Chad Allen Lazzari, known professionally as Chad Allen, was born on June 5, 1974, in Cerritos, California. He was raised in Long Beach, California, as the youngest of four boys. His parents hoped for a girl and were blessed with Chad's twin sister, Charity.
Allen began his acting career as Chad Allen, believing Chad Lazzari sounded more suited to a dark-haired Italian rather than a blond, blue-eyed boy.
Chad Allen at Philly QFest 2009. Photo by John Andress.
Early Career and Rise to Fame
His first role was in a McDonald's television commercial at age four. His big break came with the role of Tommy Westphall, an autistic boy, on St. Elsewhere, which he played throughout the series' run.
Chad appeared on several other series as a guest star, these shows include Airwolf, Hunter, The Wonder Years, Star Trek The Next Generation, In the Heat of the Night, Highway to Heaven, Simon and Simon, and he also appeared in ten television movies.
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Interestingly, he agreed to join the cast of the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman pilot to raise money for college, a familiar narrative for people in that age group. He didn’t think that the series would go on for any longer than that pilot. To his surprise, it went on for six years. Allen's next contract role was Matthew Cooper in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman alongside Jane Seymour (1993-98).
Chad Allen as Matthew Cooper in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Activism and Personal Life
In 1996, at age 21, Chad was outed as gay when the US tabloid The Globe published photos of him kissing another man, Alex Hannaman, in a hot tub at a party.
Chad has since become an activist for the LGBT community in addition to his continuing acting and producing career. On January 17, 2006, Chad appeared on CNN's Larry King Live with San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to represent the gay viewpoint in a debate over same-sex marriage. He thanked Newsom for his attempts to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. He was in a relationship with actor Jeremy Glazer between 2005-2011.
In November 2006, The Los Angeles Daily News mentioned that Allen's partner, Jeremy Glazer, was also in the film Save Me.
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In a September 2008 interview with Out.com, Allen stated that he was currently in a three-year relationship and had been sober for eight years. In October 2008, AfterElton.com stated his boyfriend to be Glazer.
In May 2009, Allen was the recipient of a GLAAD Media Award: the Davidson/Valentini Award.
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Later Career and Education
Starting with Third Man Out (2005), Allen stars as Donald Strachey, a gay private detective in a monogamous relationship, in a series of television movies for the here! network based on novels by Richard Stevenson. The sequel, Shock to the System (2006), was followed by On the Other Hand, Death (2008) and Ice Blues (2008).
From June through August 2008, Allen appeared with Valerie Harper in Looped, a play based on an afternoon looping session with Tallulah Bankhead for the film Die! Die!.
Starting on September 23, 2008, Allen portrayed the love interest of Dr.
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Allen graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in June 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He graduated from the Psy.D.
Chad Allen’s career didn’t end then. He has had a large number of minor or guest roles in television series. His resume almost reads like a list of the most popular television shows of the last thirty years or so.
| Show | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| St. Elsewhere | Tommy Westphall | 1983-1988 |
| Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Matthew Cooper | 1993-1998 |
| Third Man Out | Donald Strachey | 2005 |
| Shock to the System | Donald Strachey | 2006 |
| On the Other Hand, Death | Donald Strachey | 2008 |
| Ice Blues | Donald Strachey | 2008 |
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