| Name |
Ted Neeley |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
American |
| Date of Birth |
20-September-1943 |
| Place of Birth |
Ranger, Texas, U.S. |
| Famous for |
Acting |
Ted Neeley is an American rock and roll drummer, singer, actor, composer, and record producer. He is probably best known for performing the title role in the film Jesus Christ Superstar in 1973. He signed his first record deal in 1965, at age 22, with Capitol Records. He and his group, The Teddy Neeley Five, recorded an album titled Teddy Neeley. They played the club circuit for years, and at one point their name (on a marquee) appeared in an episode of Dragnet. In 1968 Neeley starred in the Los Angeles productions of Larry Norman's rock musicals Alison and Birthday for Shakespeare, with Norman, Richard Hatch and Kay Cole. Then, in 1969, Neeley played the lead role of Claude in both the New York and Los Angeles productions of Hair. His work with that show's director, Tom O'Horgan, led to his being called when O'Horgan was hired to stage Jesus Christ Superstar for Broadway.
Among his other credits, Neeley composed music for and appeared in Robert Altman's film A Perfect Couple, and performed the music for the TriStar feature film Blame it on the Night, NBC-TV's Highway to Heaven, and The Big Blue Marble for the Children's Television Network. He also wrote music for, and starred in Cowboy Jack Street, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and the screenplay for a film aimed at the kiddie market entitled Captain Rainbow, which has yet to see the big screen. At the same time, Neeley also provided his abilities as singer, songwriter, vocal arranger, and producer to albums and appearances by such artists as Nigel Olsson, Tina Turner, Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Keith Carradine, and Meat Loaf. In the realm of concept albums, he worked with songwriter Michael Rapp, who wrote such hit concept albums as Ulysses: The Greek Suite, The Ring and The Enchanter exclusively for showcasing Neeley's amazing vocal talents. In the late Seventies, Ted expanded his talents once more to live performance with his band Pacific Coast Highway.
