What Has John Larroquette Been Up To Since Night Court Ended In 1992
More than thirty years after its final episode aired, "Night Court" is back. And though some longtime fans and reviewers have been less than enthused by the first two episodes, others, like William Hughes at the A.V. Club, insist that once the reboot hits its stride, it's a worthwhile watch.
Hughes rhetorically asks why a "Night Court" reboot needs to exist in the first place and provides a two-fold answer. "The first is that [Melissa] Rauch — reigning sitcom royalty after years serving as one of the consistently funniest parts of 'The Big Bang Theory' — seems pretty into the idea, throwing her considerable efforts into reviving this particular sitcom husk. And the second is, to put it bluntly: John Larroquette said 'Yes.'"
Indeed, Larroquette's prosecutor Dan Fielding is the only character from the original series to come back, though the original "Night Court" imprint is all over. Melissa Rauch's Judge Abby Stone is, naturally, the daughter of Judge Harry Stone, portrayed in the '80s version by the late Harry Anderson. Likewise, much of the humor in the new "Night Court" is quite reminiscent of the original. But if Larroquette is the only returning cast member, what has he been up to since the end of the original "Night Court"?
John Larroquette got his own sitcom
"Night Court" was by no means John Larroquette's first go-around in situation comedies. His very first TV appearance was in an episode of the classic NBC show "Sanford and Son." He also appeared in other classic sitcoms of the era, including "Three's Company" and "Mork & Mindy." Given this and the popularity of his character Dan Fielding, it's not all that surprising that not long after the end of "Night Court," Larroquette jumped right into starring in his own sitcom, "The John Larroquette Show."
Airing on NBC and premiering in the fall of 1993, the show revolved around the character of John Hemingway, played by Larroquette, the manager of a bus depot in St. Louis. Themes usually involved recovering alcoholic Hemingway's sobriety and membership in Alcoholics Anonymous, both of which Larroquette is familiar with (via Westword).
"The John Larroquette Show" struggled to attract viewers. Though its premise underwent some retooling after the end of its first season in an attempt to lighten the show's atmosphere, it only managed to last another two seasons. It was abruptly canceled only one month into its fourth season in 1996.
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He's been one of David E. Kelley's go-to lawyers
In 1997, John Larroquette made his first appearance as Joey Heric in David E. Kelley's ABC legal drama "The Practice." First appearing as one of Bobby Donnell's (Dylan McDermott) clients in Season 2, Joey is revealed to be narcissistic and conniving, willing to manipulate the legal system to his own ends and literally getting away with murder not just once but twice. When he returns in Season 6, he passes the bar and becomes an attorney, using his legal training to again dodge consequences for murder.
Larroquette's sinister Heric appeared in 6 episodes of "The Practice," which ran for eight seasons before its finale (per IMDb). Though its cast had undergone some dramatic changes in the show's last couple of seasons, those who remained –- James Spader, William Shatner, Rhona Mitra -– went on to lead Kelley's spin-off "Boston Legal." In 2007, Larroquette joined the cast of "Boston Legal," though thankfully not as Joey Heric.
Rather, Larroquette played Carl Sack, senior partner at the firm Crane, Poole & Schmidt, who, in Season 4, transfers from New York to the Boston office. Initially straight-laced, he is put off by the Bostonians' more carefree attitude but eventually finds his home among them. Larroquette was a main cast member of "Boston Legal" for its final two seasons.
He kept up his streak of playing lawyers in McBride
From "Night Court" to "Boston Legal," something about John Larroquette clearly says "lawyer." So it's fitting he portrayed mystery-solving attorney Mike McBride in all ten entries in the "McBride" TV movie series. Airing for about three years on the Hallmark Channel, the movies revolved around the titular cop-turned-lawyer whose investigation skills gained during his years in the LAPD come in handy. He is assisted by his trust fund sidekick Phil Newberry (Matt Lutz) and detective ex-girlfriend Roberta Hansen (Marta DuBois) in most cases.
Over ten movies –- four of which were directed by Larroquette himself –- McBride investigated the murders of a therapist, a radio host, a Hollywood madam, and many others. All had punchy titles like "McBride: Murder Past Midnight" or "McBride: Tune in for Murder." There was even an entry into the series that focused on a murder at a dog show called "McBride: Dogged." Even Larroquette's son Jonathan took part in the series by providing music for some of the movies (via the Washington Post).
He's narrated the ongoing Texas Chainsaw saga
To understand this, we need to go back to the beginning of John Larroquette's acting career in 1974. Listen closely, and you can hear that it's Larroquette's voice narrating that year's independent horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." This was, in fact, Larroquette's first acting job.
As any horror fan will tell you, the iconic flick, which would help usher in a new and gruesome chapter in the genre, was filmed on an ultra-low budget. As Larroquette told Parade magazine recently, he had known Tobe Hooper going back at least five years before he directed the film that would launch him to notoriety. Hooper called in a favor from his friend and was so strapped for cash that he paid him with a bag of cannabis.
Larroquette's contribution to one of the most influential horror films of the past fifty years has continued to get him work as the movie sprawled into a full-blown franchise. He has also provided narration for the 2003 remake, its 2006 prequel "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," and 2022's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Despite his crucial contribution to the series, the actor insists that horror isn't really his genre. Longtime fans may even be surprised that John Larroquette has never watched any of the films.