Tear (1988)
Sharing Richard (1988)
The Diamond Trap (1988)
Menu for Murder (1990)
Amy Fisher: My Story (1992)
Passport to Murder (1993)
Dancing with Danger (1994)
Favorite Deadly Sins (1995)
Deadly Web (1996)
Panic in the Skies! (1996)
Doomsday Rock (1997)
Catch Me If You Can (1998)
A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (1999)
Avalanche Alley (2001)
Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part (2005)
Marinaro has had roles in the feature films Fingers (1978), The Gong Show Movie (1980), Dead Aim (1987), Queens Logic (1991), The Protector (1999), and Circus Camp (2006).
He also appeared in the 2005 direct-to-video release Urban Legends: Bloody Mary, playing the role of Bill Owens.
Marinaro played college football at Cornell University where he set over 16 NCAA records. He was the first running back in NCAA history to have over 4,000 career rushing yards.
He went on to play professional football for the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, and Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.