Jeff Conaway, the troubled actor of "Taxi" and "Grease" fame whose addiction problems were well chronicled for years by reality TV and the media, died Friday May 27, 2011. He was 60.

Mr. Conaway began acting as a child; his first Broadway credit was 1960's "All the Way Home." He later was an understudy in the long-running original Main Stem production of "Grease" and eventually took over the lead role of Danny Zuko. He also toplined the ill-fated 1985 Broadway musical "The News," which ran for only four performances. He got his big break with NBC's sitcom "Taxi," playing the vain struggling actor/cab driver Bobby. The show was a critical hit but struggled in the ratings despite its cast of stars including Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman. Conaway was nominated for Golden Globes in 1979 and '80 but left the show after the third season, though he guest-starred in two episodes during Season 4.

He is perhaps best known for co-starring as Kenickie in the 1978 film adaptation of "Grease," the highest-grossing musical domestically with $188.4 million. Conaway featured prominently in two of the film's most popular musical numbers, which also were released as singles: "Summer Nights," which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Greased Lightnin'," which failed to crack the Top 40. Mr. Conaway had scores of roles during his 40-year career in TV and film, including a 1989-90 stint on the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful." His most prominent post-"Taxi" TV role was as Zack Allan on the cable sci-fi series "Babylon 5" from 1994-98. He also appeared in three "Babylon" telefilms during the late '90s.