Cooley joined the cast of Solid Gold in 1983. His street dancing background allowed him to incorporate his "breakdancing" moves into the countdown routines. Back in 1986, he had three dance groups that performed in California high schools - the Cooley Bop Crew, Trademarc and Triple Threat.

Born in Detroit and raised in Santa Ana, Cooley's breakdancing abilities ...enabled him to participate as a featured dancer in movies such as "Breakin" - look for him in the final dance sequence!

One of Cooley's best-kept secrets is that he taught superstar Michael Jackson how to moonwalk! Cooley, however, calls it the backslide and boasts - "People see him do it and they see me do it, and they say 'You do it better'."

Cooley traces his dance talent to his aunt and mother, who were both dancers. His dancing talent became apparent in high school, where he produced and choreographed a show with friends called "The Boppers." [source: Solid Gold press kit]

Shortly after, he was discovered in 1978 by Anita Mann. Cooley appeared in shows at Disneyland and then travelled with Mann to Germany, to appear in a musical/variety review called "Hello, Here's Berlin" with notables such as Lola Falana, Wayne Newton, Ben Vereen and Liza Minnelli. [source: Solid Gold press kit]

Before being reunited with Mann for Solid Gold, Cooley toured the United States as the character Grover in "Sesame Street Live." [source: Solid Gold press kit]

At one point, Cooley was a partner in a limousine service.

These days, Cooley stays busy with a number of performance projects. He appeared in Anita Mann's production of "Tap Girls," which toured resort hotels and casinos. Some of the locations the show made stops at include Trump's Plaza in Atlantic City and Harvey's Resort Hotel and Casino in Lake Tahoe.

It's also been reported that Cooley formed a rap group called the Cooley Bop Cru and had plans to make a video that will teach seven different easy ways to learn how to do the moonwalk.