Patrick Kerr

Patrick Kerr is an American actor born on January 23, 1956, in Wilmington, Delaware, who holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He is perhaps most widely recognized for his recurring television role as Noel Shempsky on Frasier, and more recently for portraying small-town grocer Mr. Johnson on Apple TV's The Big Door Prize, starring Chris O'Dowd.

Kerr's television work spans several decades and includes recurring roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he played Michael, a blind pianist and acquaintance of Larry David, and on Lifetime's Oh Baby, starring Cynthia Stevenson and Jessica Walter. His guest appearances encompass a broad range of prominent series, among them Friends, Seinfeld, Will and Grace, E.R., Law and Order, The Drew Carey Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, the Friends spin-off Joey, and the Disney Channel series Jessie, in which he appeared as Clement Brulee. In 2007, he appeared in a series of short films — including Random Acts of Kindness, Die Hardly Working, Anklebiters, Girl Trouble, Goldfish, Time Upon A Once, and The Losers — produced as part of the reality competition On the Lot.

On Broadway, Kerr's career spanned from 2007 to 2019. He played Bennett in a revival of Tom Stoppard's Travesties, directed by Patrick Marber, and appeared in a revival of Terrence McNally's The Ritz, directed by Joe Mantello. He also had a role in a production of You Can't Take It with You starring James Earl Jones and directed by Scott Ellis. His Broadway credits additionally include My Fair Ladies.

Beyond Broadway, Kerr toured with My Fair Lady and appeared in a sit-down production of The Lion King in Las Vegas. His off-Broadway work includes Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey and Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss. In regional theater, he has worked at institutions including the Guthrie, Yale Rep, the Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Rep — where he received a Bay Area Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor — American Repertory Theater, California Shakespeare Theater, and South Coast Repertory, among others. Kerr is openly gay.