John Larroquette

John Larroquette Profile

Emmy and Tony-award winning actor, John Larroquette uses his personal experience to educate the public on substance abuse and recovery. The iconic stage and television actor from pop culture favorites such as the sitcom Night Court and ABC’s law drama Boston Legal gave up alcohol over 30 years ago when he realized that his severe drinking habit was quickly steering him towards a premature death.

Larroquette’s portrayal of narcissistic prosecutor Dan Felding on NBC’s Night Court catapulted him to stardom and earned him an unprecedented total of four consecutive Emmy Awards. His next venture The John Larroquette Show explored the protagonist’s battle with alcoholism in a dark comedic format that gained both critical acclaim and a cult following. Larroquette later went on to do several guest performances on popular shows such as The West Wing and The Practice before once again taking a place as a TV regular on Boston Legal.

His transition to the Broadway stage brought him further accolades when he seized a Tony award for his performance in the revival How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. More recently he can be seen in the TNT fantasy adventure phenomenon The Librarians alongside actress Rebecca Romijn.

• View Extended/Alternate Bio

  John Larroquette half jokingly says that had he been better educated, he might have become something important. But as it is he’s an actor. He developed his distinct, resonate voice, working hard to lose his New Orleans “yat” accent, as a disc jockey during the early days of “Underground” radio in his hometown of New Orleans in the late 60’s. That voice made him part of a cult film classic when the director, a friend of Larroquette’s, asked him if he would do him a favor and record an opening narration for a low budget horror film the director had just completed. So Larroquette will forever be known as the narrator of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

  In 1973, Larroquette decided that acting was what he should be doing. He got lucky quickly and began getting jobs on television shows while at the same time working on the stage in Los Angeles. He then landed a regular role on “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” a World War II series that ran from 1976 to 1978. Small movie parts gave way to his breakthrough in 1983 with the role of philandering but harmless prosecutor Dan Fielding on the hit sitcom “Night Court,” a part that earned him four consecutive Emmy Awards.

  Larroquette took enough time off from the series to appear in a string of movies, and in 1993 he got his own series, The John Larroquette Show. It allowed him to play a recovering alcoholic, a role that wasn’t much of a stretch. A prolific drinker during the ’70s, the actor got sober in 1982 and has spent much of his time since sharing his story so that others suffering from substance abuse and addiction might realize there is a way out of bottle and into life.

  Larroquette won his fifth Emmy in 1998 as a guest-star in two episodes of the legal dramaThe Practice, receiving an additional Emmy nomination in 2002 for his reappearance in the series. Additionally, he hosted the A&E show The Incurable Collector, a one-hour series that focuses on the passion for collecting. Larroquette is an avid collector himself. His library consists of more than 5,000 modern first edition books. He also collects antique fountain pens, cameras, photographs, and watches.

  From 2004 to 2006, he played the title role in the McBride series of American TV movies. In 2007 he joined the cast of Boston Legal playing Carl Sack, a serious, ethical lawyer (the polar opposite of his more famous lawyer character, Dan Fielding). He also guest starred in the drama House where he played a previously catatonic father awakened to try to save his son, and on Chuck as veteran spy Roan Montgomery.

  Married for 30 years and the father of three, Larroquette still gives thanks everyday for the life he was given a chance to reclaim, particularly when so many others never see a way out of their addiction and succumb to it in one way or another.