Age: 62
Birthplace: Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Jonathan Frederick "Jon" Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's The Closer and continues in its spinoff Major Crimes.
Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother, Dr. Lillian Sandra Baum was a psychiatrist and his father, Frederick Haworth Tenney was a research physicist. His maternal grandparents were Polish Jewish immigrants, while his paternal forbears were of English ancestry. He received his B.A. degree from Vassar College in 1984, where he majored in drama and philosophy. He later attended The Juilliard School's Drama Division as a member of Group 19 (1986-1990).
Tenney made his acting debut in a touring production of Mike Nichols' The Real Thing. He worked steadily on and off-Broadway, and in regional theater. At New York City, his stage credits include Biloxi Blues, The Substance of Fire and The Heiress. He began working on television, starring in the number of short-lived series, including Steven Bochco's Brooklyn South, Kristin Chenoweth's sitcom Kristin, and guest appearances on Will & Grace, Murphy Brown, Spenser: for Hire and Get Real. Series with Tenney as a regular were canceled on all four major networks.
From 2005 to 2012, Tenney played Special Agent Fritz Howard, the husband of Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) in TNT's The Closer and its spin-off Major Crimes since 2014, with Howard becoming an LAPD deputy chief in the third season. Later, he portrayed Dr. Simon Craig, a love interest of Nora Walker (Sally Field) in Brothers & Sisters. In 2013, he starred with Rebecca Romijn in TNT's King & Maxwell, as Sean King, a former Secret Service agent and lawyer who works as a private investigator. The series was canceled after one season. In 2014, he was cast in a recurring role on Shonda Rhimes' drama series Scandal.
Tenney appeared in several films, including the villainous CEO of Benbrook Oil Company in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home and the friend of Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) in Fools Rush In. He also starred in small roles for some films, including Tombstone, Beverly Hills Cop III, Nixon, Music from Another Room and the 2009 horror film remake of The Stepfather. He also appeared in John Cameron Mitchell's film, Rabbit Hole. He portrayed Martin Jordan in the 2011 superhero film Green Lantern.
Tenney was married to Teri Hatcher from 1994 to 2003, and had a daughter, Emerson Rose Tenney. He married producer Leslie Urdang on June 16, 2012.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Guilty by Suspicion | Shopper Husband | |
1993 | Tombstone | Behan | |
1994 | Beverly Hills Cop III | Levine | |
1994 | Lassie | Steve Turner | |
1995 | Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | John Milner | |
1995 | Nixon | Reporter #1 | |
1996 | The Phantom | Jimmy Wells | |
1996 | The Twilight of the Golds | Rob Stein | |
1997 | Fools Rush In | Jeff | |
1997 | Lovelife | Alan | |
1998 | Homegrown | Helicopter Pilot | |
1998 | Music from Another Room | Eric | |
1998 | With Friends Like These... | Dorian Mastandrea | |
1999 | Advice from a Caterpillar | Suit | |
2000 | You Can Count On Me | Bob Steegerson | |
2002 | Buying the Cow | Andrew Hahn | |
2009 | The Stepfather | Jay | |
2010 | Legion | Howard Anderson | |
2010 | Rabbit Hole | Rick | |
2011 | Green Lantern | Martin Jordan | |
2011 | Hide Away | The Divorced Man | |
2013 | As Cool As I Am | Bob | |
2014 | The Best of Me | Harvey Collier | |
2015 | Love the Coopers | Dr. Morrissey | |
2016 | The Seagull | Dorn |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Garrett | Episode: "Shadowsight" |
1988 | Alone in the Neon Jungle | Todd Hansen | Television film |
1989 | Murphy Brown | Josh Silverberg | Episode: "The Brothers Silverberg" |
1990-1991 | Equal Justice | Peter Bauer | 25 episodes |
1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Alex | Episode: "Half-Way Horrible" |
1995 | Almost Perfect | Adams / Tony Madden | 2 episodes |
1996 | Good Company | Will Hennessey | 6 episodes |
1996 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Lt. Ching | 2 episodes |
1996 | Cybill | Jack | 2 episodes |
1997 | The Outer Limits | Aidan Hunter | Episode: "Bits of Love" |
1997-1998 | Brooklyn South | Patrol Sgt. Francis 'Frank' Xavier Donovan | 22 episodes |
1999-2000 | Get Real | Mitch Green | 22 episodes |
2001 | Kristin | Tommy Ballantine | 13 episodes |
2001 | Will & Grace | Paul Truman | Episode: "Moveable Feast" |
2004 | The District | Dan Lustig | Episode: "Family Values" |
2004 | Without a Trace | Mr. Benjamin Palmer | Episode: "Bait" |
2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Charlie Macklin | Episode: "Formalities" |
2005-2012 | The Closer | FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard | 109 episodes |
2009 | American Dad! | Father Carrington / Lawyer #2 / Man (voices) | 3 episodes |
2009-2010 | Brothers & Sisters | Dr. Simon Craig | 5 episodes |
2012 | The Newsroom | Wade Campbell | 3 episodes |
2014- | Major Crimes | FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard LAPD deputy chief Fritz Howard, 2016- |
recurring, 2014-16; regular, 2016- |
2013 | King & Maxwell | Sean King | 10 episodes |
2014-2015 | Scandal | Andrew Nichols | 14 episodes |
2015 | Hand of God | Nick Tramble | 5 episodes |