Originally a school teacher, Concetta Tomei often projects a schoolmarmish air and was frequently cast in officious roles, in which she took no hostages. She managed both attributes as Major Lila Garreau at a Vietnam medical station on "China Beach" (ABC, 1988-91), although she was softened by a marriage to a guy from the motor pool. Tomei taught junior high school in Milwaukee for four years before deciding to take a stab at acting. She studied at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, then performed with the Houston Alley Theatre for two years before moving to New York. On Broadway she co-starred
