A big, amiable character actor with dozens of movies to his credit, John Goodman is still perhaps best known for his portrayal of the blue-collar husband and father on TV's Roseanne (1988-97). A Missouri native, he moved to New York in the late 1970s to find work as an actor. By the mid-'80s Goodman was on Broadway and getting parts in movies, TV commercials and television shows. The long-running role of Dan Connor on Roseanne made him famous and earned him six Emmy nominations. His turn as an escaped felon in the Coen brothers' comedy Raising Arizona (1987, with Nicolas Cage) proved he was just as likable on the big screen, even while playing characters of questionable integrity. Since 1989 he has been a frequent host and guest on Saturday Night Live and has had great success doing voice work in such animated features as The Emperor's New Groove (2000) and Monsters, Inc. (2001, with Billy Crystal). A frequent player in the Coen brothers' movies, he has appeared in Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000, starring George Clooney). Although he is known mostly for comedy, Goodman has had dramatic roles as well, including as Babe Ruth in The Babe (1992), as Nicolas Cage's paramedic partner in Bringing Out the Dead (1999, by Martin Scorsese) and as Bobby Darin's pal in Beyond the Sea (2004, with Kevin Spacey as Darin).
Career Highlights: The Big Lebowski, Sea of Love, The Big Easy
First Major Screen Credit: The Survivors (1983)
Biography
With a talent as large as his girth, John Goodman proved himself both a distinguished character actor and engaging leading man. A native of St. Louis, MO, Goodman went to Southwest Missouri State University on a football scholarship, but an injury compelled him to seek out a less strenuous major. He chose the university Drama Department, attending classes with such stars-to-be as Tess Harper and Kathleen Turner. Moving to New York in 1975, he supported himself by performing in children's and dinner theater, appearing in television commercials, and working as a bouncer.
Goodman made his off-Broadway debut in a 1978 staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and, a year later, graduated to Broadway in Loose Ends. His best Broadway showing was as the drunken, brutish Pap in Big River, Roger Miller's 1985 musical adaptation of Huckleberry Finn. Goodman has occasionally played out and out villains or louts (The Big Easy, Barton Fink), but his essential likeability endeared him to audiences even when his onscreen behavior was at its least sympathetic. He contributed topnotch supporting appearances to such films as Everybody's All-American (1988), Sea of Love (1989), Stella (1989), and Arachnophobia (1990), and starred in such films as King Ralph (1991), The Babe (1992, as Babe Ruth), Born Yesterday (1993), and The Flintstones (1994, as Fred Flintstone). Goodman did some of his best work in Matinee (1992), in which he starred as William Castle-esque horror flick entrepreneur Lawrence Woolsey, and topped himself in The Big Lebowski (1998), playing a quirky security-store owner. He was seen the following year with Nicolas Cage and Ving Rhames in Martin Scorsese's Bringing out the Dead as an ambulance driver.
Between 1988 and 1996, Goodman appeared as blue-collar patriarch Dan Conner on the hit TV sitcom Roseanne, a role that earned him four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe award; his additional TV credits included two 1995 made-for-cable movies: the title role in Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long and Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he earned another Emmy nomination. Announcing that the 1996-1997 season of Roseanne would be his last, Goodman limited himself to infrequent appearances on the series, his absences explained away as a by-product of a heart attack suffered by his character at the end of the previous season.
After making his 10th appearance on Saturday Night Live (2000), Goodman could be seen playing a red-faced bible salesman in director Joel Coen's award winning O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), and participated in Garry Shandling's film debut What Planet Are You From? (2000). He could be spotted playing an Oklahoma cop in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000), while Coyote Ugly (2000) and Storytelling (2001) found Goodman stepping back into the role of over-protective father. Interestingly enough, he donned hippie-gear to play a goth-chick's Leelee Sobieski dad in 2001's My First Mister.
Though Goodman's status as an amiable big guy was well established by the early 2000's, he didn't actually appear on-screen for two of his most beloved roles. In The Emperor's New Groove (2000), Goodman lent his vocal talents for the part of Pacha, a poor farmer who taught a spoiled prince (David Spade) some valuable lessons about life, love, and the meaning of societal standing. Any film-going youngster will recognize Goodman's voice as Monsters, Inc.'s kind-hearted Sully, the furry blue monster who risked life and limb to return a little girl to her home; and who other than Goodman would have been appropriate to voice the part of Baloo, The Jungle Book 2's (2003) freewheeling bear?
2001's ill received One Night at McCool's features Goodman as one of three men lusting after Liv Tyler's character, while 2002's Dirty Deeds took John to Australia, where he played an American mafia-goon thoroughly ill suited to the intricacies of culture down under. Though 2003's Masked and Anonymous was skewered by fans and critics alike, it did give Goodman the chance to work with industry bigwigs Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, Penélope Cruz, and legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. In 2004, Goodman got even more involved in the realm of family friendly movies and TV, lending his voice to the character of Larry on the animated show Father of the Pride. The next few years in his career would include many more such titles, like Cars, Evan Almighty, and Bee Movie, and in 2008, he played Pops Racer in the candy-colored big screen adaptation of the popular cartoon Speed Racer. By this time, Goodman had become a go-to guy for PG fare, and signed on next to provide the voice of Big Daddy for the jazz-age animated film The Princess and the Frog.
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an Americanactor. He is best known for his role on the television series Roseanne, as well as his film work with the Coen brothers.
Goodman was born in Affton, Missouri, the son of Virginia, a store clerk and waitress who worked at Jack and Phil's Bar-B-Que, and Leslie Goodman, a postal worker[1] who died from a heart attack in 1954.[2][3][4] He has a sister, Elisabeth, and two brothers, Jon and Rick, with his extended family living in both St. Louis, MO as well as Miami, FL.
Goodman went to Affton High School where he played football and dabbled in theater. He then won a football scholarship to Southwest Missouri State University, now called Missouri State University.[5] He pledged the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, but was not formally initiated until several decades later. He admittedly "wasted a year in the keg," before discovering Southwest Missouri's unusually well regarded drama program. He studied there with notable actors Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper.[6] During his college stint he got injured, ending his football career. He then decided to become a professional actor, leaving Missouri for New York in 1975.[5]
With a small bankroll from his brother, he found an apartment on Ninth Avenue and 51st street near the Theater District (Manhattan), and attempted (unsuccessfully) to earn money as a bartender and waiter. But, he was soon to find modest success on stage, in commercials and in voice over performance. He was the guy who slapped himself in the commercial for Skin Bracer by Mennen, saying the famous line "Thanks...I needed that!".[6] He performed off Broadway and in dinner theatres, before getting character roles in movies during the early 1980s.[5] One of his earliest roles was Pap Finn in the Broadway musical Big River, and he can be heard on the original cast album.
In 1981 he played Bending Man At Table in the pioneering Tony Powers music video "Don't Nobody Move (This is a Heist)".
Career
Goodman is most famous for his role as Dan Conner on the American sitcom, Roseanne, which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997.[5] He had a long history of appearances on late night comedy shows, and was the first guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which won him the show's "First Guest Medal" (Goodman joked that he would pawn the medal for a bottle of cheap scotch). He was a popular guest host on NBC's Saturday Night Live, hosting the show thirteen times, while also making seven cameo appearances as Linda Trip during the Monica Lewinsky Scandal.[5] Goodman once auditioned to be a castmember for Jean Doumanian's tumultuous 1980-1981 SNL season, but was rejected.
John Goodman on the red carpet at the Emmys, September 11th, 1994, photo by Alan Light.
In 1982 Goodman started landing movie roles, beginning with a small role in Eddie Macon's Run. Then a 1983 made for television movie (ABC) "Face of Rage." During this period he continued to work on the stage, starring in the Tony-winning Broadway Musical "Big River" from 1985 to 1987. His big break into movies came in 1986, when he had a significant comedic role in the David Byrne mockumentary set in Texas True Stories.[7] In that film, his character Louis Fyne memorably utters the line "I'm 6' 3" and maintain a consistent panda bear shape," establishing his trade mark size as an important part of many characters he would later play on film and stage.
He voiced Robot Santa in the character's first appearance on Futurama. Beginning in 2007, Goodman has been the voiceover in Dunkin' Donuts commercials.[9]
Goodman replaced John Belushi as Dan Aykroyd's partner in the popular Blues Brothers Band, in which he first appeared as "Mighty" Mack McTeer on Saturday Night Live on March 25, 1995 and co-starred in the film Blues Brothers 2000. He continued to perform with Aykroyd (Elwood Blues) and James Belushi (Zee Blues) through 2001. Health problems eventually forced Goodman to retire the character.
Also in 2001, Goodman provided the voice of "Sully" in Disney/Pixar's film Monsters, Inc.
A recent project was the film version of the Sophie Kinsella novel, Confessions of a Shopaholic, where he played Becky's father, Graham Bloomwood. The movie was released February 13, 2009.
Goodman played the Ghost of Christmas Present in the 2008 Kodak Theatre production of A Christmas Carol, starring Christopher Lloyd as Scrooge. He is set to play the role of Pozzo in a Studio 54 revival of the play Waiting for Godot, opposite Bill Irwin and Nathan Lane. Goodman's voice can also be heard on an automated message system at Lambert St. Louis International airport.
New Orleans residency
Goodman has long resided in New Orleans, Louisiana[5] and is now being thought of as a "Fellow Louisianian" by the people in Louisiana. Since Hurricane Katrina, Goodman has appeared on several recovery commercials aired in Louisiana.
Goodman was cast in In the Electric Mist (2009) as Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni, which is set in Louisiana post-Katrina. Goodman was at one time slated to play the role of Ignatius Reilly, the main character of a A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The story takes place almost entirely in New Orleans. However, the movie was never put into production.
Personal life
Goodman met his wife, Annabeth Hartzog, in New Orleans while he was filming 1988’s Everybody’s All-American. They married in October 1989 and have a daughter named Molly Evangeline (born August 31, 1990). Goodman has done television advertisements in order to raise awareness for pediatric cancer and the Be The Match marrow registry.
In an April 16, 2009 interview with New York Times theater writer Charles McGrath, Goodman is open about his alcoholism. He says, "I don't know how much the old Jackie Daniels franchise ruined my memory, which is going anyway, because of my advancing decrepitude. I had a 30-year run, and at the end I didn't care about anything. I was just fed up with myself. I didn't even want to be an actor anymore." He claims to have stopped drinking in 2007. "I could never please myself. That's part of what fuels the alcoholic, I guess. You set yourself impossible goals, and then you kick yourself because you're not good enough. But I can't do that every night. I don't have the energy anymore," he added.[6] Goodman was in New York preparing for the role of Pozzo in Samuel Beckett's play, "Waiting for Godot," which ran through July 2009.
