Tom Wopat

Tom Wopat
Born	(1951-09-09) September 9, 1951 Lodi, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Singer
Years active	1977–present
Spouse(s)	Vickie Allen (1984-?; divorced) Kathy Wopat (present)

Tom Wopat (born September 9, 1951) is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard, along with John Schneider. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill.

Life and career

Wopat was born in Lodi, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and made his television debut in the daytime drama One Life to Live; however, he achieved television fame in the popular television series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985).

He also embarked on a music career. He has recorded eight albums. Musically, he switches between rock and roll and country music styles, though his last two albums have been of classic pop standards. The latter recording, Dissertation on the State of Bliss, is a collection of Harold Arlen songs. Although Wopat did not have a mainstream recording career that was as long or commercially successful as his counterpart John Schneider's, he nonetheless had several top-40 hits on the country charts in the late 1980s.

Wopat first appeared on the Broadway stage as a replacement in the 1977 musical I Love My Wife, as "Wally". He then appeared as a replacement in the stage musicals City of Angels, and Guys and Dolls. He finally appeared in the opening cast of the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun opposite Bernadette Peters, Susan Lucci and Crystal Bernard, who played Annie Oakley (in consecutive order). He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1999 for his performance as "Frank Butler". He has since appeared in the revivals of the musicals Chicago and 42nd Street.

In 1996, Wopat served as host for Dick Clark's new country music performance show on The Nashville Network, Prime Time Country, however his time on the show was short-lived; before the first season was over, Wopat was replaced by Contemporary Christian artist Gary Chapman as host.

In 2005, Wopat appeared in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross as the browbeaten customer, James Lingk.

On November 3, 2005, a Smallville episode called "Exposed" reunited Tom Wopat and John Schneider. Wopat played Sen. Jack Jennings, an old friend of Jonathan Kent's who comes to Smallville to seek his help in an upcoming campaign.

Wopat starred in the North Carolina Theatre's production of The Music Man, in the role of Harold Hill in November 2006.

In 2008, Wopat starred on Broadway as the father in the musical A Catered Affair, written by Harvey Fierstein (book) and John Bucchino (score), which opened on April 17, 2008 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. He received his second Tony nomination for that performance.

Wopat starred as Detective Jones in the independent black comedy, The Understudy.

Wopat has returned to the Madison area for various occasions, including performances at various area theatres.

Wopat also provided a minor voice part as a member of the "Bloodhounds" on the 2007 release, Manhunt 2 video game.

On May 26, 2008, Wopat sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" at the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals MLB game.

In 2009, he appeared opposite Kevin Bacon in Taking Chance, the HBO production about the returning home of a young man named Chance Phelps, a United States Marine, who was killed in Iraq. Wopat plays Phelps' father in the movie, which is based on a true story.

On April 21 and 22, 2009, Wopat appeared at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House in the musical "Chicago" as the greedy lawyer Billy Flynn. He has played this part in national touring productions.

Wopat, along with Nathan Lane, took part in a workshop of a new musical, Catch Me If You Can, in July 2007. It is based on the 2002 film directed by Steven Spielberg. In July 2009, Wopat originated the role of Frank Abignale, Sr. in the musical "Catch Me if You Can" from July 2009 to August 2009 at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, Washington.

Wopat is featured in the new musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim, conceived and directed by James Lapine, presenting the life and works of Stephen Sondheim. The revue premiered on Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre's Studio 54 on March 19, 2010 in previews and closed on June 27.

Wopat has a small role, as U.S. Marshal Gil Tatum, in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained (2012).

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979–85	The Dukes of Hazzard	Luke Duke	Television series
1980	Fantasy Island	David Chilton	Episode: "Flying Aces/The Mermaid Returns"
1983	The Dukes	Luke Duke	7 episodes
1984	Story, Songs and Stars		Television program
1984	Burning Rage	Tom Silver	Television program
1987	Christmas Comes to Willow Creek	Pete	Television program
1988	Blue Skies	Frank Cobb	Television series
1989	A Peaceable Kingdom	Dr. Jed McFadden	12 episodes
1992	Just My Imagination	Bobby Rex	Television program
1995–98	Cybill	Jeff Robbins	Television series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (shared with Christine Baranski, Dedee Pfeiffer, Alan Rosenberg, Cybill Shepherd and Alicia Witt)
1996	Murder, She Wrote	Bill Dawson	Episode: "Kendo Killing"
1997	Contagious	Sam	Television program
1997	Crisis Center	Chuck Goodman	Episode: "Someone to Watch Over Me"
1997	The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!	Luke Duke	Television program
1997–98	Home Improvement	Ian	Episodes: "Jill's Passion", "Taking Jill for Granite"
1998	Meteorites!	Tom Johnson	Television program
1999	The Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home	Luke Duke	Video game
2000	The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood	Luke Duke	Television program
2001	100 Centre Street	Hanley Rand	Episode: "Lost Causes"
2001–02	All My Children	Hank Pelham	unknown episodes
2004	The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee	Luke Duke	Video game
2005	Smallville	Senator Jack Jennings	Episode: "Exposed"
2006	Standoff	Rick Keeslar	Episode: "Pilot"
2006	Bonneville	Arlo
2007	The History of Wisconsin Football		Voice role
2008	The Hive	Bill	Television program
2008	The Understudy	Detective Jones
2009	Taking Chance	John Phelps	Television program
2010	Phineas and Ferb	Wilkins Brother No. 2	Episode: "Just Passing Through/Candace's Big Day"
2010	Jonah Hex	Colonel Slocum
2010	Main Street	Frank	Father of Mary Saunders
2012	Django Unchained	Marshall Gill Tatum

Discography

Albums

Year	Album
1981	The Dukes of Hazzard (1981 Soundtrack)
1983	Tom Wopat
1987	A Little Bit Closer
1990	Don't Look Back
1992	Learning to Love
1995	Hands On
2000	In the Still of the Night
2005	Tom Wopat Sings Harold Arlen: Dissertation on the State of Bliss
2009	Consider it Swung

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions		Album
		US Country	CAN Country
1986	"True Love (Never Did Run Smooth)"	39		A Little Bit Closer
	"I Won't Let You Down"	44
1987	"The Rock and Roll of Love"	16	14
	"Put Me Out of My Misery"	28	25
	"Susannah"	20
1988	"A Little Bit Closer"	18
	"Hey Little Sister"	40		singles only
	"Not Enough Love"	29
1991	"Too Many Honky Tonks (On My Way Home)"	46	46	Learning to Love
	"Back to the Well"	51	54

External links

• Tom Wopat's Official Site
• Tom Wopat at IMDb
• Tom Wopat at the Internet Broadway Database