O'Hurley began his acting career where many people start—the soap operas. He first appeared in a failing soap opera entitled Loving, and later he acted in a variety of successful shows such as As the World Turns, The Young and the Restless, and General Hospital. He also showed up in various film roles including Billy the Kid in 1989, with Val Kilmer.
Throughout the early 90s, O'Hurley consistently appeared for one-episode stints on popular television shows like Frasier, with Kelsey Grammer, John Mahoney, and David Hyde Pierce.
But in 1995 O'Hurley got the break every actor dreams about. He scored a recurring role on the wildly successful television series Seinfeld playing J. Peterman. From 1995 through 1998, O Hurley appeared beside regulars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards.
His deadpan humor, tendency to wax poetic, and comical self absorption helped make him one of the most popular side characters on the show. Currently, O'Hurley actually serves on the real catalogue’s board of directors.
After the end of Seinfeld, O'Hurley managed to keep himself quite busy. Capitalizing on his newfound success, he used that notoriety for several television commercials including GCI. Many people also don’t know O'Hurley is an avid and talented singer and songwriter. He was even given the opportunity to sing God Bless America on August 26, 2005, at Fenway Park.
More recently, O'Hurley could be seen weekly on the popular dance competition Dancing with the Stars. He made it to the final round, but in a controversial outcome, he lost to Kelly Monaco. The reaction was so indignant from the fans the network decided to air yet another competition known as the "grudge match." Left up to America to vote, O'Hurley and his dance partner emerged the decisive winners. O'Hurley has since released an instructional video with his partner on the show entitled Learn to Dance with John and Charlotte.
O'Hurley has also kept himself busy with game shows. In 2000, he served as host for the new version of To Tell the Truth and in 2006, he took over for Richard Karn as the Family Feud host. He is even being considered as a candidate to replace Bob Barker on The Price is Right when Barker's retirement becomes official.
O'Hurley has been married twice. His first marriage was to Eva LaRue Callahan for a short two years, from 1992 to 1994 and his second marriage to Lisa Mesloh occurred in 2004. They have one child together, and they are currently still married.
YUDDY
