Chad Allen

Chad Allen (born June 5, 1974) is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of seven, Allen is a three-time Young Artist Award winner and GLAAD Media Award honoree. He was a teen idol during the late 1980s as David Witherspoon on the NBC family drama Our House and as Zach Nichols on the NBC sitcom My Two Dads before transitioning to an adult career as Matthew Cooper on the CBS western drama Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. --- Allen was born Chad Allen Lazzari in Cerritos, California, and grew up in Artesia. He has a twin sister named Charity. Allen is of predominantly Italian origin, with a "dose" of German origin. He was raised within a "strict" Roman Catholic household and regards himself as being a "deeply spiritual person" because of his upbringing. Allen attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. Allen guest-starred on several prime time series including an early episode of Airwolf for which he was nominated as 'Best Young Actor: Guest in a Series' at the 6th Youth in Film Awards and St. Elsewhere, in which he played autistic child Tommy Westphall (1983–88). The series final episode, "The Last One", ends with the indication that all of its storylines occurred in Tommy's imagination. In 1983, he appeared on Cutter to Houston, playing "a kid who got hurt and had to be given mouth-to-mouth and carried to the waiting chopper by Dr. Hal Wexler (Alec Baldwin)". "I thought it was the greatest job I had ever gotten," he later stated. Allen's first regular role was as David Witherspoon on Our House (1986–88). In 1989-90, he had a recurring role as Zach in My Two Dads. Allen's next contract role was Matthew Cooper in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman alongside Jane Seymour (1993–98). --- In November 2006, The Los Angeles Daily News wrote in passing that Allen's real-life boyfriend, actor Jeremy Glazer, was also in the film Save Me. In a September 2008 interview with Out.com, Allen stated that he was currently in a three-year relationship and had been sober for eight years. In October 2008, AfterElton.com stated his boyfriend to be Glazer. In May 2009, Allen was the recipient of a GLAAD Media Award: the Davidson/Valentini Award. In his acceptance speech he said he had met Glazer, his partner, exactly four years earlier.