John Bernard Larroquette III is an American
film, television and stage actor. His roles
include Dan Fielding on the 1984–1992 sitcom
Night Court, 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, a department
store clerk, and John Edgar Bernard Junior.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Career
Early career
His first 'job' in Hollywood was providing
the opening voiceover narration for The Texas
Chain Saw Massacre. 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, 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.
Night Court
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. The role won him Emmy Awards in 1985,
1986, 1987, and 1988. In 1989, he asked not
to be considered for an Emmy. His four consecutive
wins were, at the time, a record. Night Court
ran on NBC from 1984 until 1992. Only Larroquette,
Harry Anderson, and Richard Moll 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.
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 the duration of Night Court, and struggled
in the 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. 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. 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.
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.
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
John Larroquette at the Internet Movie Database
John Larroquette at the TCM Movie Database
John Larroquette at AllMovie
The Onion A.V. Club Random Roles interview
