Topic: Chad Allen

Chad Allen (born June 5, 1974) is an American actor. Performing since he was a child, Allen is perhaps best known for his role as Matthew Cooper on the television series Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman from 1993 to 1998.

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 the "dose" of German origin. He was raised within a "strict" Roman Catholic household. Allen attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California.

A young Allen guest-starred on several prime time series including St. Elsewhere, in which he played autistic child Tommy Westphall from 1983 to 1988. Notably, the series' final episode "The Last One" ends with the indication that all of its storylines occurred within Westphall's imagination. In 1983, he appeared in the show 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," who was played by Alec Baldwin. "I thought it was the greatest job I had ever gotten," Chad reminisced years later. Allen's first regular role was as David Witherspoon on the 1986 series Our House, which co-starred a pre-Beverly Hills, 90210 Shannen Doherty, Wilford Brimley and Days of our Lives' Emmy-nominated Deidre Hall. That series ended in 1988. In 1989 and 1990 he had a recurrent role as Zach in My Two Dads. Allen's next contract role was Matthew Cooper in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman alongside Jane Seymour in 1993. Dr. Quinn ended in 1998, and Allen did not return for its two sequel television movies, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie (1999) and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Heart Within (2000).