John O'Hurley

Biography

O'Hurley was born in Kittery, Maine, the son of Jean, a homemaker, 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 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 married to Eva LaRue from 1992-1994. Since 14 August 2004 he has been married to Lisa Mesloh. She had their son, William Dylan O'Hurley, on 6 December 2006.

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 popular television show Dancing with the Stars which aired during the summer of 2005. 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

From 2000 to 2002, he hosted a revival To Tell the Truth. On September 11, 2006, O'Hurley replaced Richard Karn as the fifth host of Family Feud. 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.

O'Hurley has also been the host of the Annual Purina 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.

O'Hurley is also the spokesperson for Coors Light Beer.