John O'Hurley

John George O'Hurley Jr., born October 9, 1954, in Kittery, Maine, is an American actor, comedian, game show host, and Broadway performer. The son of Jeana, a housewife, and John George O'Hurley, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, he attended Natick High School in Natick, Massachusetts, and Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut, before relocating to DuBois, Pennsylvania, in ninth grade. He completed his secondary education at Cardinal Gibbons High School, graduating in 1972, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Providence College in 1976. Prior to his acting career, during the 1970s, O'Hurley worked as a male exotic dancer at Studio 54 in New York City under the stage name "Johnny-O."

O'Hurley first gained widespread recognition playing J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, a fictionalized version of catalog-company entrepreneur John Peterman, from 1995 until the series concluded in 1998. His connection to the character extended beyond the screen: since 1999, he has served as a part-owner and board member following his investment in the relaunch of The J. Peterman Company. Earlier television work included the role of Dr. James R. Grainger on The Young and the Restless from 1989 to 1990, and the character Keith Lane / Jonathan Matalaine on the soap opera Loving. He made two guest appearances on Baywatch, in 1992 as yacht club president Fred Adler in the episode "Masquerade" and in 1994 as a grieving father named Bill in "Red Wind," then returned to the Baywatch universe in 1995 on Baywatch Nights, playing the villainous Kemp in the roller hockey-themed episode "Bad Blades." In 2003, he played Roger Heidecker on the UPN series The Mullets.

O'Hurley's Broadway career spanned from 1996 to 2013. He starred as Billy Flynn in Chicago, both on Broadway and on national tour, and appeared in Spamalot. His work in Spamalot extended across multiple productions: in March 2007 he took the lead role of King Arthur in the Wynn Las Vegas production, reprised the role at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in July 2008, and performed it again at The Muny Theater in St. Louis, Missouri, in June 2013.

As a television game show host, O'Hurley hosted a syndicated revival of To Tell the Truth from 2000 to 2002 and the limited-run program The Great American Celebrity Spelling Bee in 2004. On September 11, 2006, he succeeded Richard Karn as the fifth host of Family Feud, a position he held for four seasons before departing at the start of 2010, when he was replaced by Steve Harvey. In a 2017 Fox News interview, O'Hurley cited the show's shift away from family-friendly content as a factor in his decision to leave.

His voice work has been extensive. O'Hurley provided the voice of King Neptune XIV on SpongeBob SquarePants and replaced Frank Welker as the Phantom Blot for Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse. From 2008 to 2015, he voiced Mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb, and he is the voice of the owner of the Cow and Corset bar in the Xbox 360 video game Fable II. Additional voice credits include Victor the Villain on the children's animated series Wallykazam, a guest appearance as a cult leader in the Family Guy episode "Chitty Chitty Death Bang" in 1999, and a guest role in The Emperor's New School episode "Malina's Big Break." He also performed voice-over work for several radio stations under various pseudonyms, including WBEN-FM in Philadelphia, KPKX in Phoenix as "Jim Peakerman," KMAX in San Francisco as "J.J. Maxwell," and WARH in St. Louis as "Simon Archer," and has voiced Coors Light commercials for more than ten years.

Among his other notable television appearances, O'Hurley guest-starred on multiple episodes of All My Children during the soap opera's final month on ABC in September 2011, playing Kit Sterling, a producer who approaches Erica Kane about adapting her new book into a film. In 2010, he guest-starred on Wizards of Waverly Place as Captain Jim-Bob Sherwood, and in 2015 he had a recurring role as Dr. Christopher Neff on Devious Maids. He also co-starred on the short-lived sitcom A Whole New Ballgame and appeared as Ralph Stafford in the Murder She Wrote episode "Nailed." Since 2002, O'Hurley has co-hosted Purina's National Dog Show every Thanksgiving, and he is a guest speaker in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

O'Hurley was a contestant on the first season of Dancing with the Stars in 2005, partnered with Charlotte Jørgensen. The pair reached the finale but lost to Kelly Monaco. Following viewer allegations that Monaco's win was predetermined, ABC staged a rematch on September 20, 2005, in which the outcome was determined solely by viewer vote. O'Hurley and Jørgensen won the rematch, which raised $126,000 for Golfers Against Cancer. The duo subsequently produced a dance instruction video titled Learn to Dance with John and Charlotte.

A self-taught pianist and classically trained vocalist who has been composing since his teenage years, O'Hurley released a two-album project in 2004 titled Peace of Our Minds, recorded in collaboration with cellist Marston Smith and comprising his original piano compositions. The piece "For Lisa" was composed for his wife on their wedding day. He was featured on the March/April 2009 cover of Making Music magazine. O'Hurley has also authored three books: It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump, a New York Times bestseller published in 2006; Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It, published in 2007; and The Perfect Dog, published in 2013.

O'Hurley performs charitable work for the Epilepsy Foundation following the death of his older sister, Carol, who died in 1970 at age 17 due to epileptic seizures. In May 2011, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He was married to Eva LaRue from 1992 to 1994, and on August 14, 2004, he married Lisa Mesloh; the couple has one son together. O'Hurley identifies politically as conservative and is a longtime supporter of the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and New England Patriots.