Jon Ferguson "Jay" Mohr (born August 23, 1970) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and radio host. He is known for playing film producer Peter Dragon in the TV comedy series Action in 1999, Professor Rick Payne in the TV series Ghost Whisperer from 2006 to 2008 and the title role in the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried from 2008 to 2010. He was a featured cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1993 to 1995.
Jay Mohr | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mohr in 2009 | |
| Born | Jon Ferguson Mohr August 23, 1970[1] Verona, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Jon Ferguson Cox Mohr |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Website | jaymohr |
Since making his feature film debut with Jerry Maguire (1996), Mohr has appeared in films such as Suicide Kings (1997), Picture Perfect (1997), Paulie (1998), Mafia! (1998), Small Soldiers (1998), Go (1999), Cherry Falls (2000), The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), Are We There Yet? (2005), Street Kings (2008), Hereafter (2010) and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013).
Mohr hosts his own podcast Mohr Stories on the SModcast Network and, since September 2015, hosted Jay Mohr Sports, a daily midday sports radio talk show on Fox Sports Radio. Mohr left Fox Sports Radio in January 2016 to pursue acting ventures. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award as the inaugural host and executive producer of Last Comic Standing (2003–2006).
Early life
editMohr was born in Verona, New Jersey, to Iva Jean (née Ferguson), a nurse, and Jon Wood Mohr, a marketing executive.[2] He has two sisters, Julia and Virginia. He is of Scottish descent.[3][4] Mohr was raised Presbyterian, but later converted to Roman Catholicism.[5][6][7] He graduated from Verona High School in 1988.[8] In high school, he was on the wrestling team and served as its captain during his senior year.[9][10] Soon after graduating high school, Mohr was part of the cast of "Biloxi Blues" at the Nutley Little Theater in Nutley, New Jersey.[11]
Career
editActing
editAfter appearing on MTV's "Half Hour Comedy Hour" show on April 2, 1991,[9] MTV offered him a job hosting music videos as a VJ, which Mohr turned down.[12] Instead, Mohr ended up hosting the lip-sync contest game show Lip Service on MTV, which earned him a CableACE Award.[13][14] He then appeared as a featured player for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons of Saturday Night Live. His memoir, Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live, details this tumultuous period of his life, including his battle with chronic panic attacks.[15] He later credited his SNL co-star Sarah Silverman with saving his life by helping him treat the problem.[citation needed] Mohr's account of his voluntary departure from SNL has been widely discounted, however. He was under a cloud of suspicion due to his admitted plagiarism of jokes during the season[16] and his multi-year contract with NBC did not allow him to unilaterally quit.
Mohr had a recurring role in the first season of The Jeff Foxworthy Show as Jeff Foxworthy's brother, Wayne. Mohr's first major film role was in 1996 when he played the conniving Bob Sugar, a sleazy sports agent in Jerry Maguire, followed in 1997 by a starring role in Picture Perfect with Jennifer Aniston. In 1999, Mohr starred in the television series Action, in which he played sleazy film producer Peter Dragon. He was the voice-over artist for Fox Sports Net's Beyond the Glory. Mohr appeared in additional movies including Suicide Kings, Are We There Yet?, Small Soldiers, Go, Pay It Forward, and The Groomsmen. Mohr was offered a late night talk show job by Michael Eisner, but he declined, instead convincing Eisner to let him host a talk show on ESPN, Mohr Sports, which ran briefly in 2001 before being cancelled. The talk show job Mohr passed was then offered to Jimmy Kimmel and became Jimmy Kimmel Live![17]
In 2003 and 2004, Mohr created, hosted, and was executive producer of NBC's Last Comic Standing reality television program. The show aired for three seasons, but was cancelled near the end of the third season due to poor ratings, only to be renewed later. Mohr was very vocal toward NBC concerning its cancellation[18] and did not return for the show's fourth season in 2006. Mohr was replaced with new host Anthony Clark, but was credited as a consultant. On the season finale of Last Comic Standing 4, Mohr performed as a guest comedian. His recurring role on the TV series Ghost Whisperer developed into a regular role. He appeared in "My Own Private Practice Guy", a 2003 episode of the sitcom Scrubs, and in three episodes of The West Wing in 2004 in the recurring role of Taylor Reid. Parts of Mohr's stand up was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. In 2005, he and his Giraffe Productions company inked a deal with Sony Pictures Television.[19]
Mohr starred as newly divorced father Gary Brooks, the title character, for two seasons on the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried. Paula Marshall played his ex-wife. In January 2010 he took the role as Billy in Clint Eastwood's thriller film Hereafter.[20] He also guest-starred on NBC's Outlaw in 2010.[21]
He has an upcoming starring role alongside Tom Blyth in the comedy Discussion Materials[22] adapted from Bill Keenan's memoir of the same name.
Radio
editMohr has contributed frequently to The Jim Rome Show and often guest-hosted the program. Mohr finished in 7th place in the 2007 Smack-Off, 6th place in the 2008 Smack-Off, 10th place in the 2009 Smack-Off, 6th place in the 2010 Smack-Off, and 6th place in the 2011 Smack-Off. Mohr is also known to do "drive-by" call-ins to the show, typically to promote one of his stand-up shows or live events.
On January 2, 2013, Mohr replaced Rome on Fox Sports Radio, as he hosts a daily talk show titled Jay Mohr Sports in Rome's longtime 12 to 3 p.m. (ET) timeslot, as Rome moved his show from Premiere Networks (the distributor of Fox Sports Radio) to CBS Sports Radio.[23] The show can be heard on several internet platforms and regional affiliates. On November 3, 2014, Jay Mohr Sports moved to the 3 to 6pm time slot, so Rich Eisen could take over the 12-3pm slot on Fox Sports Radio.[24]
Podcast
editMohr hosted his own podcast, titled Mohr Stories, on the SModcast Network,[25][26] On May 4, 2012, Mohr announced his amicable departure from the SModcast network. He has since begun hosting Mohr Stories on his own network, Fake Mustache Studios.[27]
Other work
editIn June 2004, Mohr's first book, Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live, was published by Hyperion and chronicled his two years working on Saturday Night Live. In May 2010, publisher Simon & Schuster released Mohr's second book, No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales from a Stand-Up Dad.
Mohr's album Happy. And A Lot was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[28] The material was written by Nikki Cox, his wife at the time.[29]
Mohr has hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas since 2013.
In 2016, Mohr became the host of the Los Angeles Rams pregame show airing Saturday evenings after college football on KABC-TV.[30] He was replaced as the host in November 2016 with no explanation.[citation needed]
Personal life
edit
Mohr has a son, Jackson,[31] from his six-year marriage to former model / actress Nicole Chamberlain.
Mohr married actress Nikki Cox on December 29, 2006.[31] Cox wrote one of his stand-up shows.[29] In December 2008, he filed legal papers requesting a legal name change to Jon Ferguson Cox Mohr, adding his wife's surname.[32] Their son, Meredith Daniel Mohr, was born on May 5, 2011.[33] On May 16, 2017, Mohr confirmed during The Adam Carolla Show that he and Cox were "in the middle" of a divorce.[34] Their divorce was finalized in August 2018.[35] In 2021, Mohr entered a rehabilitation facility to address an addiction to Adderall.[36]
Mohr began dating Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss in 2017.[37][38] The couple became engaged in December 2022 and married on September 3, 2023.[39][40][41]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire | Bob Sugar | |
| 1997 | Picture Perfect | Nick | |
| Suicide Kings | Brett Campbell | ||
| The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue | Mack (voice) | ||
| 1998 | Paulie | Benny / Paulie (voice) | |
| Small Soldiers | Larry Benson | ||
| Jane Austen's Mafia! | Tony Cortino | ||
| Playing by Heart | Mark | ||
| 1999 | 200 Cigarettes | Jack | |
| Go | Zack | Teen Choice Award Nomination | |
| 2000 | Cherry Falls | Leonard Marliston | |
| Pay It Forward | Chris Chandler | ||
| 2001 | Speaking of Sex | Dan | |
| 2002 | The Adventures of Pluto Nash | Anthony Frankowski / Tony Francis | |
| Alphine Stars | Ned (voice) | ||
| Simone | Hal Sinclair | ||
| 2004 | Seeing Other People | Ed | |
| 2005 | Are We There Yet? | Marty | |
| King's Ransom | Corey | ||
| 2006 | Even Money | Augie | |
| The Groomsmen | Cousin Mike Sullivan | ||
| 2008 | Street Kings | Sergeant Mike Clady | |
| 2009 | Lonely Street | Bubba Mabry | |
| 2010 | Hereafter | Billy | |
| 2013 | The Incredible Burt Wonderstone | Rick 'The Implausible' | |
| 2014 | Dumbbells | Harold | |
| 2015 | Road Hard | Jack Taylor | |
| 2018 | All About Nina | Mike | |
| American Nightmares | Raymond | ||
| 2019 | Hollow Point | 'Trigger' | |
| 2023 | Air | John Fisher |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | TGIF | Interstitial shorts | |
| 1992–1993 | Camp Wilder | Dorfman | |
| 1993–1995 | Saturday Night Live | Various | |
| 1995 | The Barefoot Executive | Matt | |
| 1996 | The Jeff Foxworthy Show | Wayne Foxworthy | |
| Local Heroes | Jake Bartholomew | ||
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Brett Hutchins | |
| 1999 | Olive, the Other Reindeer | Tim (voice) | |
| 1999–2000 | Action | Peter Dragon | Golden Satellite award |
| 2000 | The Simpsons | Christopher Walken (voice) | |
| 2000–2005 | Family Guy | Various | |
| 2001 | Night Visions | Lt. Dale Stillman | |
| Black River | Boyd 'Bo' Aikens | ||
| 2003 | Scrubs | Dr. Peter Fisher | |
| Fastlane | Roland Hill | ||
| CSI: Miami | Aaron Schecter | ||
| 2003–2004 | Last Comic Standing | Presenter | Executive Producer; Primetime Emmy nomination |
| 2004 | The West Wing | Taylor Reid | 3 episodes |
| The Man Show | AssWatch Salesman | ||
| 2005 | Las Vegas | Martin Levson | |
| 2006 | A Salute to the Troops and USO | Host | |
| Christmas Do-Over | Kevin | ||
| Community Service | Will Shepard | ||
| 2006–2008 | Ghost Whisperer | Professor Rick Payne | |
| 2008–2010 | Gary Unmarried | Gary Brooks | Also, Producer |
| 2009 | Monk | Harrison Powell | |
| 2010 | Outlaw | Henry Ashford | |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Nyle Brite | |
| A Christmas Wedding Tail | Rusty (voice) | ||
| Prime Suspect | A.D.A. Bullock | ||
| 2011–2013 | Suburgatory | Steven Royce | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Applebaum | Al | |
| Brothers-In-Law | |||
| Jay Mohr: Funny for A Girl | Himself | Standup special | |
| 2013 | Money Where Your Mouth Is | Host | |
| 2015 | Jay Mohr: Happy. And a Lot. | Himself | Standup special |
| 2017–2019 | American Housewife | Alan | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | The Mick | Bert | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Jay Mohr: American Treasure | Himself | Standup special |
| 2021 | Ghost Adventures | Himself | 1 episode |
| Jay Mohr: Altamont | Himself | Standup special | |
| 2022 | The Cleaning Lady | Councilman Eric Knight | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Tom Collins | Episode: "BEAT L.A." |
| 2024 | Mr. Birchum | Coach Murphy |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Blitz: The League II | Agent | |
| Saints Row 2 | Dane Vogel (voice) | ||
| 2009 | Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust | Kip Whiteman (voice) | |
| 2015 | Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell | Dane Vogel (voice) |
References
edit- ^ "Famous birthdays for Aug. 23: Andrew Rannells, Shelley Long". UPI. August 23, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ Mohr, Jay [@jaymohr37] (August 20, 2014). ".. @MasterCard @SU2C My beautiful mother, Iva Jean Ferguson Mohr is a breast cancer survivor." (Tweet). Retrieved August 8, 2017 – via Twitter.[dead link]
- ^ Mohr, Jay (December 3, 2008). The Late Late Show.
Scottish ancestry
- ^ "Genealogy Page". familytreemaker.genealogy.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013.
- ^ Rapkin, Mickey (June 2, 2010). "Jay Mohr: Author, Catholic, Lisa Minnelli defender". GQ. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- ^ Condran, Ed (April 7, 2009). "Jersey's Jay Mohr returns to this roots for two stand-up shows". Courier News. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
The first is about fatherhood, and the other print project is about his conversion to Catholicism. "I went from being a Presbyterian to the Catholic church," he said.
- ^ "Back For Mohr". Atlantic City Weekly. February 2, 2011. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ^ "Jay Mohr Rocks The Boat Again". MyVeronaNJ.com. August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ a b "Verona's Jay Mohr Featured on MTV". The Venora-Cedar Grove Times (Verona, New Jersey). March 28, 1991. p. A5.
- ^ Chean, Steven. "Comedian Jay Mohr has two great passions: humor and sports. And his new TV show features plenty of both.", USA Weekend, June 30, 2002. Accessed August 21, 2021.
- ^ "'Biloxi' Cast Includes Resident". Verona-Cedar Grove Times (Verona, New Jersey). September 1, 1988. p. S7.
- ^ Word, Joanne (October 1, 1992). "New Sitcom Means Less Standup for Comedian Mohr". Iowa City Press-Citizen (Iowa City, Iowa). p. 5D.
- ^ Flaim, Denise (February 21, 1992). "Lip Synching for Fun, Not Profit". Newsday. p. 69.
- ^ Bonelli, Winnie (July 26, 1998). "Mohr Fun in 'Mafia'". The Herald-News (Passaic, New Jersey). p. E1.
- ^ Mohr, Jay (2004). Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live. Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-1-4013-0006-7.
- ^ Gupta, Prachi (October 7, 2014). "5 sketches that "SNL" allegedly plagiarized". Salon. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ "Get A Helmet". SModcast. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- ^ Dehnart, Andy (October 8, 2004). "Last Comic Standing 3 finale pulled, maybe; Jay Mohr didn't want third season". RealityBlurred.com. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (March 22, 2005). "Mohr will make 'em laff over at Sony". Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- ^ Uncle Creepy (January 27, 2010). "Jay Mohr to See the Light of the Hereafter". Dreadcentral.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- ^ Keck, William (August 12, 2010). "Jay Mohr Gets Serious on NBC's Outlaw". TVGuide.com. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (March 21, 2022). "Tom Blyth, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jordyn Denning, Zach Villa & Jay Mohr To Star In Comedy 'Discussion Materials' From Director Alfredo Barrios Jr". Deadline. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "Fox Sports Radio adds Jay Mohr for middays - Radio & Television Business Report". December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Fox Sports Radio will be picking up The Rich Eisen Show". Awful Announcing. October 7, 2014.
- ^ "Mohr Stories: Episode 1". Smodcast.com. 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- ^ "Mohr Stories: Episode 2". Smodcast.com. 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- ^ "Jay Mohr's Twitter Account". Twitter. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
- ^ "58th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees". www.grammy.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- ^ a b Heigl, Alex (November 2, 2015). "Jay Mohr and Nikki Cox Releasing New Stand-Up Album with Proceeds Going to Teen Mentorship Organization". People.com. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- ^ "ABC7, LA Rams, Jay Mohr team up for new primetime sports show". KABC-TV. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ a b Tan, Michelle. "Jay Mohr Marries Las Vegas Star Nikki Cox". People. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ Staff writer (December 27, 2008). "Mohr seeking Cox name addition". UPI.com. United Press International. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ Schillaci, Sophie (May 5, 2011). "Jay Mohr, Nikki Cox welcome Cinco de Mayo baby". Pop2it - Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011.
- ^ "Jay Mohr and Jo Koy". adamcarolla.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ "Jay Mohr and Cox Divorce Finalized". tmz.com. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ "Jay Mohr on addiction, stand-up and why he named his newest special after a deadly Rolling Stones concert". February 24, 2022.
- ^ "Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss and Comedian Jay Mohr Are Engaged | Entertainment Tonight". December 21, 2022.
- ^ Kirschenbaum, Alex (December 21, 2022). "Lakers News: Owner Jeanie Buss Gets Engaged to Comedian Jay Mohr". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ Spiegelman, Ian (September 27, 2021). "Jeanie Buss Loves Jay Mohr, and She Wants Everyone to Know It". Lamag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles.
- ^ Lemoncelli, Jenna (December 21, 2022). "Lakers owner Jeanie Buss gets engaged to comedian Jay Mohr". Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "Lakers owner Jeanie Buss says 'I DO' to comedian Jay Mohr. Married on Malibu Beach". TMZ Sports. September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
External links
edit