John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and game show host. He played J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, provided the voice for King Neptune on SpongeBob SquarePants, and hosted the game show Family Feud from 2006 to 2010. O'Hurley also hosted To Tell the Truth from 2000 to 2002 in syndication.
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Early life
O'Hurley was born in Kittery, Maine, the son of Jeana, a housewife and John George O'Hurley, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon.
O'Hurley attended Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut, and Cardinal Gibbons High School his senior year, graduating in 1972. O'Hurley graduated from Providence College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.
O'Hurley performs charitable work for the Epilepsy Foundation due to the fact that his older sister, Carol, died in 1970 at age 17 due to epileptic seizures.
Career
Seinfeld
On Seinfeld, O'Hurley played J. Peterman, a fictionalized version of catalog-company entrepreneur John Peterman, from 1995 until the show's end in 1998. O'Hurley invested in the relaunch of The J. Peterman Company, and since 1999 has been a part-owner and member of the board of directors.
Dancing with the Stars
O'Hurley was a contestant on the first season of the television show Dancing with the Stars, which aired during mid-2005. O'Hurley and his dance partner Charlotte Jørgensen made it to the final competition, which they lost to ABC soap opera star Kelly Monaco.
After fans alleged that Monaco's victory was a set-up, the network announced that O'Hurley, Monaco and their professional dancing partners would face off in a special "grudge match" episode broadcast September 20, 2005. Unlike the first episode, viewer vote solely determined the outcome as opposed to a combination between the three professional judges and the viewer votes.
O'Hurley and Jørgensen emerged as the winners. The rematch earned $126,000 for Golfers Against Cancer charity. Afterward the duo produced a dance instruction video called, "Learn to Dance with John and Charlotte".
Other roles
O'Hurley made two guest appearances on Baywatch in 1992 and 1994, in two different roles. The first was as villainous yacht club president Fred Adler in "Masquerade," and again as a grieving father named Bill in "Red Wind." In 2003, he played the role of Roger Heidecker on the UPN television series The Mullets.
O'Hurley returned to the Baywatch universe in a 1995 Baywatch Nights episode "Bad Blades," playing the villainous Kemp, in a roller hockey themed episode. He also co-starred on the short-lived sitcom A Whole New Ballgame, had a role as Ralph Stafford on the Murder She Wrote episode "Nailed", and guest-starred in an episode of Drake & Josh.
O'Hurley has been the host of Purina's annual National Dog Show every Thanksgiving since 2002.
In March 2007, O'Hurley took the lead role in the Wynn Las Vegas's production of Spamalot, in which he plays King Arthur. In July 2008, O'Hurley reprised his role as King Arthur in the Los Angeles production of Spamalot at the Ahmanson Theatre. In June 2013, he once again reprised the role of King Arthur in Spamalot at The Muny Theater in St. Louis, Missouri. O'Hurley starred on Broadway and on National Tour as Billy Flynn in Chicago. He has hosted the Mrs. America and Mrs. World Pageants.
O'Hurley is one of the guest speakers in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot in Walt Disney World. He is the voice of the owner of the Cow and Corset bar in the Fable II videogame for the Xbox 360. O'Hurley also replaced Frank Welker as the "Phantom Blot" for Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse. He has also provided the voice of King Neptune XIV on SpongeBob SquarePants and done voice-over work for radio stations, 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"). O'Hurley has also been the voice of Coors Light commercials for more than 10 years.
O'Hurley guest-starred in an episode of The Emperor's New School called "Malina's Big Break", in 1999 as a cult leader in the Family Guy episode "Chitty Chitty Death Bang", and in 2010, guest-starred on Wizards of Waverly Place as Captain Jim-Bob Sherwood.
Personal life
O'Hurley is a self-taught pianist and classically trained vocalist, and has been composing since his teen years. In 2004, in tandem with cellist Marston Smith, he released a two-album project entitled Peace of Our Minds, a compilation of his original piano compositions. The piece "For Lisa" was written for O'Hurley's wife for their wedding day in 2004. O'Hurley was featured on the March/April 2009 cover of Making Music magazine.
O'Hurley was married to Eva LaRue from 1992 to 1994. Since August 14, 2004, he has been married to Lisa Mesloh. They have a son together.
In May 2011, O'Hurley received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
O'Hurley identifies politically as conservative, and is a longtime fan of the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and New England Patriots.
Filmography
Books
It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump (2006) (New York Times best-seller)
Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It (2007)
The Perfect Dog (2013)
Discography
A medley (with Sarah Rice) of three songs ("You Found Me and I Found You," "Not Yet" and "Before I Met You") from the musical Oh, Lady! Lady!! on Ben Bagley's Jerome Kern Revisited, Vol. II, released 1990
Peace of Our Minds (double-CD), released 2005
Secrets from the Lake, released 2008