Edd Byrnes

Edd Byrnes (born July 30, 1933) is an American actor best known for his starring role in the television series 77 Sunset Strip. He also was featured in the 1978 film Grease as television teen-dance show host Vince Fontaine, and was a charting recording artist with "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" (with Connie Stevens). 2Biography 3Early life He was born Edward Byrne Breitenberger. He had two siblings, Vincent and Jo-Ann. When he was 13, his father died. He then dropped his last name in favor of "Byrnes" based on the name of his maternal grandfather, Edward Byrne, a fireman.Byrnes developed the urge to act at high school but did not seriously consider it until after he had tried a number of different jobs, such as driving an ambulance, roofing and selling flowers. 3Early acting career In 1956, Byrnes got a non-paid job in a summer stock theatre company in Connecticut, the Litchfield Community Playhouse. He began appearing in plays put on by the company as an actor. He tried Broadway without luck but managed to get some jobs in TV, starting with an episode of Crossroads in 1956. He could be seen in episodes of the shows Wire Service and Navy Lo