21 Jump Street: Friends & Family

© 1997+ Cyndi Glass

Characters covered on this page: Sal Jenco, Amy Pearson, Jackie Garrett, Dorothy Pezzino, Marta and Clavo.

Life on a television show like Jump Street wouldn't be complete without important recurring roles. Although 21 Jump Street fits into that category of television shows in which the characters create a family of their own at the workplace, most of them did have a life outside of the Jump Street Chapel. As we grew to know more about the main characters, the recurring characters gave us a chance to see their lives outside police work.

Photo: Ioki & Blowfish

Sal Banducci:

Sal Jenco:

Amy Pearson:

Dorothy Parke:

The Internet Movie Database doesn't have much listed for Parke, only listing her role as Amanda Reed in the 1986 TV series "Hot Shots" and a role as a reporter in the 1987 movie "No Way Out." Besides her guest appearances on 21 Jump Street, she also appeared on "Cheers" in 1988 and "Full House" in 1987.

Jackie Garrett:

Jackie was Hanson's next serious girlfriend. They got together due to a blind date set up by Penhall, and initially they didn't get along. Their relationship seemed to be the last thing on Hanson's mind most of the time, and there was a conflict of interest, as Jackie worked in the city government. She was seen in several episodes in Season 3. Their relationship suddenly ended when Hanson found out that she was pumping him for information to report back to her boss during a case when the Jump Street unit was being pressured (by Jackie's boss) to back off from charging the mayor's son with drug dealing (#50 "Fathers and Sons"). Not surprisingly, most fans dislike Jackie.

Yvette Nipar:

Nipar has worked fairly steadily over the years, first in "Adventures of Brisco County Jr." as Ellie and then as Detective Lisa Madigan on "Robocop: The Series." She guest-starred on an episode of "Brooklyn South." She has also had roles in a few films and television shows, as well as a minor role (Sandy Stryker) on General Hospital.

Dorothy Pezzino:

Dorothy and Doug had dated in high school until she dumped him to move in with another man. She appeared one day, interrupting a date and expecting to be let completely back into his life, based on a promise he had made her when she broke his heart by leaving him for another man two years before. While he was more laid back and easy going, she was ambitious and hot-tempered. From what I have been hearing, most fans did not like Dorothy. It seems like all they do is fight. The only times that she seems to really care for him are when he is missing, in #33 "Best Years Of Your Life," and when he is on the road with Hoffs, escorting a prisoner, and the latter only because Penhall is being romantic to her over the phone as he follows instructions from Cory, a prisoner. When the police union goes on strike, Doug fills the kitchen with bulk amounts of hot dogs, canned vegetables, toilet paper and other items, and even some live chickens, while she leaves him a list of chores to do around the house and nags at him over the phone. He attends an office party with her and arrests her boss for snorting cocaine, which also gets him in hot water with her. She was a tough girl who sometimes showed that she cared for Doug, but more often than not they were fighting, and eventually she kicked him out of the house. He laid low for a while, not wanting to bother her, and when he finally decided it was time to go see if he could salvage something, she had sold the house and left town without a forwarding address.

Marta:

This woman entered Doug Penhall's life and overwhelmed him so much that in five days they got married. She was quiet and funny, seeming timid and afraid of everything, yet she had a core of steel hardened by misery and torture in her home country of El Salvador. Doug practically worshipped her. When the INS deported her, it nearly killed him, and when he travelled to El Salvador to find her, she had been killed just two days before he reached her village. His emotional goodbye to her was painful to watch. We got to see Marta once more in #91 "Number One With A Bullet," in which Doug is shot and almost dies. He goes to Purgatory and sees Marta there, who holds his hands and scolds him for not taking care of Clavo and tells him that he must go back and do that.

Kamala Lopez (aka Kamala Dawson):

Kamala has had a strong career over the years, including many movies and TV shows. She was in a movie called "Children of the Night" in 1990 (not the same "Children of the Night" that Peter DeLuise starred in (1992). She has done voiceover work in "Total Recall" and "Phenomenon." Besides that, she has played a reporter on "Beverly Hills, 90210" in 1993, and she also had a small role on "Hunter."

Clavo:

Clavo entered Doug Penhall's life during his trip to El Salvador, and within moments he had Doug's heart wrapped around his little finger. He was about 6 years old and spoke only Spanish, but that didn't matter (and the offscreen immigration process also went really well, apparently). Doug adopted Clavo and made him a home. Clavo went to school, depended on routine, and was a very observant kid. He grieved for his mother, who had been left back in El Salvador, and he became angry at Doug when Doug was shot and almost killed on a case. Doug realized that he was putting himself and Clavo's future in danger and quit the police force to open a bowling alley with a former Academy classmate.

Tony Dakota:

After Tony's appearance on 21 Jump Street, he has had minor roles in "Who's Harry Crumb?" and "Immediate Family," but his most well-known role is probably as Georgie Denbrough in Stephen King's "It." (1990).

This page ©1997 by Cyndi Glass, constructed with Microsoft Office/Word 97.