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Daniel Joseph "Dan" Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American television and film actor. Lauria, an Italian-American, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Carmela (née Luongo) and Joseph J. Lauria. He also lived in Lindenhurst, New York. He graduated from Lindenhurst High School in 1965 as a varsity football player, and he briefly taught physical education at Lindenhurst High School. A Vietnam War veteran, Lauria served as an officer in the US Marine Corps in the early 1970s, at the same point in his life that Jack Arnold, his character in The Wonder Years did during the Korean... MORE

Daniel Joseph "Dan" Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American television and film actor. Lauria, an Italian-American, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Carmela (née Luongo) and Joseph J. Lauria. He also lived in Lindenhurst, New York. He graduated from Lindenhurst High School in 1965 as a varsity football player, and he briefly taught physical education at Lindenhurst High School. A Vietnam War veteran, Lauria served as an officer in the US Marine Corps in the early 1970s, at the same point in his life that Jack Arnold, his character in The Wonder Years did during the Korean War. He got his start in acting while attending Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT, on a football scholarship. Lauria is best known for his portrayal of Jack Arnold, the intimidating and money conscious father on the TV series The Wonder Years, that ran from 1988 to 1993. He also played James Webb in the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and Commanding Officer, USA in 1996's Independence Day. More recently he has appeared in a War Veterans public service announcement and as Police Commissioner Eustace Dolan in The Spirit. He appeared as Coach Hamstrung in The Three LESS