Personal life

Larroquette was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Berthalla Oramous (née Helmstetter), a department store clerk who mostly sold children's clothes, and John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr., who was in the U.S. Navy. Larroquette himself is not a junior or a III as his name does not contain "Edgar". He grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans not far from the French Quarter. He played clarinet and saxophone through childhood and into high school, where he and some friends organized a band they called The N.U.D.E.L.E.S (The New Universal Demonstration for Love, Ecstasy and Sound). He discovered acting in his senior year of high school.

He moved to Hollywood in 1973 after working in radio as DJ during the early days of 'underground' radio, when each disc jockey was free to play what they wished. Larroquette met his wife Elizabeth Ann Cookson in 1974 while working in the play Enter Laughing. They were married July 4, 1975, as that was the only day they had off from rehearsals. They have three children, Lisa, Jonathan, and Ben. Their son Jonathan cohosts a comedy podcast called Uhh Yeah Dude.

Larroquette battled alcoholism from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. 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 February 6, 1982.

Hobbies and interests

Larroquette collects rare books. Authors on whose works he has focused include Samuel Beckett, Charles Bukowski, Anthony Burgess, William Burroughs (and other beat writers), David Foster Wallace, John Fante, Michael Ondaatje, and John Steinbeck.

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 first series regular role was in the 1970s NBC program Black Sheep Squadron, where he portrayed a WWII United States Marine Corps fighter pilot named 2nd Lt. Bob Anderson. 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 did not, and his head went through the window in the door.

Night Court (1984-1992)

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 (as Judge Harry Stone), and Richard Moll (as bailiff 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.

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. It ran for three and a half seasons.

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. His 2000 work in The 10th Kingdom as Tony should not be forgotten, a classic cinematographic surprise wonder. 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 in which Larroquette had significant roles 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. 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 as a regular on The Librarians as Jenkins (actually the long-lived Camelot knight Sir Galahad), who provides support to the Librarians as a researcher and caretaker.

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, Jefferson Mays, and Michael McKean, who needed to be replaced after suffering in a car accident during the run of the show.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Narrator
1980	Altered States	X-ray technician
1980	Heart Beat	TV Talk Show Host
1981	Green Ice	Claude
1981	Stripes	Capt. Stillman
1982	Cat People	Bronte Judson
1983	Hysterical	Bob X. Cursion
1983	Twilight Zone: The Movie	K.K.K.
1984	Star Trek III: The Search for Spock	Maltz
1984	Choose Me	Billy Ace
1984	Meatballs 2	Lt. Felix Foxglove
1985	Summer Rental	Don Moore
1986	Convicted	Douglas Forbes	Television movie
1987	Blind Date	David Bedford
1989	Second Sight	Wills
1990	Madhouse	Mark Bannister
1990	Tune in Tomorrow	Doctor Albert Quince
1991	JFK	Jerry Johnson
1994	Richie Rich	Lawrence Van Dough
1995	Demon Knight	Slasher	Uncredited
2001	Walter and Henry	Walter	Television movie
2001	The Heart Department	Dr. Fred Biskin	Television movie
2001	Till Dad Do Us Part	Gavin Corbett	Television movie
2003	Recipe for Disaster	Patrick Korda	Television movie
2003	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre	Narrator
2003	Beethoven's 5th	Mayor Harold Herman
2004	Wedding Daze	Jack Landry	Television movie
2006	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning	Narrator	Uncredited
2006	Southland Tales	Vaughn Smallhouse
2010	Gun	Sam

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Doctors' Hospital	Dr. Paul Herman	Unknown episodes
1975	Sanford and Son	Murray Steinberg	Episode: "Steinberg and Son"
1975	Kojak	Sailor	Episode: "How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars"
1976-1978	Baa Baa Black Sheep	Bob Anderson	32 episodes
1979	Three's Company	Cop	Episode: "Jack Moves Out"
1979	Fantasy Island	Valery	Episode: "The Inventor/On the Other Side"
1981	Mork & Mindy	Baba Hope	Episode: "Alienation"
1982	Dallas	Phillip Colton	2 episodes
1984	Remington Steele	Nathan Fitts	Episode: "Breath of Steele"
1984-1992	Night Court	Dan Fielding	193 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated—American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a Television Series Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1995	Dave's World	Dave's lawyer	Episode: "Health Hath No Fury"
1993-1996	The John Larroquette Show	John Hemingway	84 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
1997-2002	The Practice	Joey Heric	6 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Recurring Player Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
1999	Payne	Royal Payne	9 episodes
2000	The 10th Kingdom	Tony Lewis	9 episodes
2000	The West Wing	Lionel Tribbey	Episode: "And It's Surely to Their Credit"
2003-2004	Happy Family	Peter Brennan	22 episodes
2005	Kitchen Confidential	Chef Gerard	Episode: "Dinner Date with Death"
2005	Joey	Benjamin Lockwood	2 episodes
2005-2008	McBride	Mike McBride	10 TV movies for the Hallmark Channel
2006	Arrested Development	John Larroquette	Episode: "S.O.B.s"
2006	House	Gabriel Wozniak	Episode: "Son of Coma Guy"
2007-2008	The Batman	Mirror Master	2 episodes
2007-2008	Boston Legal	Carl Sack	33 episodes Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2008-2011	Chuck	Roan Montgomery	2 episodes
2009	Law and Order: Special Victims Unit	Randall Carver	Episode: "Anchor"
2009-2010	Phineas and Ferb	Uncle Bob	2 episodes
2010	Parks and Recreation	Frank Beckerson	Episode: "Galentine's Day"
2010	White Collar	Donovan	Episode: "In the Red"
2010	CSI: NY	Chief Ted Carver	3 episodes
2012	Pound Puppies	Mayor	Episode: "Squawk"
2013	Deception	Sen. Dwight Haverstock	9 episodes
2014	Almost Human	Dr. Nigel Vaughn	Episode: "Unbound"
2014-present	The Librarians	Jenkins / Galahad	nominated for —Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television
2015	The Brink	Robert Kittredge	2 episodes

[ Source: Wikipedia ]