John Heard (actor)
John Heard | |
|---|---|
| File:John Heard.jpg John Heard | |
| Born | John Matthew Heard Jr.[citation needed] March 7, 1945 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | July 22, 2017 (aged 72) Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–2017 |
| Spouse(s) |
Sharon Heard
(m. 1988; div. 1996)Lana Pritchard
(m. 2010; div. 2010) |
| Children | 3 |
John Matthew Heard Jr. (March 7, 1945 – July 22, 2017) was an American film and television actor. He had lead roles in several films, including Chilly Scenes of Winter, Heart Beat, Cutter's Way, Cat People, and C.H.U.D., as well as supporting roles in After Hours, Big, Beaches, Awakenings, Rambling Rose, The Pelican Brief, My Fellow Americans, Snake Eyes, and Animal Factory. He also played Peter McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, as well as appearing in Sharknado. Heard was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for guest starring on The Sopranos.
Early life
Heard was born on March 7, 1945 in Washington, D.C.,[1] the son of Helen (Sperling), who was involved in the arts and appeared in community theatre, and John Heard, who worked for the office of the Secretary of Defense.[1][2][3] Heard was raised Catholic; though one of his grandfathers was Jewish.[4]
Heard attended Gonzaga College High School; Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C.[1] He grew up with two sisters, one of whom, Cordis, is also an actress, and a brother, Matthew, who died in 1975.
Acting career
In the 1970s, Heard appeared on the stage, television and film. He appeared off-Broadway in 1974 in Mark Medoff's play The Wager and at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in 1977 in a series of new plays. Heard won Obie Awards for his performances in Othello and Split in 1979–80. He was the male lead in the 1979 film Head Over Heels (which was renamed re-released as Chilly Scenes of Winter in 1982).
In 1981, he had the starring role of Alex Cutter in the film Cutter's Way. He played the lover of Nastassja Kinski, one of the main characters, in the remake of Cat People (1982). He co-starred as photographer George Cooper in C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, 1984) alongside future Home Alone co-star Daniel Stern and in The Trip to Bountiful (1985). In Heaven Help Us (aka, Catholic Boys, 1985), Heard played as a monk named Brother Timothy in the comedy-drama film. In After Hours (also 1985), Heard was bartender Tom Schorr.
He was seen in the film The Milagro Beanfield War and had a significant role playing Paul, Tom Hanks's adult corporate competitor and jilted boyfriend of Elizabeth Perkins, in Big (both 1988). He co-starred with Bette Midler in Beaches (also 1988), and starred in Deceived (1991), with Goldie Hawn, playing Jack Saunders, and starred in Gladiator (1992), with Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Heard starred in the philosophical film Mindwalk, in which three characters from different socialitical and poetical backgrounds express their opinions on the human experience, and around the same time, he was in Awakenings (both 1990) alongside Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. He played Daugherty in the film Radio Flyer (1992) and FBI agent Gavin Vereek in The Pelican Brief (1993). He starred with Samuel L. Jackson in 1997's One Eight Seven and was featured in the 2000 miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town.
Home Alone series
In 1990 Heard starred in arguably his most memorable mainstream role as Peter McCallister, as Kevin's father who unwittingly leaves his son at home when making a Christmas trip to France, in the comedy hit Home Alone. Heard chose to characterize the role with a combination of concerned dramatic acting of a father missing his son along with more classical comedic tropes.[citation needed] The film went on to be one of the biggest hits of 1990, and Heard reprised the role of McCallister in the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Television work
Heard featured in a television production of The Scarlet Letter (1979) as Arthur Dimmesdale. He played real-life Ku Klux Klan leader D.C. Stephenson in the TV-miniseries Cross of Fire (1989) and played the part of David Manning in the ABC mini-series adaptation of Shirley MacLaine's Out on a Limb, a memoir of her journey toward acceptance of spiritual and extraterrestrial realities. Heard also had roles on The Sopranos as the troubled corrupt detective Vin Makazian for which he received an Emmy nomination as outstanding guest actor, and later Battlestar Galactica as Commander Barry Garner.
He had recurring roles on CSI: Miami (as Kenwall Duquesne, father of Calleigh Duquesne) and Prison Break (as Frank Tancredi, governor of Illinois and father of Sara Tancredi). Among other film and television roles in the 2000s and 2010s, he played the mayor of Chicago on two episodes of the Fox series The Chicago Code.
Legacy
Asked about his career in 2008, Heard replied,
I guess I went from being a young leading man to being just kind of a hack actor. ... When I came to Hollywood, I was pretty much a stage actor, and I expected everybody to be quiet. And they weren't. They were doing their job, and you're expected to do your job, and you're sort of this ongoing co-existence. I was a little bit of an arrogant jerk. Now, it's a little bit more like, 'Okay, I realize you have to pat me down with powder every three seconds.' And I stand there, and I'm a little more tolerant.... I think I had my time. I dropped the ball, as my father would say. I think I could have done more with my career than I did, and I sort of got sidetracked. But that's OK, that's all right, that's the way it is. No sour grapes. I mean, I don't have any regrets. Except that I could have played some bigger parts.[5]
Personal life
Heard married actress Margot Kidder in 1979.[6] He has a son, John Matthew "Jack" Heard, with ex-girlfriend Melissa Leo.[7] Heard was arrested in 1991 and charged with third-degree assault for allegedly slapping Leo.[8] In 1997, he was found guilty of trespassing Leo's home in Baltimore, Maryland's Fell's Point neighborhood, but acquitted of charges of trespassing at their son's school.[9] He has two other former wives, Sharon Heard and Lana Pritchard. Sharon and Heard have two children together, son Max and a daughter named Annika.[1] Heard and Pritchard married on May 24, 2010, in Los Angeles and divorced on December 22, 2010 after about seven months of marriage.[10]
Death
On July 22, 2017, it was reported that Heard was found dead in a hotel in Palo Alto, California where he was reportedly recovering after undergoing back surgery. The Santa Clara Medical Examiner's office confirmed his death.[11][12][13][14]
Awards and honors
Source unless otherwise noted:[1]
- 1977 Theatre World Award for his performance in G.R. Point
- 1976-77 Obie Award, Best Performance, G.R. Point
- 1979-80 Obie Award, Best Performance, Othello and Split
- 1999 Emmy Award nomination, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (1999)
In 2003, he was inducted into the Gonzaga College High School Theatre Hall of Fame.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Between the Lines | Harry Lucas | |
| 1977 | First Love | David | |
| 1978 | Rush It | Byron | |
| 1978 | On the Yard | Juleson | |
| 1979 | Chilly Scenes of Winter | Charles | |
| 1980 | Heart Beat | Jack Kerouac | |
| 1981 | Cutter's Way | Alex Cutter | |
| 1982 | Cat People | Oliver Yates | |
| 1984 | Violated | Skipper | |
| 1984 | C.H.U.D. | George Cooper | |
| 1984 | Best Revenge | Charlie | |
| 1985 | Too Scared to Scream | Sid | |
| 1985 | Heaven Help Us | Brother Timothy | |
| 1985 | After Hours | Tom Schorr | |
| 1985 | The Trip to Bountiful | Ludie Watts | |
| 1987 | Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | Johnny Boy | Voice |
| 1988 | The Telephone | Telephone Man | |
| 1988 | The Milagro Beanfield War | Charlie Bloom | |
| 1988 | The Seventh Sign | Reverend | |
| 1988 | Big | Paul Davenport | |
| 1988 | Betrayed | Michael Carnes | |
| 1988 | Beaches | John Pierce | |
| 1989 | The Package | Colonel Glen Whitacre | |
| 1990 | Blown Away | Charlie | |
| 1990 | Mindwalk | Thomas Harriman | |
| 1990 | The End of Innocence | Dean | |
| 1990 | Home Alone | Peter McCallister | |
| 1990 | Awakenings | Dr. Kaufman | |
| 1991 | Rambling Rose | Willcox Hillyer | |
| 1991 | Deceived | Jack Saunders | |
| 1992 | Radio Flyer | Daugherty | |
| 1992 | Gladiator | John Riley | |
| 1992 | Waterland | Lewis Scott | |
| 1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Peter McCallister | |
| 1993 | In the Line of Fire | Professor Riger | |
| 1993 | Me and Veronica | Frankie | |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Gavin Vereek | |
| 1996 | Before and After | Wendell Bye | |
| 1996 | My Fellow Americans | Ted Matthews | |
| 1997 | Silent Cradle | Dr. Brittain | |
| 1997 | One Eight Seven | Dave Childress | |
| 1997 | Executive Power | Walker | |
| 1997 | Men | George Babbington | |
| 1998 | Snake Eyes | Gilbert Powell | |
| 1998 | Desert Blue | Professor Lance Davidson | |
| 1999 | Jazz Night | John Little | Short film |
| 1999 | Freak Weather | David | |
| 2000 | Animal Factory | James Decker | |
| 2000 | Fish Out of Water | Gregor | |
| 2000 | The Photographer | Marcello | |
| 2000 | Pollock | Tony Smith | |
| 2001 | Dying on the Edge | John Fuller | |
| 2001 | The Boys of Sunset Ridge | John Burroughs | |
| 2001 | O | Dean Bob Brable | |
| 2001 | The Secret Pact | Jerome Carver | |
| 2002 | Researching Raymond Burke | Raymond Burke | Short film |
| 2002 | Fair Play | Owen | Short film |
| 2004 | Under the City | Scova | |
| 2004 | Mind the Gap | Henry Richards | |
| 2004 | White Chicks | Warren Vandergeld | |
| 2004 | My Tiny Universe | Bobby | |
| 2005 | The Chumscrubber | Officer Lou Bratley | |
| 2005 | The Deal | Professor Roseman | |
| 2005 | Tracks | Prison Warden | |
| 2005 | Edison | Captain Brian Tilman | |
| 2005 | Sweet Land | Minister Sorrensen | |
| 2006 | Steel City | Carl Lee | |
| 2006 | Gamers: The Movie | Gordon's Dad | |
| 2006 | The Guardian | Captain Frank Larson | |
| 2007 | Dead Lenny | Dr. Robert Hooker | |
| 2007 | Brothers Three: An American Gothic | Father | |
| 2007 | The Great Debaters | Sheriff Dozier | |
| 2008 | P.J. | Dr. Alan Shearson | |
| 2008 | Justice League: The New Frontier | Ace Morgan | Voice |
| 2008 | The Lucky Ones | Bob | |
| 2009 | Red State Blues | Fritz | Short film |
| 2009 | Formosa Betrayed | Tom Braxton | |
| 2009 | Little Hercules in 3-D | Coach Nimms | |
| 2010 | The Truth | Jonathan Davenport | |
| 2010 | Ivan's House | Ivan | Short film |
| 2011 | Whisper Me a Lullaby | Poppy | |
| 2012 | Stealing Roses | Walter | |
| 2012 | The Legends of Nethiah | Nethiah's Father | |
| 2012 | A Perfect Ending | Mason Westridge | |
| 2012 | Would You Rather | Conway | |
| 2013 | The Insomniac | Paul Epstein | |
| 2013 | Assault on Wall Street | Jeremy Stancroft | |
| 2013 | Snake and Mongoose | Wally Parks | |
| 2013 | Runner Runner | Harry Furst | |
| 2013 | Torn | Detective Kalkowitz | |
| 2013 | Buoyancy | Frank | Short film |
| 2014 | Searching for Fortune | Denton Sr. | |
| 2014 | Warren | Jack Cavanee | |
| 2014 | Animals | Albert | |
| 2014 | The Boys of Abu Ghraib | Sam Farmer | |
| 2014 | The Nurse | Frank | |
| 2014 | One More Day | Tom | Short film |
| 2015 | Boiling Pot | Tim Davis | |
| 2015 | Counting for Thunder | Garrett Stalworth | |
| 2016 | Is That a Gun in Your Pocket | Sheriff Parsons | |
| 2016 | After the Reality | Bob | |
| 2016 | Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero | JP Monroe | |
| 2016 | So B. It | Thurman Hil | |
| 2017 | Living Among Us | Andrew |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Valley Forge | Mr. Harvie | TV Movie |
| 1979 | The Scarlet Letter | Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale | |
| 1983 | Will There Really Be a Morning? | Clifford Odets | TV Movie |
| 1983 | Legs | Dan | TV Movie |
| 1984 | Kate & Allie | Max McArdle | Episode: "A Weekend to Remember" |
| 1985 | Tender is the Night | Abe North | |
| 1985 | Tales from the Darkside | Billy Malone | Episode: "Ring Around the Redhead" |
| 1985 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Bill Callahan | Episode: "Breakdown" |
| 1986 | Miami Vice | Laurence Thurmond | Episode: "One Way Ticket" |
| 1987 | The Equalizer | Ron Parrish | Episode: "In the Money" |
| 1987 | Out on a Limb | David Manning | TV Movie |
| 1988 | Necessity | Charlie | TV Movie |
| 1989 | Screen Two | Michael Johnson | Episode: "Virtuoso" |
| 1989 | Cross of Fire | David Stephenson | TV Movie |
| 1992 | Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster | Dan Lawn | TV Movie |
| 1993 | There Was a Little Boy | Gregg | TV Movie |
| 1994 | In Spite of Love | Andrew | TV Movie |
| 1994 | Because Mommy Works | Ted Forman | TV Movie |
| 1994–1999 | Law & Order | Mitch Burke / Walter Grobman | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | American Masters | Montresor | Episode: Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Paul Stein | Episode: "Dark Matters" |
| 1995–1996 | The Client | Roy Foltrigg | 21 episodes |
| 1999–2004 | The Sopranos | Detective Vin Makazian | 5 episodes |
| 2000 | Perfect Murder, Perfect Town | Larry Mason | |
| 2000 | The Wednesday Woman | Bill Davidson | TV Movie |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Larry Wiegert | Episode: "The Pardoner's Tale" |
| 2001 | The Big Heist | Richard Woods | TV Movie |
| 2002 | Touched by an Angel | Allen | Episode: "Secrets and Lies" |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Gregory Rossovitch / Peter Sipes | Episode: "Disappearing Acts" |
| 2002 | Hack | Paul Ballinger | Episode: "Songs in the Night" |
| 2002 | Monday Night Mayhem | Roone Arledge | TV Movie |
| 2002 | The Pilot's Wife | Jack Lyons | TV Movie |
| 2003 | Word of Honor | Dr. Steven Brandt | TV Movie |
| 2003–2005 | CSI: Miami | Kenwall Duquesne | 4 episodes |
| 2004–2005 | Jack & Bobby | Dennis Morgenthal | 5 episodes |
| 2005 | Numb3rs | Peter Houseman | Episode: "Soft Target" |
| 2005 | Locusts | Dr. Peter Axelrod | TV Movie |
| 2005–2006 | Prison Break | Governor Frank Tancredi | 10 episodes |
| 2006 | Battlestar Galactica | Commander Barry Garner | Episode: "The Captain's Hand" |
| 2006 | Twenty Questions | C. Colin Whitworth | TV Movie |
| 2006 | The Line-Up | Walter Clark | TV Movie |
| 2007 | Cavemen | Tripp | Episode: "Her Embarrassed of Caveman" |
| 2007–2010 | Entourage | Richard Wimmer | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | My Own Worst Enemy | Peter | Episode: "Down Rio Way" |
| 2008 | Skip Tracer | Con Colbert | TV Movie |
| 2008 | Generation Gap | Principal Winters | TV Movie |
| 2009 | The Beast | Dr. Blake | Episode: "Mercy" |
| 2009 | Southland | Ben Sherman Sr. | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Gravity | B.C. | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | The Quickening | Ed Erlich | TV Movie |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Mayor McGuinness | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | Joe Gregory | TV Movie |
| 2013 | Perception | Congressman Evan Rickford | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Adam DeVine's House Party | Dregory | Episode: "Dregory" |
| 2013 | Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories | The Lawyer | |
| 2013 | Sharknado | George | TV Movie |
| 2014 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Roger Ridley | Episode: "Love for Sale" |
| 2014 | Modern Family | Gunther Thorpe | Episode: "The Feud" |
| 2014 | Person of Interest | Roger McCourt | Episode: "Death Benefit" |
| 2014 | Mistresses | Bruce Sappire | Episode: "Coming Clean" |
| 2014 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Michael Thomas | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | The Lizzie Borden Chronicles | William Almy | TV miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2015 | The Murder Pact | TV movie | |
| 2016 | Elementary | Henry Watson | Episode: "Miss Taken" |
| 2017 | MacGyver | Arthur Ericson | Episode: "Pilers" |
| 2017 | APB | Joe Reeves | Episode: "Daddy's Home" |
| 2017 | Outsiders | Lt. Governor of Kentucky | Episode: "What Must Be Done" |
References
- ^ a b c d e "John Heard Biography". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ "John Heard's Obituary on The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ "HELEN S. HEARD's Obituary on The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ http://www.avclub.com/article/john-heard-lizzie-borden-chronicles-sopranos-shark-216267
- ^ "411 Movies Interview: John Heard". 411Mania.com. February 27, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ Roberts, Chris (April 9, 2005). "No Kidding". The Guardian. London. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
- ^ "Heard Pleads Not Guilty to Harassing Ex-Girlfriend". Associated Press via Spartanburg Herald-Journal. March 20, 1997. p. 13.
- ^ "'Home Alone' Actor Arrested". The Buffalo News. November 6, 1991.
- ^ Tan, Cheryl L. (March 21, 1997). "Home Alone' actor Heard found guilty of trespassing". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ "Pritchard-Heard". The Monterey County Herald. June 14, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ^ Saperstein, Pat (July 22, 2017). "John Heard, 'Home Alone' Dad, Dies at 72".
- ^ AJ Willingham (July 22, 2017). "'Home Alone' actor John Heard dies". CNN. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^ "John Heard: Home Alone actor dies aged 71". BBC. July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^ Jessica Glenza (July 22, 2017). "John Heard, star of Home Alone and The Sopranos, dies at 72". The Guardian. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
