David Naughton

Naughton was born on February 13, 1951, in West Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Rosemary (née Walsh) and Joseph Naughton, both of whom were teachers. He is the younger of two boys; his older brother is theater and film actor James Naughton. His family is Irish-American.{{cite news| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB340BA996DEE9F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| title=Actor's angels heaven-sent James Naughton has waited a lifetime for this 'breakout' role| date=3 June 1990| newspaper=Miami Herald| access-date=2014-10-14}}

Naughton attended the University of Pennsylvania{{cite web |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800017335/bio |title=David Naughton Biography |website=Yahoo! Movies |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824084423/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800017335/bio |archive-date=August 24, 2010 }} and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.{{cite journal| title=David Naughton Trades Dr Pepper for London Moonshine| url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20080329,00.html| journal=People| last=Reilly| first=Sue| date=28 September 1981| access-date=2014-10-14}} He earned a soccer scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania where he studied drama and graduated in 1973.{{Cite web |title=David Naughton |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/139208%7C0/David-Naughton#biography |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}} He then moved to London to further his acting training. After two years in London, he moved to New York where he worked as a waiter and pursued his acting career.

Naughton's professional acting debut was in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Hamlet starring Sam Waterston.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-08 |title=David Naughton revisits his classic Dr Pepper ads that featured Mickey Rooney and Jimmie Walker: 'You never know who's a Pepper out there' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/david-naughton-dr-pepper-be-a-pepper-commercials-192301618.html |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Yahoo Entertainment |language=en-US}} Naughton subsequently found steady work in various other local theater productions. He was an Assistant Stage Manager and Understudy for the Broadway production of Hugh Leonard's Da.{{cite web |title=Da – Broadway Play – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/da-4057 |access-date=October 29, 2022 |website=Internet Broadway Database}}

Naughton first became widely known as a result of his four-year stint (1977–1981) singing and dancing in television commercials and personal appearances to promote Dr Pepper.{{cite web| url=http://www.sfsite.com/10a/dn233.htm| title=Getting Naked: An American Werewolf in London Revealed -- An Interview with David Naughton| last=Auden| first=Sandy| year=2006| publisher=The SF Site}} The commercials were considered creative and wildly popular. They involved Naughton dancing and singing in a Broadway musical style while handing out bottles of the beverage to people who then followed his lead Pied Piper style. The commercials won numerous Clio awards, and involved a multitude of celebrities from Mickey Rooney and Jimmie Walker to Fred Flintstone and Popeye.

By 1981, Naughton was at the height of his success as a soft drink spokesperson, but he wanted to try other ventures and decided to end his role in the commercials. Though the main commercial stint ended in 1981, Naughton occasionally returned to the pitchman role for the soft drink. In 1988, he did a commercial for Diet Dr. Pepper that was reminiscent of the earlier commercials. In 2010, Naughton joined a flash mob singing the iconic jingle at the New York Stock Exchange.

His popularity from the commercials led to him being cast as the star of the sitcom Makin' It. In 1979, he also recorded the show's theme song, Billboard, which was also titled "Makin' It." A US million selling disc, the track also peaked at No. 44 in the UK Singles Chart.{{cite book| first=David| last=Roberts| title=British Hit Singles & Albums| url=https://archive.org/details/britishhitsingle0000unse/page/388/mode/2up?q=naughton| year=2004| edition=17th Revised| publisher=Guinness World Records Limited| location=London| isbn=978-0-8511-2199-4| page=389| access-date=October 29, 2022}} The sitcom itself was less successful and lasted only 9 episodes, but his career continued to blossom. The next year, he starred in his first film, the Disney comedy Midnight Madness (1980).

That lead role then led to a starring role in a higher profile film: An American Werewolf in London (1981). The firm was directed by John Landis, who had already made a name for himself with National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and the Blues Brothers (1980). An American Werewolf in London was a comedy-horror film whose special effects and make-up (used to show the werewolf metamorphosis) were particularly innovative for their time.{{Cite web |title=An American Werewolf in London |url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/an-american-werewolf-in-london |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=The Criterion Channel |language=en}} Rick Baker's make-up work won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Make-up. The film was a critical and box office hit.{{Cite web |last=Dwyer |first=Larry |date=2016-03-05 |title=Why We Love...An American Werewolf in London! |url=https://www.horrornewsnetwork.net/why-we-love-an-american-werewolf-in-london/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Horror News Network |language=en-US}}

After the success of An American Werewolf in London, Naughton continued to work steadily, but never regained the same level of success. He appeared in various lesser known movies, as well as smaller roles in numerous episodes of television shows including MacGyver, Melrose Place, Murder, She Wrote, JAG, and Seinfeld.

From 1986-1988, Naughton had a reoccurring role on My Sister Sam as the goofy ex-boyfriend of the series' main character, which was played by Pam Dawber. Naughton appeared in 19 episodes.{{Cite web |title=My Sister Sam |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/my-sister-sam/cast/1030246423/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}} The series had a strong first season, but was cancelled due to low ratings in its second season.{{Cite web |title=Rebecca Schaeffer's co-star on 'My Sister Sam' says she was 'devastated' by her murder |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/rebecca-schaeffers-star-sister-sam-devastated-murder/story?id=62284160 |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=ABC News |language=en}} The following year, the series co-star, Rebecca Schaefer, was murdered at her apartment by a stalker who had pursued her for three years. In the wake of the tragedy, several actors from the sitcom including Naughton did a PSA to raise awareness of handgun violence.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzA9Ca-zsOw |title=Pam Dawber - Good Morning America Interview on My Sister Sam PSA (August 1989, partial) |date=2023-09-15 |last=Rebecca Schaeffer Archives |access-date=2024-10-25 |via=YouTube}}

Naughton has been married four times and divorced three times. In 2008, he was arrested for domestic violence in Henderson, Nevada.{{Cite web |title=Actor David Naughton Arrested for Domestic Violence |url=https://people.com/celebrity/actor-david-naughton-arrested-for-domestic-violence/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=People.com |language=en}}

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• {{IMDb name|622544}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• {{iobdb name|2555}}
• {{Tcmdb name|139208{{!}}0}}
• [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p190432|pure_url=yes}} David Naughton] at AllMusic
• {{cite web|archive-date=May 13, 2001|date=2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010513073806/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/bios/dnaugh.html|url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/bios/dnaugh.html|title=David Naughton at The Official John Carpenter website}}

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Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American male actors

Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

Category:American dance musicians

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:Male actors from Connecticut

Category:Entertainers from West Hartford, Connecticut

Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni