Whatever Happened to ‘Wiseguy’ Star Ken Wahl?
What To Know
- Ken Wahl rose to fame in the 1980s as the star of the TV drama Wiseguy, earning a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination before abruptly retiring from acting in 1996 due to severe injuries and chronic pain.
- His career and personal life were marked by a series of accidents, including a serious neck injury from a fall, struggles with alcohol, and a turbulent first marriage, leading him to eventually seek rehabilitation and remarry in 1997.
- In recent years, Wahl has lived a private life with his wife Shane Barbi, dedicating himself to animal rights and veteran advocacy, notably supporting programs that pair shelter animals with veterans suffering from PTSD.
Ken Wahl celebrates his 69th birthday on February 14 and for many ’80s TV fans, he’ll always be remembered as Vinnie Terranova, the intense undercover agent at the center of the groundbreaking CBS crime drama Wiseguy. In 1990, he even won a Golden Globe Award for the role. Then, almost as quickly as he arrived, he seemed to disappear. So where did he go? The actor actually has a life story as wild and unbelievable as anything you’d see on an action-filled TV show.
How did Ken Wahl begin his career?
Wahl’s path to Hollywood was anything but typical. His big break came almost by accident in 1979, when director Philip Kaufman spotted him and cast him in the lead role of The Wanderers. More movie parts followed, including roles opposite Paul Newman in Fort Apache, The Bronx and a string of early ’80s action films.
Then came the part that defined him. In 1987, Wahl was cast as undercover agent Vinnie Terranova in Wiseguy, a role he didn’t have to audition for. The show ran until 1990 and earned him both an Emmy nomination and the Golden Globe. Wahl even wrote and directed episodes of the series. However, behind the scenes, his career was already being shaped by a series of injuries that would eventually change everything.
Warner Bros./Everett Collection
Wahl suffered from several motorcycle crashes in the early and mid-1980s, including a 1984 accident that left him with 89 stitches in his scalp. Later, during the second season of Wiseguy, he tore his Achilles tendon in an on-set mishap that sidelined him for several episodes.
For years, Wahl told the public he had broken his neck in yet another motorcycle accident. More than a decade later, he revealed that the story wasn’t accurate. The real injury occurred when he fell down a set of slippery marble stairs at the home of comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s girlfriend and eventual wife, Joan Child, severely damaging his neck and spinal column. He said he had agreed to keep the location private to protect the friend’s identity.
Wahl later described living in constant, agonizing pain and struggling to get effective medical treatment. He admitted he began drinking heavily to cope. He managed to push through a few more projects, including the 1996 Wiseguy reunion movie, but that same year, at the age of 39, Ken Wahl quietly retired from acting.
CBS/Everett Collection
His personal life during that period was turbulent as well. Wahl had married former model Corinne Alphen in 1983, and the couple had one son before divorcing in 1991. In the mid-1990s, he faced several alcohol-related legal problems and eventually entered a live-in rehabilitation program. In 1997, Wahl married his second wife, glamour model Shane Barbi. The two reportedly met while attending twelve-step meetings, and together they built a new life far removed from Hollywood.
Where is Ken Wahl now?
Over the years, Wahl and Barbi have become passionate advocates for animal rights and for disabled United States military veterans. He has supported programs that pair shelter animals with veterans suffering from PTSD, believing deeply in the therapeutic power of that connection. In 2010, he even offered up his own Golden Globe Award as part of a reward to help find the person responsible for a shocking case of animal abuse. Today, Wahl lives a largely private life and rarely gives interviews.
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