Quick Facts
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Biography
Lawrence Francis Manetti (born July 23, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright on the CBS television series Magnum, P.I. which starred Tom Selleck as the title character. He also starred in Baa Baa Black Sheep as First Lieutenant Robert A. "Bobby" Boyle, a pilot in the VMF-214 squadron headed by Greg "Pappy" Boyington (played by Robert Conrad).
Career
Manetti studied acting in Chicago with the Ted Liss Players. His first television role was as a young detective in Jack Webb's Chase (1973–74). He would go on to play pilot "Bobby Boyle" in Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976–78) with Robert Conrad. He followed this up with a role as a bookie on the short-lived NBC series, The Duke (1979), which also featured Conrad in the title role.
Manetti's signature role on Magnum, P.I. lasted for the entire eight-year run of the series (1980–88). He also had co-starring roles in 25 feature films and guest starred on many other television shows, including Rockford Files, Emergency!, Starsky & Hutch, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, Fantasy Island , Battlestar Galactica, Renegade, Quantum Leap, JAG and Walker, Texas Ranger. He also had a minor role in the 1993 film CIA II: Target Alexa.
Since July 2011, Larry and Nancy Manetti have hosted a weekly radio program on CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks.
It was announced on January 24, 2013, that Manetti had joined CBS's revived version of Hawaii Five-0 in the recurring role of "Nicky 'The Kid' Demarco". The character is described as "a local lounge legend ... [who], back in the day, was mentored by the one and only Frank Sinatra." In October 2019, he appeared in the revival of Magnum P.I., playing the same character.
Other
Manetti is the author of the semi-autobiographical Aloha Magnum, based on his time on Magnum P.I. and anecdotes about fellow cast members and celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Michelle Pfeiffer. He used to host a "Celebrity Brunch" and once owned a restaurant in the Plaza Hotel & Casino, which was owned by his friend D. W. Barrick of Barrick Gaming Corporation.
Books
- Aloha Magnum: Larry Manetti's Magnum, P.I. Memories. Manetti, Larry & Chip Silverman (1999); Los Angeles, CA: Renaissance Books; ISBN 1-58063-052-9
Selected filmography
Film
- Two-Minute Warning (1976) as The S.W.A.T. Team—Pratt
- Sudden Death (1977) as Dan
- Snapdragon (1993) as Lengle
- CIA II: Target Alexa (1993) as Radcliffe
- Fatal Pursuit (1995) as Gersi
- Top of the World (1997) as Morgan
- Scar City (1998) as Paul
- Hijack (1998) as Thomas Grady
- No Tomorrow (1999) as Lewis
- Time Served (1999) as Billy
- The Alternate (2000) as Agent Harris
- Random Acts (2001)
- The Stoneman Murders (2002) as Sgt. C. "Chickie" Mudryck
- Sinatra Club (2010) as Peg Leg Broncato
- The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez (2012)
Television
- Emergency! (1973-1978) as Paramedic (uncredited)/Bert Dwyer/Brian
- Starsky & Hutch (1975, season 1 episode 1) as Stan
- Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976–1978, TV series) as 1st Lt. Robert A. "Bobby" Boyle
- Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) as Lt. Giles
- Tenspeed and Brown Shoe(1979-1980)
- Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988) as Orville "Rick" Wright/Reverend Myron Bentley
- Tales from the Darkside (1986) as Junior P. Harmon in the "Printer's Devil" episode (2/16)
- Quantum Leap (1993) as Vic
- Street Justice (1993) as Doc Nass
- Las Vegas (2007) as Larry
- Hawaii Five-0 (2013–2016) as Nicky "The Kid" DeMarco
- Magnum P.I. (2019) as Nicky "The Kid" DeMarco