Whatever Happened to ‘T.J. Hooker’ & ‘Grease 2’ Star Adrian Zmed?

Adrian Zmed now and then composite — Suzanne Murphy/TV Guide/Everett Collection; Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for Mondays Dark

T.J. Hooker ran for five seasons (1982-86), with the first four airing on ABC and the final season on CBS. The show, which starred William Shatner as the titular tough police sergeant tasked with training a group of rookie cops, was a lot of fun to watch. The primary cast grew to include Heather Locklear and James Darren— but for many, me included, T.J. Hooker marked the first time Adrian Zmed, who played Officer Vincent Romano, truly captured attention. Honestly, I often compared the partnership of Hooker and Romano to my all-time favorite crime-fighting duo, Batman and Robin (and not just because I always thought Zmed looked exactly like Robin — minus the funky costume, of course).

T.J. HOOKER, William Shatner, Adrian Zmed, 1982-1987. ph: Mario Casilli/TV Guide/Courtesy Everett Collection

Mario Casilli/TV Guide/Everett Collection

When the show moved to CBS for its final season, Adrian didn’t follow. His departure may have been fueled by the momentum he gained from his co-starring gig in the Tom Hanks flick, Bachelor Party.

It’s hard to blame Adrian. While his fame may have seemed a bit overnight to me at the time, the fella had been working hard in the entertainment industry for about a decade. Many may remember him from Grease 2, which I actually didn’t see until years later. But now that I have, I have got to say that I enjoy it ALMOST as much as the original.

Even before that, Adrian had been making guest appearances on different TV shows like Starsky & Hutch, Angie and Bosom Buddies. Also, around the same time as Adrian’s departure from T.J. Hooker, he released an album that really isn’t all that bad; you can listen to it on YouTube.

From everything I’ve read, I believe Adrian felt he had learned as much as he could from working with Shatner. The two actors had a great working relationship, and I’m pretty sure that while Shatner was disappointed Adrian wasn’t sticking around, he was supportive of Adrian’s decision.

So, what happened to Adrian Zmed? Truthfully, until when I started doing research for this article, I had no idea what he was up to. I’d lost track of him after T.J. Hooker, even though Adrian continued to find work making guest appearances on TV shows like Murder, She Wrote and Empty Nest.

But you know what? I wasn’t the only one who somehow lost track of Adrian. In fact, The Simpsons hammered home that point in a 2002 episode titled “The Old Man and The Key,” where a choir gleefully sings, “We are the performers you thought were dead, like Bonnie Franklin and Adrian Zmed.”

However, I have got to say that The Simpsons were 100% wrong about this guy. Adrian just happens to be one of the hardest-working entertainers around. When TV appearances dried up, Adrian took that as a sign that he needed to return to the work he had always loved the most: live theater.

Whether it was Carole King’s Blood Brothers or the 2004 revival of Grease, Adrian is a dynamo on stage and has captivated audiences with performances that simply wouldn’t have been possible on the small or large screen. He has also got involved in causes he was extremely passionate about, like Actors for Autism and Dogs Deserve Better, which aims to free dogs from being chained up in yards, or anywhere else for that matter.

Actor Adrian Zmed (R) and Lyssa Baker arrive for the opening night of "Grease" at The Pantages Theater on March 10, 2009 in Hollywood, California.

Angela Weiss/Getty Images

One side benefit from returning to the stage is the fact that his two sons, Zachary and Dylan, were able to hang around a dad who was constantly singing. The Zmed Brothers, their official band name, now headline an Everly Brothers tribute show. They’ve said that they got the bug for music of that era while traveling with their father; when he was doing Grease, they were constantly hearing 1950s music playing before and after the show, and after a while, it just kind of rubbed off on them. Before you knew it, the two brothers were singing songs in perfect harmony.

And to finally put any questions about why Adrian left T.J. Hooker to rest: he still remains great friends with William Shatner. In July 2023, Adrian said this about his former costar: “As we all get older it’s more important to stay in touch with each other. I am grateful for Bill and his friendship.”

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Now, one final fun thought: does anyone else remember that during the mid-1980s, Adrian took over for Denny Terrio during the final season of Dance Fever? I’ve seen a few clips out there of Adrian and the Dance Fever dancers, and I’ve got to say, he is every bit as good as the professional dancers that supported him on that show.