Allen, Chad 1974–

views updated May 14 2018

ALLEN, Chad 1974–

PERSONAL

Full name, Chad Allen Lazzari; born June 5, 1974, in Cerritos, CA. Education: Trained at Young Actors Space, Los Angeles. Avocational Interests: Traveling.

Addresses: Agent —Kazarian Spencer and Associates, 11365 Ventura Blvd., Suite 100, Box 7403, Studio City, CA 91604. Manager —Graham Kaye, Creative Management Group, 9465 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 335, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Actor and producer. Creative Outlet Theatre Company, Los Angeles, founding member, 1995, and actor and producer. Appeared in commercials and antidrug public service announcements. Supporter of various causes, including Autistic Children's Foundation, Angel's Flight (teen halfway house), Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Trevor Project (suicide hotline for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth), Get Out and Vote, DC Youth Pride; guest speaker for charitable causes.

Member: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society.

Awards, Honors: Young Artist Award nomination, Young Artist Foundation, best young guest actor in a television series, 1985, for "Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n," Airwolf; Young Artist Award nomination, best young guest actor in a television series, 1986, for Webster; Young Artist Award nomination, best young actor starring in a television special or miniseries, 1986, for Code of Vengeance; Young Artist Award nomination, exceptional young actor starring in a feature film—comedy or drama, 1987, for TerrorVision; Young Artist Award nomination (with others), exceptional young actors in an animated series, special, or feature film, 1987, for Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!; Young Artist Award nomination, exceptional young actor in a new television comedy or drama series, 1987, Young Artist Award nomination, best young male superstar in television, 1988, and Young Artist Award, best young actor in a nighttime drama series, 1989, all for Our House; Young Artist Award, best young guest actor starring in a drama or comedy series, 1989, for My Two Dads; Michael Landon Award (with others), Young Artist Awards, outstanding family television series of the year, 1996, for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; Short Film Award, New York Independent Film and Video Festival (Las Vegas festival), best supporting actor, 2002, for Getting Out; named outstanding volunteer, American Cancer Society.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Tommy Westphall, a recurring role, St. Elsewhere, NBC, 1983–1986.

A. J. Flowers, Code of Vengeance (also known as Dalton and Dalton's Code of Vengeance ), NBC, 1986.

David Witherspoon, Our House, NBC, 1986–1988.

Voice, Pound Puppies (animated), ABC, 1986–1988.

Zach Nichols, My Two Dads, NBC, 1989–1990.

Matthew Cooper, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS, 1993–1998.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Glenn, A Death in California (also known as Psychopath ), ABC, 1985.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Bobby, Not My Kid, CBS, 1985.

Mark Daigler, The Bad Seed, ABC, 1985.

Coop, Help Wanted: Kids, ABC, 1986.

Frankie Calloway, Camp Cucamonga (also known as How I Spent My Summer and Lights Out ), NBC, 1990.

William "Billy" Flynn, Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story, CBS, 1991.

Bobby McAndrews, Praying Mantis, USA Network, 1993.

Kenny Carlson, A Mother's Testimony, Lifetime, 2001.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Voice of Charlie Brown, Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! (animated), CBS, 1986.

Ben (some sources cite Kevin), Straight Up, PBS, 1988.

Sean, Choose Your Own Adventure: The Case of the Silk King (also known as The Case of the Silk King ), ABC, 1992.

Host in Disneyland, CBS All–American Thanksgiving Day Parade, CBS, 1993.

Host in Hawaii, The All–American Thanksgiving Day Parade, CBS, 1995.

A Salute to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS, 1998.

Himself, Totally Gay!, 2003.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Boy, "A Recipe for Disaster," Simon & Simon, CBS, 1981.

Ho Minh Truong, "Daddy's Gone a Hunt'n," Airwolf, CBS, 1984.

Bobby Cowley, "Sleeping Dogs," Hotel, ABC, 1985.

Conrad, "My Aged Valentine," Punky Brewster, NBC, 1985.

Patrick Fenton, "The Nightmare Man," Matt Houston, ABC, 1985.

Rob Whitaker (Joiner), "Alien," Webster, ABC, 1985.

Rob Whitaker (Joiner), "Big Buddy," Webster, ABC, 1985.

Rob Whitaker (Joiner), "Big Problems," Webster, ABC, 1985.

Rob Whitaker (Joiner), "Parent Trap," Webster, ABC, 1985.

Rob Whitaker (Joiner), "Borrowed Time," Webster, ABC, 1986.

Rob Whitaker (Joiner), "TV or Not TV," Webster, ABC, 1986.

Sandy, "The Milkman Cometh," Tales from the Darkside, syndicated, 1987.

Brian, "The Dilemma," Punky Brewster, syndicated, 1988.

Danny Sanderson, "Heir of Neglect," Hunter, NBC, 1988.

Ricky Diller, "The Whole Nine Yards," Highway to Heaven, NBC, 1988.

"Episode 47," MMC (also known as Mickey Mouse Club ), The Disney Channel, c. 1990.

Jono/Jeremiah Rossa, "Suddenly Human," Star Trek: The Next Generation (also known as The Next Generation and Star Trek: TNG ), syndicated, 1990.

Brad Patterson, "The Yearbook," The Wonder Years, ABC, 1991.

Michael Stadler, "White Lies," DEA, Fox, 1991.

Michael Stadler, "Zero Sum Game," DEA, Fox, 1991.

Matthew "Matt" Skinner, "Every Man's Family," In the Heat of the Night, NBC, 1993.

Guest, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1997.

Pete Dougherty, "How Long Has This Been Going On?," Love Boat: The Next Wave, UPN, 1998.

Eddie Miller, "First Wave," Total Recall 2070, Showtime, 1999.

Tommy Ibarra, "Show and Tell," NYPD Blue, ABC, 1999.

Chicken Soup for the Soul, PAX TV, 1999.

Himself, Intimate Portrait: Deidre Hall, Lifetime, 2001.

Himself, Larry King Live, CNN, 2004.

Appeared in Rated K Update; appeared in game shows.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Cutter to Houston, CBS, c. 1983.

Matthew Cooper, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS, 1993.

Film Appearances:

Sherman Putterman, TerrorVision, Empire, 1986.

Mark, Save Me, Mythgarden/Tetrahedron, 2000.

Oliver (Margo's brother), We Married Margo, KOAN Inc., 2000.

Brad Adams/Bradley Clayton, Do You Wanna Know a Secret?, Mainline Releasing, 2001.

Lucas Warner, What Matters Most, Chateau Wally Films, 2001.

First voice, Sexy (animated short film), 2002.

Steve, Getting Out (short film), Fishman Productions, 2002.

Jason Bartok, Paris, Paris Digital, 2003.

Hunter, Downtown: A Street Tale, Downtown, 2004.

Nate Saint and Steve Saint, Walk His Trail, Bearing Fruit Entertainment, 2005.

Film Producer:

Save Me, Mythgarden/Tetrahedron, 2000.

Stage Appearances:

Biloxi Blues, Creative Outlet, Los Angeles, 1996.

The Boys in the Band (reading), Los Angeles, 1997.

Change at Babylon, Los Angeles, 1997.

Scooter Thomas Makes It to the Top of the World, Creative Outlet, 1997.

Vincent Castelnuovo–Tedesco, Temporary Help, Seattle, WA, 1999, then Westport, CT, 2001, later Women's Project Theatre, New York City, 2002.

Sons of Lincoln, Los Angeles, 2000.

Dearboy's War, 2001.

Appeared in A Man Called Peter, Oliver!, and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All to You, all in the Los Angeles region; also appeared in A Beginner's Guide to Seduction (reading), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Of Mice and Men, and Valley of the Dolls.

Stage Producer:

Corpus Christi, Los Angeles, 2001.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

The Real Chad Allen (interview), 1989.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Advocate, October 9, 2001, pp. 42–46, 48; November 25, 2003.

Edge, August 5, 1998.

Out Traveler, February, 2004.

People Weekly, March 15, 1999, p. 328.

Electronic:

Chad Allen Online, http://www.chadallenonline.com, May 9, 2004.

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television

Bachman-Turner Overdrive

views updated May 14 2018

Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Rock group

Randy Bachman helped form two of Canada's most successful rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s—the Guess Who, which he founded with singer Chad Allen in 1962, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO). Allen left the Guess Who in 1965 before it emerged as one of Canada's most popular and beloved international acts under the aegis of songwriters Bachman and Allen's replacement, Burton Cummings. When Bachman left the Guess Who in 1970, he recorded a solo album, Axe, before forming Brave Belt with Allen. Brave Belt released two albums on Reprise Records before landing a contract with Mercury Records. Tim Bachman replaced Allen on guitar and vocals and bassist Fred Turner joined remaining Brave Belt members Randy and Robbie Bachman to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The moniker was reputedly agreed upon at a truck stop near Windsor, Ontario, where the bandmates noticed a copy of Overdrive magazine, a trucking industry trade journal.

The songs recorded by the brothers Bachman and Fred Turner formed a demo album originally titled Brave Belt III. "I sent it to twenty-six record labels," Bachman said in an interview reprinted on the Rough Guide to Rock website. "Got twenty-six refusals. Finally, somebody who had refused it in late January called back in March and said they had listened to it again and were reconsidering it. But we had to change our name. And they wanted me to use my name, Bachman, because it had rings of success with the Guess Who and we could get DJs to play it."

Released String of Successful Singles

Turner's and Bachman's gruff vocal mannerisms recalled the voice of Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty, while the tight, boogie-based rock playing of the band was reminiscent of the Rolling Stones during the Mick Taylor era. Their first album, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, yielded the single "Blue Collar," the group's first hit when radio station CKLW broke it in the Windsor-Detroit market. Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, also released in 1973, contained the hit singles, "Takin' Care of Business" and "Let It Ride."

William Hanson wrote in MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, "Every teenager in North America was aware of this record after its release, and the five opening guitar notes on 'Takin' Care of Business' can still make heads bob today." Oddly enough, the piano on this tune was played by Norman Durkee, a pizza delivery man who happened to be taking a pizza to Steve Miller, who was recording in an adjacent studio.

Canada and the Great Lakes states were quickly swept in by Bachman-Turner Overdrive's crunchy guitar licks and vocal harmonies that provided the songs' hooks. The prairies and Great Lakes areas remained strongholds for the band as they won milder acclaim on the coasts and beyond.

The success of the band's initial single offerings fore-shadowed the ground breaking success of BTO's third album, Not Fragile. Released in 1974, Not Fragile introduced the first of many lineup changes, as Tim Bachman was replaced by guitarist Blair Thornton. The singles "You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet" and "Roll on Down the Highway" propelled Not Fragile to platinum sales. "You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet," a number one hit, was "a direct steal from the Who," wrote Dave Marsh in The Rolling Stone Record Guide, "and an imaginative one." The song's propulsive rhythm beneath a soaring lead guitar line and a cliche-ridden lyric borrows as much from the Young Rascal's "Good Lovin'" as from the Who's Pete Townshend. The stuttering vocal is reminiscent of the Who's "My Generation," but Randy claimed in Bachman-Turner Overdrive: Rock Is My Life This Is My Song that the song was a "gold joke" as he jokingly laid down a dummy vocal before the song was recorded. A later version sung without the stutter sounded "like Frank Sinatra singing 'Strangers In The Night,'" so they stuck with the original.

The BTO juggernaut continued during the mid-1970s. 1974's Four Wheel Drive, recorded in just six days, went platinum the first week of its release, largely because of the single "Hey You," which has been interpreted as a derisive critique of Bachman's former bandmates in the Guess Who. The simple riffs and arrangements of the first four albums were replaced by the more jazzy and complex sound of Head On, released in 1975. The exception, the rock anthem "Take It Like a Man," went on to become a minor hit. The Best of BTO (So Far), released in 1976, solidified the band's reputation as rock-solid purveyors of rock and pop singles. However, the latter part of the 1970s witnessed the unraveling of the band. "My Wheels Won't Turn," a single from Freeways, released in 1977, was BTO's first single since their first album not to chart. Turner reportedly was so unhappy with Freeways that he refused to have his photograph taken for the cover art. Indeed, the album featured only one Turner composition, "Life Still Goes On (I'm Lonely)." The remaining compositions were credited to Randy Bachman.

The Unraveling of the Band

After Freeways, the band released a live album, marking time while Randy Bachman decided to leave the band and record another solo album, Survivor, which was released in 1978. The rest of the band carried on, officially dropping the name Bachman-Turner Overdrive and calling themselves simply BTO. Bachman's replacement was April Wine bassist Jim Clench, who shared vocal responsibilities with Turner. Street Action, released in 1978, went virtually unnoticed by the record-buying public, a fate shared by Randy Bachman's subsequent Ironhorse project. The BTO quartet soldiered on, releasing 1979's Rock 'n' Roll Nights, which featured outside songwriting for the first time, including tunes by the likes of Bryan Adams and the album's producer, Jim Vallance, who was a frequent collaborator with Adams. Lack of public interest, in part, resulted in the band's dissolution following the release of Rock 'n' Roll Nights.

Turner re-teamed with Bachman in 1981 for the second album release of his band, Union, which featured vocals by Bachman, Turner, and Frank Ludwig. Freed from the restrictions of what the public expected from BTO, Union explored many facets of rock music, including surf and blues. In 1983, Bachman and Turner reformed BTO with Gary Peterson from the Guess Who on drums and Tim Bachman. This lineup recorded BTO (1984), Live Live Live (1986), and Best of BTO Live, which was not released until 1994. Randy Bachman quit the band again in 1991, replaced by guitarist Randy Murray. Other members of the 1990s incarnation of BTO included Turner on bass and vocals, Blair Thornton on guitar, and Rob Bachman on drums. The quartet recorded Trial by Fire, which featured new versions of BTO classics, two new songs and three covers, including "House of the Rising Sun." Meanwhile, Randy Bachman played a benefit show in 1996 to help save Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver. Reported Leanne Larmond in the Anglican Journal: "BTO's guitarist—better known to his fans for 'Taking Care of Business' than 'Seek Ye First'—is a tenor in the cathedral choir."

Critics are divided on BTO's legacy. Dave Marsh noted that the band peaked with Not Fragile, an album that "seemed to exhaust Bachman's imagination—everything before and since is simply sluggish." The band's entry in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock acknowledges BTO's limitations, while properly assessing their assets: "However much it might be open to derision as formula cash-register boogie, BTO's rock is at least dexterously played and arranged, with dynamics reminiscent of mid-period Led Zeppelin." For a period during the mid-1970s, however, BTO enjoyed high sales, steady radio play, and sold out arena shows.

For the Record …

Members have included Randy Bachman , guitar, vocals; Robbie Bachman , drums, vocals; Tim Bachman , guitar, vocals; Billy Chapman , piano; Jim Clench , bass, vocals; Randy Murray , guitar, vocals; Garry Peterson , drums; Blair Thornton , guitar, vocals; C.F. "Fred" Turner , bass, vocals.

Group formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 1972; released Bachman-Turner Overdrive, with the band's first hit single, "Blue Collar," and Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, 1973; released Not Fragile and Four Wheel Drive, 1974; released The Anthology, 1993; released Trial by Fire, 2000.

Awards: Juno Awards, Best Selling Album for Not Fragile, and Group of the Year, 1974; Juno Awards, Best Selling Album for Four Wheel Drive, Group of the Year, and Best Selling Single for "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," 1975.

Addresses: Website—Bachman-Turner Overdrive Official Website: http://www.btorocks.com.