John Mitchell Gilpin (born May 31, 1951) is an American actor. He has portrayed Church the Butler in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's historical drama series '' The Gilded Age'' since 2020. He is the father of actress

Betty Gilpin Betty Gilpin (born July 21, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Debbie "Liberty Belle" Eagan in the Netflix comedy series '' GLOW'' (2017–2019), for which she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outsta ...

Early life

Gilpin was born on May 31, 1951, in

Boyce, Virginia Boyce is a small incorporated town in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census, up from 589 at the 2010 census. Geography Boyce is located in western Clarke County at (39.093118, −78.059190), alo ...

, the son of Lucy Trumbull (Mitchell) and Kenneth Newcomer Gilpin, a businessman. His paternal great-grandfather was politician and general

Lawrence Tyson Lawrence Davis Tyson (July 4, 1861August 24, 1929) was an American brigadier general, politician, lawyer and textile manufacturer, who operated primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During World War ...

. His maternal grandfather was World War I hero and aviation pioneer Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell. His first cousin is the former

president of Harvard University The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoin ...

from 2007 to 2018,

Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian who served as the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or graduat ...

. He is a graduate of

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

(class of 1969) and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(class of 1973). He studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the theatre in New York City.

Career

He had a recurring role on the TV series '' Kate & Allie'', and is a frequent ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' guest star, having appeared in all of the first three series: ''

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. Gilpin appeared in the films ''

Heartburn Heartburn is a burning sensation felt behind the breastbone. It is a symptom that is commonly linked to acid reflux and is often triggered by food, particularly fatty, sugary, spicy, chocolate, citrus, onion-based and tomato-based products. Ly ...

'', '' Something Wild'', '' She-Devil'', '' Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise'', '' Quiz Show'', '' Reversal of Fortune'', ''

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

'', and '' The Notorious Bettie Page''. He had also acted on stage, including in the Broadway production of ''Getting And Spending''. In 2008, Gilpin appeared in the film '' 21'', playing the role of Bob Phillips who is interviewing student candidates for the fictional "Robinson Scholarship" to attend Harvard Medical School. Gilpin's character appears in the first scene of the film and his words set the stage for the movie's plot; he appears again in the final scene to bring closure to the film.

Personal life

Gilpin is married to actress Ann McDonough, and is the father of actress

. Gilpin was ordained as priest of the Episcopal Church on December 15, 2012. He is currently in charge of St. John's Episcopal Church in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...

, where he had arrived as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

two months prior to his ordination. He had previously been a licensed lay

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

at Christ Church in his hometown of

Roxbury, Connecticut Roxbury is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is located northeast of New York City, and is p ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilpin, Jack 1951 births American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male video game actors Harvard University alumni Living people People from Boyce, Virginia Phillips Exeter Academy alumni American male stage actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Virginia 21st-century American Episcopal priests