John Bennett Perry

John Bennett Perry, born January 4, 1941, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, is an American retired actor, singer, and model. He is the son of Alton L. Perry (1906–2003), a businessman, bank director, and civic leader, and Maria Perry (née Bennett; 1906–1971). Perry attended St. Lawrence University, where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He is the father of actor Matthew Perry (1969–2023).

Perry launched his career with a focus on singing, including a period as a member of the Serendipity Singers. His stage work included the 1967 musical Now Is the Time for All Good Men, and he made his Broadway appearance in 1972 in Mother Earth. That same year, he appeared as an extra in the crowd scene during the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" sequence in the film Cabaret. He became widely recognizable to television audiences through his portrayal of the clean-shaven sailor in Old Spice commercials throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

His film appearances span several decades and include Lipstick (1976), Midway (1976), The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), Only When I Laugh (1981), Independence Day (1996), and George of the Jungle (1997). He portrayed General Douglas MacArthur in the 1989 film Farewell to the King. Perry also appeared alongside his son Matthew Perry in the 1997 film Fools Rush In, as well as in the Scrubs episode "My Unicorn," playing the father of his son's character in both productions. He appeared in the Friends episode "The One with Rachel's New Dress" as the father of Rachel Green's boyfriend Joshua.

Perry's television credits include The West Wing, L.A. Law, Days of Our Lives, Little House on the Prairie, Centennial, 240-Robert, Nakia, Falcon Crest, Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, and Magnum, P.I. During the 1978–79 television season, he co-hosted the syndicated daytime talk and variety series EveryDay alongside Stephanie Edwards, a program that also featured Murray Langston, Tom Chapin, Bob Corff, and Anne Bloom. Both Perry and Edwards received Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Talk, Service or Variety Series, with the award ultimately going to Phil Donahue of The Phil Donahue Show.

Perry was married to Suzanne Langford, press secretary to former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, from 1968 to 1970. The couple had one son, Matthew Perry, born in 1969. Following their divorce, Langford returned to Ottawa, Ontario with their son, while Perry relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Matthew later moved to the United States to live with his father at age 14. Perry married Debbie Boyle in 1981, and the couple had a child together five years later. His son Matthew died on October 28, 2023, at age 54, from an apparent drowning stemming from a ketamine overdose.