Jack Donaghy

 is one of the main characters from the NBC sitcom series 30 Rock. Played by actor Alec Baldwin, he was introduced in the series' pilot episode and has appeared in every episode of the series since.

Overview
Jonathan Francis "Jack" Donaghy is the Vice President of development for NBC Universal and it's parent company, GE. In addition to his many accomplishments, such as the invention of the trivection oven, Jack is also the showrunner for the variety sketch series TGS. He works closely with the producers and head writer of the series, Liz Lemon, whom he has taken under his wing as his personal apprentice (though Liz feels differently about their relationship). Jack is an arrogant, self-absorbed man, who prides himself on the strength of his accomplishments and his commitment towards success. Despite this however, Jack is not a hateful man and genuinely feels as if he is just "one of the guys". When he lets his guard down, he enjoys Liz's company and even that of her peers, but he never lets them forget who is really in charge - not only of their jobs, but of their very lives (if Jack has his way).

Early life
Jack had an unhappy childhood. When he was a small boy, his father lured him to the edge of a swimming pool and then pushed him in, presumably to teach him how to swim. (30 Rock: Aftermath)

Jack grew into an ambitious young man, always seeking greater challenges and avenues to success and power. He once claimed to have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and bow-hunted polar bear. (30 Rock: Jack-Tor)

While still working for GE, Jack began dating Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, but he later broke up with her after he suspected that she was having an affair with Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Career
Jack came to 30 Rockefeller Plaza to replace the recently deceased Gary as the new Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. (30 Rock: Pilot)

His first official act as the VP was to reformat the variety show The Girlie Show by casting popular movie star Tracy Jordan and renaming it, TGS with Tracy Jordan. (30 Rock: Pilot)

In order to become more involved with the staff of TGS, Jack finagled his way in to one of their late night poker games. The crew quickly grew uncomfortable as Jack's high-stakes "take no prisoners" attitude cost them a great deal of money and valuables. Kenneth however, proved to be a better player than Jack, owing largely to the fact that he could no "read" Kenneth through the boy's haze of good-natured goofiness. (30 Rock: Blind Date)

In his next bid to immerse himself into the world of comedy sketch programming, Jack decided to try his hand at writing. He sat in with the crew in the writers' room, which made them all very uncomfortable. Liz quickly discovered that Jack had absolutely no writing talent, and his appreciation for satirical humor was juvenile at best (particularly when she noticed Jack's appreciation over naming a cereal brand "Fart Nuggets"). Jack began composing his own catch phrases, then instructed the staff to write episodes based on them. (30 Rock: Jack the Writer)

Jack's next big idea was to endorese product placement of GE products on TGS, which he branded as "product integration". To promote this endeavor, Jack decided to take a try at acting, which proved to be a terrible failure for him, and naturally caused more undue stress for the production crew. By his own word, Jack admitted that acting was something that he was never good at. (30 Rock: Jack-Tor)

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of was created by series showrunner Tina Fey.


 * Actor Alec Baldwin received two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, six Screen Actors Guild Awards and one Television Critics Association Award for his portrayal of this character.


 * Is close friends with Jeb Bush.


 * Claims to have once showered with Greta Van Sustern.


 * Is formerly married to a woman named Bianca.