# Greg Evigan
**Greg Evigan** (born 1953) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for starring in the television series *B.J. and the Bear* (1979–1981) as trucker B.J. McKay and in the sitcom *My Two Dads* (1987–1990) as Joey Harris[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/). Born in South Amboy, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Sayreville, he began in music and musical theater before moving into a television career spanning more than four decades[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953, South Amboy, New Jersey; grew up in Sayreville[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/) |
| Signature roles | B.J. McKay on *B.J. and the Bear* (NBC, 1979–1981); Joey Harris on *My Two Dads* (NBC, 1987–1990)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/) |
| Other series leads | *Masquerade* (ABC, 1983–1984), *P.S.I. Luv U* (1991), *TekWar* (1994–1996)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/) • [3](https://www.nndb.com/people/294/000025219/) |
| Theater | Ensemble role in the Broadway production of *Jesus Christ Superstar* (1971); played Danny Zuko in *Grease*, including the Chicago run opposite Marilu Henner[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/) |
| Music | Sang the *B.J. and the Bear* theme and co-wrote and performed the *My Two Dads* title theme; released an album of original compositions recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios[4](https://spillmagazine.com/spill-feature-not-just-a-guy-from-tv-a-conversation-with-greg-evigan/) • [5](https://www.evigan.com/) |
| Family | Married talent agent Pamela Serpe on June 3, 1979; father of actresses Vanessa Evigan and Briana Evigan and musician Jason Evigan[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/) |
## Early life and stage work
Evigan is the son of an electrician and grew up in Sayreville, New Jersey, attending Sayreville War Memorial High School[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). Trained classically on piano from about age eight, he also played organ and saxophone and performed in local rock bands as a teenager[6](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/greg-evigan). In high school he won acclaim as Cornelius Hackl in a school production of *Hello, Dolly!*, which won the New Jersey High School Musical Contest[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/).
After graduating in 1971, he auditioned for the Broadway production of [Andrew Lloyd Webber](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-lloyd-webber) and [Tim Rice](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-rice)'s *Jesus Christ Superstar* and, after more than a dozen callbacks, was cast, appearing in four different roles during two years with the Broadway company and a year on the road[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/) • [7](https://playbill.com/article/stage-to-screens-gallagher-abraham-phillips-phelan-evigan-and-bucchino-com-149035). He then played Danny Zuko in *Grease* for the Chicago run, opposite [Marilu Henner](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilu-henner) and, at one point, a young John Travolta[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/).
## Television career
**Early Hollywood.** In 1974 the rock impresario Don Kirshner brought Evigan to Hollywood to star in a proposed musical sitcom executive produced by [Norman Lear](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-lear). Based on the Faust legend, the pilot paired him with Canadian keyboardist [Paul Shaffer](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-shaffer) as struggling musicians who make a deal with the Devil's son. The resulting series, *A Year at the Top* (CBS, 1977), was canceled after four episodes[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). Before that pilot aired, Evigan had been short-listed for the role of Vinnie Barbarino on *Welcome Back, Kotter*, which went to his former *Grease* castmate Travolta[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/).
**B.J. and the Bear.** Evigan's first major success was *B.J. and the Bear* (NBC, 1979–1981), in which he played an independent long-haul trucker whose companion was a pet chimpanzee[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). The show drew on the late-1970s vogue for trucking and CB radio and counted [Claude Akins](https://www.edgepedia.org/claude-akins)'s Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo among its antagonists; it lasted three seasons[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). In a 2026 interview Evigan recalled that the premiere pulled a 47 share, nearly half the national audience, after NBC scheduled it against the film *Network*[8](https://jeffisfunny.com/2026/05/greg-evigan-on-bj-and-the-bear-my-two-dads-tekwar-and-a-new-album-episode-422/). He later said he turned down *Knight Rider* because he did not want to spend years talking to a vehicle after years of talking to a chimp[8](https://jeffisfunny.com/2026/05/greg-evigan-on-bj-and-the-bear-my-two-dads-tekwar-and-a-new-album-episode-422/).
**My Two Dads and the 1980s.** Between the two hits he led the short-lived adventure series *Masquerade* (ABC, 1983–1984), created by [Glen A. Larson](https://www.edgepedia.org/glen-a-larson), appearing opposite [Kirstie Alley](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirstie-alley)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). He then co-starred with [Paul Reiser](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-reiser) in *My Two Dads* (NBC, 1987–1990), playing one of two former boyfriends of a single mother who raise her daughter after her death[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). Evigan asked to grow a beard for the role as a way out of the typecasting the earlier series had produced[8](https://jeffisfunny.com/2026/05/greg-evigan-on-bj-and-the-bear-my-two-dads-tekwar-and-a-new-album-episode-422/). He also appeared in the films *Stripped to Kill* and *DeepStar Six* (both released 1989)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/).
**Later work.** After another Larson series, *P.S.I. Luv U* (1991), with Connie Sellecca, Evigan starred as Jake Cardigan, a disgraced future cop revived from cryogenic suspension, in [William Shatner](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-shatner)'s *[TekWar](https://www.edgepedia.org/tekwar)*, which ran as telefilms and a series from 1994 to 1996[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/). Through the 1990s and 2000s he worked steadily in character and recurring roles on series including *Melrose Place*, *Pacific Palisades*, *CSI: Miami*, *7th Heaven*, *Bones*, and *Desperate Housewives*, and led direct-to-video films such as *Journey to the Center of the Earth* (2008) and *6 Guns* (2010)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/greg-evigan/). His recent film work includes *A Thousand Miles Behind* (2019) and *The Christmas Listing* (2020)[10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Greg-Evigan/).
## Music
Music has run through Evigan's career. A classically trained pianist who also plays organ and saxophone, he sang the opening theme of *B.J. and the Bear* and co-wrote and performed the title theme of *My Two Dads* with his writing partner Lenny Macaluso[4](https://spillmagazine.com/spill-feature-not-just-a-guy-from-tv-a-conversation-with-greg-evigan/) • [8](https://jeffisfunny.com/2026/05/greg-evigan-on-bj-and-the-bear-my-two-dads-tekwar-and-a-new-album-episode-422/). In the 2026 interview he said the *My Two Dads* theme was written in about twenty minutes and that he played the demo for producer Michael Jacobs repeatedly before it was approved[8](https://jeffisfunny.com/2026/05/greg-evigan-on-bj-and-the-bear-my-two-dads-tekwar-and-a-new-album-episode-422/).
His most recent album, *Greg Evigan with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra*, contains eight original compositions recorded at [Abbey Road Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/abbey-road-studios) in London[5](https://www.evigan.com/) • [10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Greg-Evigan/).
## Personal life
Evigan married talent agent Pamela Serpe on June 3, 1979; the couple have three children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/). Daughters Vanessa Evigan and [Briana Evigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/briana-evigan) are actresses and son [Jason Evigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-evigan) is a singer and songwriter[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/). In 2007 he was inducted into the Sayreville War Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame for his contributions to the arts[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/). BroadwayWorld has reported that he is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Young Entertainer Awards[10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Greg-Evigan/).
## References
1. [Greg Evigan Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263760/bio/)
2. [Greg Evigan – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/greg-evigan/)
3. [Greg Evigan, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/294/000025219/)
4. [Not Just a Guy from TV: A Conversation with Greg Evigan, The Spill Magazine](https://spillmagazine.com/spill-feature-not-just-a-guy-from-tv-a-conversation-with-greg-evigan/)
5. [Welcome to the official website of Greg Evigan](https://www.evigan.com/)
6. [Greg Evigan (born 1953) — actor: biography and sources, Valéorine](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/greg-evigan)
7. [Stage to Screens, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/stage-to-screens-gallagher-abraham-phillips-phelan-evigan-and-bucchino-com-149035)
8. [Greg Evigan on BJ and the Bear, My Two Dads, TekWar, and a New Album, Jeff is Funny](https://jeffisfunny.com/2026/05/greg-evigan-on-bj-and-the-bear-my-two-dads-tekwar-and-a-new-album-episode-422/)
9. [Greg Evigan, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/greg-evigan/)
10. [Greg Evigan, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Greg-Evigan/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Ev to F*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license