John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian whose film credits include

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...

mockumentaries A mockumentary (a Blend word, blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or ...

, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the American version of '' Kath & Kim''. He portrayed Peter Lovett in the

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original sitcom ''

Happily Divorced ''Happily Divorced'' is an American sitcom created by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson. Inspired by their own experiences as a formerly married couple, the series, which became TV Land's third original scripted series following ''Hot in Clev ...

'' and provided the voice of Iknik Blackstone Varrick in '' The Legend of Korra'' and Mini-Max in '' Big Hero 6: The Series''. He also starred in the NBC sitcom ''

Great News ''Great News'' is an American sitcom television series created and written by Tracey Wigfield, and executive produced by Wigfield alongside Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, Little Stranger and Universal Telev ...

'' as Chuck Pierce for two seasons. Since 2018 he has hosted the game show '' America Says'', which earned him a 2019 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host, though he lost to Alex Trebek.

Career

In the early 1980s Higgins was a theatre instructor with Street 70, a theatre production company in Rockville, MD. It is now known as Round House Theatre. He also taught voice and improvisation. In 1991, Higgins was featured in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

's '' La Bête'', and in 2000 he was seen Off-Broadway at

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

in a production of Edward Albee's '' Tiny Alice''. He also originated the title role in

Paul Rudnick Paul Rudnick (born December 29, 1957) is an American writer. His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world. He is also known for having written the screenplays for several movies, including '' Sister Act'', ''Addams ...

's '' Jeffrey'' Off-Broadway in 1993. Higgins's numerous television credits include recurring characters on '' Ally McBeal'', '' Brother's Keeper'', '' Boston Legal'' and '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show''. In Season 8 of '' Seinfeld'', he portrayed Elaine's boyfriend Kurt. He also played attorney Wayne Jarvis in five episodes of ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

''. Higgins arranged the dense vocal harmonies sung by the nine-part ("neuftet") New Main Street Singers in 2003's '' A Mighty Wind'', a change from the writers' original concept of having the group sing in unison, leveraged by Higgins' musical talent. Higgins gained more recognition by being featured in the films '' Fun with Dick and Jane'', '' Pitch Perfect'' and its sequels, and ''

The Break-Up ''The Break-Up'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peyton Reed, starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. It was written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick from a story by them and Vaughn, and produced by Universal Pict ...

'', for which he also wrote vocal arrangements. His work as a voice actor includes the roles of Judge Mentok in ''

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'', 2401 Penitent Tangent in ''

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'', and Riddler in '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''. Higgins also portrayed David Letterman in the HBO TV film '' The Late Shift''. Higgins was seen in the pre-show video for the

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

attraction Test Track. However, the ride was refurbished in 2012 and the pre-show room was removed. Higgins directs and appears on the stage from time to time as well. In 2004, he played Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the American premiere of David Hare's '' Stuff Happens'' at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In 2003, he played the title role in A. R. Gurney's ''Big Bill'' at New York's Lincoln Center Theater. Higgins has been featured in TV ads for

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

, alongside fellow co-stars Christopher Guest and Ed Begley Jr., and for

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

. He also stars in season 2 of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

's '' Raising the Bar'' as an openly gay, rule-obsessed judge. Higgins took part in '' The Suite Life on Deck'', taking the role of the sinister and secluded Mr. Tipton. In 2011, Higgins was cast in ''

'' opposite

Fran Drescher Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer, activist, and trade union leader. She is known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom '' The Nanny'' (1993–1999), which she created and prod ...

. He played Fran's gay ex-husband, Peter Lovett, a character based on Drescher's real-life ex-husband

Peter Marc Jacobson Peter Marc Jacobson (born October 27, 1957) is an American television writer, director, producer, and actor. He is best known as the showrunner of the popular sitcom '' The Nanny'', which he created and produced with his then-wife, Fran Dre ...

. In 2012, Higgins was cast as the voice of vain and eccentric businessman Iknik Blackstone Varrick in '' The Legend of Korra''. From 2017 to 2018, Higgins starred as Chuck Pierce on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

comedy series ''

''. Higgins became the host of the game show '' America Says'' in 2018. Coincidentally, he played a game show host 14 years earlier in a season 3 episode of the TV comedy/drama detective series ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

''. Since 2019, Higgins has appeared in TV commercials for Omaha-based Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. In 2020, Higgins began appearing in a series of adverts for 123.ie, an Irish insurance company. Higgins played the role of Principal Toddman in the 2020 Peacock comedy series ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

'', which was created by

Tracey Wigfield Tracey Wigfield (born June 19, 1983) is an American comedy writer. She created, produced and appeared in the NBC sitcom '' Great News''. She also developed the Peacock teen sitcom ''Saved By The Bell'', a revival of the original series of the sa ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theme park attractions

References

External links

* * P., Ken (April 12, 2002)
"10 Questions: John Michael Higgins"
IGN. {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, John Michael 1963 births American male comedians American male film actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from Boston 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male television actors American game show hosts 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians