John George O'Hurley (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, voice actor, and television personality. He is known for the role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and was the host of the game show Family Feud from 2006 to 2010.

Early life

O'Hurley was born in Kittery, Maine, the son of Jean, a housewife, and John O'Hurley, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon. O'Hurley attended Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Providence College in 1976 with a BA in Theatre. His older sister Carol died in 1970 at the age of 17 due to epileptic seizures, and so John works on behalf of the Epilepsy Foundation to find a cure. He has two brothers who are twins. Bruce O'Hurley of Capitol Hill Services Inc. and Neal O'Hurley.

Career

Seinfeld

On Seinfeld, O'Hurley played a fictionalized version of the catalog-company entrepreneur John Peterman from 1995 to 1998. O'Hurley in 2001 financed the relaunch of The J. Peterman Company and thus became a part owner.

Dancing With the Stars

He was a contestant on the first season of the television show Dancing with the Stars which aired during the summer of 2004. O'Hurley and his dance partner Charlotte Jørgensen made it to the final competition, which he 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 determined the winner instead of the three professional ballroom-dance judges.

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

In 1995, he co-starred on the short-lived sitcom A Whole New Ballgame.

From 2000"2002, he hosted a revival To Tell the Truth.

In October 2005, he guest-starred in an episode of Drake and Josh.

On September 11, 2006, O'Hurley replaced Richard Karn as the fifth host of Family Feud. He left Family Feud in 2010 and was replaced by Steve Harvey.

In March 2007, he took the lead role in the Wynn Las Vegas's production of Spamalot, in which he plays King Arthur. He starred on Broadway and on National Tour as Billy Flynn in Chicago. In July 2008 he reprised his role as King Arthur in the Los Angeles production of Spamalot at the Ahmanson Theatre.

O'Hurley has also been the host of Purina's annual National Dog Show every Thanksgiving since 2002.

He is one of the guest speakers in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. O'Hurley is the voice of the owner of the Cow and Corset bar in the Fable II videogame for the Xbox 360. He also replaced Frank Welker as the "Phantom Blot" for Mickey Mouse Works and Disney's House of Mouse. He has also provided the voice of King Neptune on SpongeBob SquarePants and done voice-over work for radio stations, including WBEN-FM in Philadelphia, KPKX in Phoenix, Arizona, and WARH in St. Louis. He is also the voice of Coors Light commercials for more than 10 years.

In 2003, he played the role of Roger Heidecker on the UPN television series The Mullets.

O'Hurley guest-starred in an episode of The Emperor's New School called "Malina's Big Break", and in 2010, guest-starred on Wizards of Waverly Place as Captain Jim-Bob Sherwood.

He also played in the award-winning 2000x dramatic series produced by the Hollywood Theater of the Ear for National Public Radio.

Personal life

He was also director of public relations for the American Red Cross.

O'Hurley is a self-taught pianist and classically trained vocalist. O'Hurley has been composing since his teen years. In 2004 he released a two-album project entitled "Peace of Our Minds" a compilation of his original piano compositions in tandem with famed cellist Marston Smith. The piece "For Lisa" was written for John's wife especially for their wedding day in 2004. He was featured on the March/April 2009 cover of Making Music Magazine.

He was married to Eva LaRue from 1992 to 1994. Since August 14, 2004 he has been married to Lisa Mesloh. She had their son in December 2006. O'Hurley is noted for his strong Mid-Atlantic accent most likely due to his relationship with theater arts and also from spending a good portion of his life in New England.

In May 2011, O'Hurley received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his commitment to many humanitarian causes.

Filmography

• National Dog Show - Host (2002" )
• Game Show Countdown: Top 10 Hosts - Narrator
• Game Show America - Host
• Spamalot
  • (Wynn Casino, Las Vegas) - King Arthur (31 March 2007 " 23 July 2008)
  • (Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles) - King Arthur (July 7, 2009 - September 6, 2009)
• Family Feud - Host (TV series and DVD game) (2006"2010)
• Dancing with the Stars - Contestant (Runner-up, but voted the winner in a rematch)
• The Great American Celebrity Spelling Bee - Host
• The Mullets - Roger Heidecker
• To Tell the Truth - Host (2000"2002)
• House of Mouse - voice of The Phantom Blot
• Smart Guy- Hugh Sterling, host of "Knowledge College" (Episode: "A Little Knowledge")
• Seinfeld - J. Peterman
• What's New, Scooby-Doo? - Mayor
• Valley of the Dolls - Allen Cooper
• General Hospital - Greg Bennett
• Frasier - Thomas Jay Fallow (Episode: "Slow Tango in South Seattle")
• Santa Barbara - Steven Slade #2
• The Young and the Restless - Jim Grainger #2
• The Legend of Tarzan - Johannes Niels
• Loving - Keith Lane/Jonathan Matalaine
• The Edge of Night - Greg Shaeffer
• Duck Dodgers - Star Johnson
• Lies and Liars - Host (TV Talkshow)
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command - King Nova
• SpongeBob SquarePants - King Neptune
• The X-Files - Dr. Pollidori
• Family Guy - Cult Leader/Man In White
• Hey Arnold - Councilman Gladhand
• Glenn Martin DDS - Host of "Are You Smarter Than a Chicken?"
• Drake & Josh - Doctor Carlson (the doctor who does Josh's surgery)
• Sabrina, The Teenage Witch - Professor Beltran
• The Emperor's New School - Editor of Incan Teen Magazine
• Boy Meets World - 2 roles: Cal Kilbride and Grant, host of "We're Not Making This Up!", both 1996
• Phineas and Ferb - Roger Doofenshmirtz (Heinz Doofenshmirtz's Brother)
• Father of the Pride - Blake the Tiger
• Narrator of Coors Light commercials
• Voiceover imaging for several variety hits radio stations, including WBEN-FM/Philadelphia, WARH/St. Louis, WGTZ/Dayton, and WWLB/Richmond
• Host of National Geographic DVD Show Me the Wild
• An American Carol - Himself as a maitre d'
• Secret Talents of the Stars - Himself (host)
• Buying the Cow - Tim 'Timbo' Chadway
• Family Feud-Host (TV Series&DVD Game)
• Wizards of Waverly Place - Captain Jim Bob Sherwood
• The Super Hero Squad Show - Grandmaster
• Night Eyes 2 - Detective Turner
• The Looney Tunes Show - Walter Bunny (Lola Bunny's father)
• Pair of Kings - Narrator
• Krogzilla - Executive

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)

Music

• 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

John is featured on the cover of the March/April 2009 issue of Making Music Magazine where there is an article about his experiences with recreational music.

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