With his cartoonishly distinguished looks and wry persona, O'Hurley was a ubiquitous sitcom guest star in the '90s, appearing on countless shows, notably
Seinfeld as Elaine's cheerfully clueless boss. After graduating from college with a BA in theater, the dashing actor honed his craft on stage before embarking on a successful soap-opera career, but his flair for comedy landed him in prime time. Due to his high-profile
Seinfeld role and quick wit, he became a sought-after host and commercial pitchman, and also lent his distinctive timbre to animated series. In 2005 O'Hurley was a contestant on the first edition of the cheesy but wildly popular
Dancing with the Stars. The favorite to win, he lost to
General Hospital's Kelly Monaco. The decision was so controversial that the two ended up with their own dance-off special, which O'Hurley won.
John O'Hurley Fast Facts:
- As a child, would don a bathing suit, a pretend oxygen tank and goggles to watch his favorite TV show, Sea Hunt.
- Pursued a career in public relations after college. Motivated by the death of his best friend in 1979, he moved to New York to pursue acting and scored his first job in an off-Broadway play two days later.
- An avid golfer, he has a single-digit handicap and plays on the Celebrity Players Tour; proposed to wife Lisa Mesloh, a Golf Channel exec, in October 2003 on the seventh hole at Pebble Beach.
- Played a fictional character named J. Peterman on Seinfeld. Coincidentally, he was part owner of the real-life J. Peterman Company, which had nothing to do with the series.
- Credited partner Charlotte Jorgensen for their success in the first season of Dancing with the Stars. "She basically had to tie my dance shoes [when we started]," he told TV GUIDE Online in 2005. "I had no idea what I was doing."
- Released Peace of Our Minds, a 2005 two-CD set of his piano compositions that also featured cellist Marston Smith.
- Made his Broadway debut in the musical Chicago in 2006.
- John O'Hurley Relationships:
- Carol O'Hurley - Sister
- Eva La Rue - Ex-wife
- Jean O'Hurley - Mother
- John O'Hurley - Father
- Lisa Mesloh - Wife
- William Dylan O'Hurley - Son
- College:
- Providence College, Providence, RI (BA in Theatre, 1976)
