John Larroquette
John Bernard Larroquette[1] (/ˌlærəˈkɛt/; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom Night Court (1984–1992; 2023–present) for which he received four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series during the earlier incarnation, the NBC sitcom The John Larroquette Show (1993–1996), the David E. Kelley legal drama series The Practice (1997–2002), the ABC legal comedy-drama series Boston Legal (2004–2008), and the TNT series The Librarians (2014–2018).
John Larroquette
Actor
1974–present
- Night Court (1984–1992, 2023–present)
- The John Larroquette Show (1993–1996)
- Boston Legal (2004–2008)
3
In 2011, he made his Broadway debut in the musical revival of Frank Loesser's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying alongside Daniel Radcliffe. He played J. B. Bigley in a role for which he received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. The following year he starred as William Russell in the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man (2012) directed by Mike Nichols starring James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, and Angela Lansbury.
He made his film debut by providing the opening narration of the horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), following which he appeared in films such as Stripes (1981), Choose Me (1984), Blind Date (1987), Madhouse (1990), Richie Rich (1994), and the Hallmark Channel mystery series McBride (2005–2008).
Early life[edit]
Larroquette was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 25, 1947, the son of Berthalla Oramous, a department store clerk, and John Edgar Larroquette Jr., who was in the United States Navy.[2][3] His paternal grandfather, John Larroquette Sr., was born in France and emigrated to the United States in 1895.
Larroquette grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, near 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.L.E.S (The New Universal Demonstration for Love, Ecstasy and Sound). Larroquette attended Holy Cross School through his sophomore year before involuntarily moving to Francis T. Nicholls High School to finish his secondary education.[4] It was his senior year at Nicholls High School that he first discovered acting. He was offered a scholarship to Louisiana State University after winning a state high school speech title but decided to not attend the university.[4]
He moved to Hollywood in 1973 after working in radio as a DJ during the early days of underground radio, when each disc jockey was free to play what they wished.
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
His first acting role 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 Baa Baa Black Sheep, where he portrayed a World War II United States Marine Corps fighter pilot, 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.[5]
Personal life[edit]
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.[7] Cookson brought her daughter Lisa from a previous relationship into the marriage, and she and Larroquette would have two sons together, Jonathan and Benjamin.[12] Jonathan co-hosts 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 sixty." He stopped drinking on February 6, 1982.[6]