Lee Curreri

It's impossible to overestimate how popular "Fame" was at the start of the 1980s. The smash hit movie launched several careers in one fell swoop. One such career was Lee Curreri, who played Bruno Martelli in both the movie and the spin-off TV series. Currieri brought his real-life musical background to the role of the young keyboard prodigy--having studied at the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music and Westchester Conservatory gave him a huge advantage over the competition.

After moving to Los Angeles to film the series, Currieri began to be in demand as a composer and performer for other television projects when he wasn't on-set for "Fame." While in Los Angeles, Lee Currieri met Natalie Cole and was picked to produce her "Good To Be Back" album. This immediately established him as a studio mastermind, and he went on to work with a number of other artists including Kid Creole and the Coconuts and Nicolette Larson.

Currieri moved away from acting after "Fame" wrapped in 1987, but has stayed plugged in in Hollywood, producing music for shows including Robert Altman's "Gun" and Jerry Bruckheimer's "Dangerous Minds." His studio, Musigenics, also creates audio for commercials, cartoons and more.

Currieri recently released his first solo CD, "Aquabox."