John Larroquette

John Larroquette
Larroquette attends the 13th Annual Broadway Barks Benefit on July 9, 2011
Born	John Edgar Bernard Larroquette III (1947-11-25) November 25, 1947 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Ann Cookson

John Bernard Larroquette III (born November 25, 1947) is an American film, television and stage actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the 1984–1992 sitcom Night Court (winning a then-unprecedented four consecutive Emmy Awards for his role), Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, Lionel Tribbey on The West Wing and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.

Personal life

Larroquette was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Berthalla Oramous (née Helmstetter), a department store clerk, and John Edgar Bernard Junior.^[1][2] He grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans not far from the French Quarter. He played clarinet and saxophone through childhood but quit when he discovered acting after seeing some actors rehearse the Tennessee Williams play Vieux Carré in 1973.^[3] He moved to Hollywood in 1973 after working in radio and the record business.

Larroquette met his wife Elizabeth Ann Cookson in 1974 while working in the play Enter Laughing.^[4] They have three children; one of his sons, Jonathan Larroquette, co-hosts a popular comedy podcast called Uhh Yeah Dude.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Larroquette battled alcoholism. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 10, 2007, he joked, "I was known to have a cocktail or 60." He stopped drinking in February 1982.^[3]

Hobbies and interests

Larroquette enjoys collecting rare books. Authors whose works he has focused on include Samuel Beckett, Charles Bukowski, Anthony Burgess, William Burroughs and Robinson Jeffers.^[5]

Career

Early career

His first 'job' in Hollywood was providing the opening voiceover narration for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Larroquette did this as a favor for the film's director Tobe Hooper. His most memorable non-comedy role was in the 1970s NBC program Baa Baa Black Sheep where he portrayed a WWII United States Marine Corps fighter pilot named 2nd Lt. Bob Anderson. Larroquette first broke into television on the soap opera Doctors' Hospital. In a 1975 appearance on Sanford and Son, Larroquette plays Lamont's counterpart in a fictitious sitcom based on Fred and Lamont called "Steinberg and Son". During the filming of Stripes (1981), his nose was nearly cut off in an accident. He ran down a hall into a door that was supposed to open but didn't, and his head went through the window in the door.^[5]

Night Court (1984–1992)

Larroquette attending the Emmy Awards in 1988

Larroquette is best known for his role as Dan Fielding on Night Court; the character was initially rather conservative but changed after the show's creator Reinhold Weege came to learn more about Larroquette's sense of humor.^[3][4] The role won him Emmy Awards in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988. In 1989, he asked not to be considered for an Emmy.^[6] His four consecutive wins were, at the time, a record. Night Court ran on NBC from 1984 until 1992. Only Larroquette, Harry Anderson (as Judge Harry Stone), and Richard Moll (as Bull Shannon) appeared in every episode of the series. There was talk of spinning Dan Fielding off into his own show, but Larroquette said no to the idea.^[3]

The John Larroquette Show

Instead of a spinoff, Larroquette and Don Reo developed a show revolving around some of Larroquette's own personal demons; particularly alcoholism. The John Larroquette Show, named by the insistence of NBC, starred Larroquette as the character John Hemingway. The show was lauded by critics and enjoyed a loyal cult following, though it lasted less than half that of Night Court, and struggled with ratings until its cancellation.

Other roles

In 1998, he guest-starred on three episodes of the legal drama The Practice. His portrayal of Joey Heric, a wealthy, wisecracking, narcissistic psychopath with a habit of stabbing his gay lovers to death, won him his fifth Emmy Award. He reprised the role for one episode in 2002, for which he was once again Emmy Award-nominated. He also appeared in an episode of The West Wing as Lionel Tribbey, White House Counsel.

His starring roles include the 1989 film Second Sight with Bronson Pinchot, and Madhouse with Kirstie Alley. Other films Larroquette had significant roles in include: Blind Date, Stripes, Meatballs Part II, Summer Rental, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, JFK and Richie Rich.

McBride, Boston Legal and other roles

In 2003, Larroquette reprised his narration for the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. From 2004 to 2006, he played the title role in the McBride series of American television films. In 2007, he joined the cast of Boston Legal playing Carl Sack, a serious, ethical lawyer (the polar opposite of his more famous lawyer character, Dan Fielding). He also guest starred in the drama House where he played a previously catatonic father awakened to try to save his son, and on Chuck as veteran spy Roan Montgomery.^[7] He has also made two voice roles in Phineas and Ferb for Bob Weber, for a lifeguard as well as a man to marry his wife and the boy's aunt Tiana Weber in another episode. Most recently, Larroquette has been seen on CSI: NY as Chief Carver, making his first appearance on November 12, 2010.

Theatre

Larroquette made his musical stage debut in the Los Angeles production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as Old Max in 2009. He made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying as J. B. Biggley alongside Daniel Radcliffe.^[3] He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in the show.^[8]

He also appeared on Broadway in a revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man; the all-star cast also included James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, Candice Bergen, Mark Blum, Eric McCormack and Jefferson Mays.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Larroquette.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John Larroquette

• John Larroquette at the Internet Movie Database
• John Larroquette at the TCM Movie Database
• John Larroquette at AllRovi
• The Onion A.V. Club Random Roles interview