John Heard (actor)

John Heard Jr. (March 7, 1946 – July 21, 2017) was an American actor. He appeared in a number of successful films, including "Heart Beat" (1980), "Cutter's Way" (1981), "Cat People" (1982), "C.H.U.D." (1984), "After Hours" (1985), "Beaches" (1988), "The Package" (1989), and "Deceived" (1991). Other films include "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985), "Big" (1988), "Awakenings" (1990), "Rambling Rose" (1991), "The Pelican Brief" (1993), "My Fellow Americans" (1996), "Animal Factory" (2000), "White Chicks" (2004), "Would You Rather" (2012), and "Assault on Wall Street" (2013). Heard also played the role of Peter McCallister, the father of protagonist Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), in "Home Alone" (1990) and its sequel "" (1992). Heard played the role of George in "Sharknado" (2013)"." From 1995 to 1997, he played the role of Roy Foltrigg in the television series "The Client". From 2005 to 2006, Heard played the role of Governor Frank Tancredi in "Prison Break". He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for guest starring on "The Sopranos" (1999–2004).
Early life and education.
Heard was born on March 7, 1946, in Washington, D.C. He was the son of Helen (Sperling), who was involved in the arts and appeared in community theatre, and John Henry Heard, who worked for the office of the Secretary of Defense. Heard was raised as a Catholic.
Heard attended Gonzaga College High School, Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. He grew up with two sisters, one of whom, Cordis, is also an actress, and a brother, Matthew, who died in 1975.
Acting career.
In the 1970s, Heard appeared on the stage and in television and film. He appeared off-Broadway in 1974 in Mark Medoff's play "The Wager" and in 1975 as Guildenstern in "Hamlet" at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, where he also understudied Sam Waterston as Hamlet. That fall, the production moved to the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. Heard appeared at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in 1977 in a series of new plays. Heard won Obie Awards for his performances in "Othello" and "Split" in 1979–80. He was the male lead in the 1979 film "Head Over Heels" (which was renamed and re-released as "Chilly Scenes of Winter" in 1982).
In 1981, he had the starring role of Alex Cutter in the film "Cutter's Way". In 1982, he played the lover of Nastassja Kinski, one of the main characters, in the remake of "Cat People". He co-starred as photographer George Cooper in "C.H.U.D." (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, 1984) alongside future "Home Alone" co-star Daniel Stern and in "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985). In the comedy-drama film "Heaven Help Us" (aka, "Catholic Boys", 1985), Heard played a monk named Brother Timothy. In "After Hours" (also 1985), Heard was bartender Tom Schorr.
He was seen in the film "The Milagro Beanfield War" and had a significant role playing Paul, Tom Hanks's adult corporate competitor and jilted boyfriend of Elizabeth Perkins, in "Big" (both 1988). He co-starred with Bette Midler in "Beaches" (also 1988). In 1990 Heard starred in the philosophical film "Mindwalk", in which three characters from different socialitical and poetical backgrounds express their opinions on the human experience, and around the same time, he was in "Awakenings" alongside Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, starred in "Deceived" (1991), with Goldie Hawn, playing Jack Saunders, and had a supporting role in "Gladiator" (1992), with Cuba Gooding Jr.
He played Daugherty in the film "Radio Flyer" (1992) and FBI agent Gavin Vereek in "The Pelican Brief" (1993). He starred with Samuel L. Jackson in 1997's "One Eight Seven" and was featured in the 2000 miniseries "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town".
"Home Alone" and sequel.
In 1990, Heard starred as Peter McCallister in the comedy "Home Alone". He played the part of Kevin's father who unwittingly leaves his son at home when making a Christmas trip to France. Heard chose to characterize the role with a combination of concerned dramatic acting of a father missing his son along with more classical comedic tropes. The film was one of the biggest hits of 1990, and Heard reprised the role of McCallister in the sequel "".
Television work.
Heard featured in a television production of "The Scarlet Letter" (1979) as Arthur Dimmesdale. He played real-life Ku Klux Klan leader D. C. Stephenson in the TV miniseries "Cross of Fire" (1989) and played the part of David Manning in the ABC miniseries adaptation of Shirley MacLaine's "Out on a Limb", a memoir of her journey toward acceptance of spiritual and extraterrestrial realities. Heard also had roles on "The Sopranos" as the troubled corrupt detective Vin Makazian for which he received an Emmy nomination as outstanding guest actor; as well as Mr. Detrolio, father of Finn Detrolio, one of Meadows' boyfriends, and later on "Battlestar Galactica" as Commander Barry Garner.
He had recurring roles on "" (as Kenwall Duquesne, father of Calleigh Duquesne) and "Prison Break" (as Frank Tancredi, governor of Illinois and father of Sara Tancredi). Among other film and television roles in the 2000s and 2010s, he played the mayor of Chicago on two episodes of the Fox series "The Chicago Code".
Legacy.
In 2008, Heard was asked about his career and he replied,
Personal life.
Heard married actress Margot Kidder in 1979, but they separated after only six days.
In 1987, he had a son, John Matthew Heard, with actress and former girlfriend Melissa Leo. Heard was arrested in 1991 and charged with third-degree assault for allegedly slapping Leo. In 1997, he was found guilty of trespassing at Leo's home but was acquitted of charges of trespassing at their son's school.
He also married Sharon Heard. They had two children, Annika Rose and Maxwell John.
On May 24, 2010, Heard married Lana Pritchard in Los Angeles. The couple divorced seven months later.
He disputed the events that occurred during the September 11 attacks in 2001 and was a follower of the 9/11 truth movement.
His estranged son, Maxwell, died on December 6, 2016, at age 22.
Death.
Heard died of a heart attack on July 21, 2017, at the age of 71. His body was found by staff in a hotel in Palo Alto, California, where he was reportedly recovering after minor back surgery at Stanford University Hospital. The back surgery did not play a role in his death. His death was confirmed by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's office. He was buried in South Side Cemetery in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Awards and honors.
Source unless otherwise noted:
In 2003, he was inducted into the Gonzaga College High School Theatre Hall of Fame.