John O'Hurley will be giving audiences the razzle-dazzle with Broadway in Chicago's production of Chicago as Billy Flynn this February. This slick-talking actor"and former Dancing with the Stars winner"sat down face to face with Windy City Times.
Windy City Times: Welcome to Chicago! Have you spent much time in the city?
John O'Hurley: Yes, I have. But I have not really done any theater here before"which is my regret because it is one of the great theater communities in America. So many things have their genesis here and have moved to other places to become great theatrical pieces based on their origins in Chicago.
WCT: After reading your background, I was blown away by what a large amount of work you have done. How do you find time to do it all?
JOH: I compartmentalize very well. I block things into periods of time where I can get it out and then put the blinders on. I am also the kind of person that works well under pressure so I like deadlines. I like the fact that I have to get a book finished by a certain date.
I also have, in terms of my business interests, a staff that helps me. I delegate pretty well.
WCT: I was going to say that many people may not know that you are a big businessman along with playing one on TV. How did playing J. Peterman on Seinfeld change your life?
JOH: It exposed me to a size of audience that I will probably never see again, in terms of the numbers that Seinfeld used to get. Those are Super Bowl numbers now.
Peterman was a lunatic character based on great writing. I took a leap into the comedic abyss. He was arrogant and pompous but still a 21st-century Mr. Magoo. [ Both laugh. ]
WCT: You all won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, so you must have been doing something right. Do you have any advice for the new celebrity dancers since you won the first season of Dancing with the Stars?
JOH: I hope they do their preparation. It's all about developing good legs and a good core. We had the privilege of all being neophytes and to start from the same point. Everyone knows what it is now and what it does for their career. They are all heavily marketing themselves. The show doesn't have the simplicity that the first year did. It's still a great show but overproduced.
WCT: You do a tap-dancing routine in Chicago. Do you have a big dance background?
JOH: No. When I started dancing on Dancing with the Stars my trainer there, Charlotte Jorgenson, had to basically tie on my dance shoes.
I remember back in the "80s when I auditioned for a show called Day in Hollywood/ A Night in the Ukraine; the casting director said, "I thought you could tap." And I said, "I didn't know I couldn't."
WCT: You have done a variety of voiceover work, including Family Guy. My friend from college writes for that show!
JOH: Yes. I am also King Neptune on SpongeBob SquarePants, along with King Nova on Buzz Lightyear. I have about 15 cartoons that I do. I can show up in a pair of pajamas and still do my recordings.
WCT: You host Family Feud. What does the "survey say" about working on that show?
JOH: It's been great. Our ratings have jumped 40 percent since I took on the show four years ago. That's a tribute to the commitment that Paul Fremantle did to make the show more vibrant, more interesting and more of an event. I love it. I can't imagine not doing the show. I can do it in 14 weekends so, for me, it's the best part-time job in the world.
WCT: Why do you think people love the musical Chicago?
JOH: For me, it's one of the greatest musicals ever created for the Broadway stage. It's listed as one of the top five shows ever done. It includes some of the best choreography [ and ] best music, and the story is like an adult comic book.
The musical is so good that you can have a lousy cast and it's still good. That's the test of a good musical.
WCT: And tell me about your cast.
JOH: Well, fortunately for the Chicago cast, it's been handpicked. I am finally getting one my entertainment dreams fulfilled, which is to do this show with Charlotte D'Amboise. She is a star in every definition of the word. She is a great actress, great singer, phenomenal dancer and has one of the best senses of comedic timing that I have seen in a Broadway play.
Chicago is going to be treated to the best cast ever put together for this show.
WCT: You have your own Web site, www.johnohurley.com, where people can learn more about you, such as your music career.
JOH: Yes, I have my new album, Secrets from the Lake, which came out this [ recently ] and was already number two as far as pre-sales. The first album, Peace of Our Minds, hit 13 on Billboard when it debuted, so they have both done very well. I do it because I love composing on the piano and cello. It creates a sound that no one else is doing right now.
WCT: Well, we all look forward to hearing that one-of-a-kind sound in Chicago.
Chicago will run at the Oriental Theater, 24 W. Randolph, Feb. 25-March 8. Call 312-902-1400 or visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com for tickets.
