Jack Blessing
{{short description|American actor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jack Blessing
| image = Jack Blessing.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1951|7|29|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|11|14|1951|7|29|mf=y}}
| death_place = Chatsworth, California, U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1977–2017
| spouse = Lora Blessing
| children = 2
| education = Calvert Hall High School, Frostburg State University{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Jacques |title=Jack Blessing, Baltimore-born actor, dies |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-md-ob-jack-blessing-20180103-story.html |access-date=September 11, 2018 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |date=January 3, 2018 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716071140/https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-md-ob-jack-blessing-20180103-story.html |archive-date=July 16, 2020}}
}}
Jack Blessing (July 29, 1951 – November 14, 2017) was an American film and television actor. He was notable for his roles as MacGillicuddy on Moonlighting and as Jack Powers in the sitcom George Lopez. He also had a recurring role as Mr. Donner in the television series The Naked Truth.
Early life
Blessing was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Calvert Hall High School in 1969, and from Frostburg State University, before serving in the United States Army from 1972 to 1975. At Frostburg, Blessing played the male lead in a fall 1969 college production of Romeo and Juliet.{{cite news |last1=Hazen |first1=George Alfred |title=Frostburg Show Offers Shakespeare |url=https://cumberlandtimesnews.newspaperarchive.com/cumberland-evening-times/1969-10-24/page-12/ |access-date=September 12, 2018 |work=Cumberland Evening Times |via=NewspaperArchive.com |date=October 24, 1969 |location=Cumberland, Maryland |page=12 |language=en |quote=Jack Blessing improved his performance during the course of the play and was particularly effective in the scene in which he kills Tybalt and in the closing scenes.}} In the Army, he was assigned to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, and to Augsburg, Germany. He later moved to Boston, Massachusetts to begin his acting career.{{cite news |first=Geoff |last=Herbert |url=http://www.syracuse.com/celebrity-news/index.ssf/2017/12/mad_about_you_revival_roseanne_return_moonlighting_actor_dies.html |title='Mad About You' revival; 'Roseanne' return; 'Moonlighting' actor dies; more: Buzz |newspaper=The Post-Standard |location=Syracuse, New York |date=December 27, 2017 |access-date=December 27, 2017}} He began his professional career as a member of Boston's seminal improvisational company The Proposition.{{cite news |first=Norman |last=Quarrinton |url=http://www.ajc.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/actor-jack-blessing-moonlighting-george-lopez-dies/wh1kqCbnPDFOsTmbwNoaZI/ |title=Actor Jack Blessing of 'Moonlighting' and 'George Lopez' Fame Dies at 66 |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=December 27, 2017 |access-date=December 27, 2017}}
Career
In his last year at The Proposition, Blessing was discovered by a Paramount casting director. Afterwards, he had a role in the Emmy Award-winning television film The Defection of Simas Kudirka (1978).{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/12/jack-blessing-dead-moonlighting-the-naked-truth-megamind-obituary-1202232698/ |title=Jack Blessing Dies: The 'Moonlighting', 'The Naked Truth' Actor Was 66 |work=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=December 27, 2017 |date=December 26, 2017 |first=Dino-Ray |last=Ramos}}
Blessing would soon guest star in The X-Files, Judging Amy, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Home Improvement, and in Everybody Loves Raymond. Blessing had a role in the Will Ferrell comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby as Jarvis.
Blessing gained national prominence on the hit series Moonlighting in 1986. Later, he recurred as Jack Powers in George Lopez, playing the character in 25 episodes spanning from 2002 through the series' finale in 2007.{{cite news |first=Preeti |last=Maheshwari |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/jack-blessing-net-worth-naked-truth-actor-dead-66-2633536 |title=Jack Blessing Dies at 66 |newspaper=International Business Times |date=December 27, 2017 |access-date=December 27, 2017}}
In the years following George Lopez, Blessing appeared in smaller roles in Shrek the Third, Megamind, ParaNorman and in Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return.{{cite news |first=Norman |last=Quarrinton |url=http://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/actor-jack-blessing-of-moonlighting-george-lopez-dies-at-66/669445225 |title=Actor Jack Blessing, of 'Moonlighting' Fame, Dies at 66 |work=WSB-TV |access-date=December 27, 2017 |date=December 27, 2017}}
Death
Blessing died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Chatsworth, California on November 14, 2017, at the age of 66.{{cite news |first=Rachel |last=DeSantis |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/jack-blessing-moonlighting-george-lopez-actor-dead-66-article-1.3722008 |title=Jack Blessing, 'Moonlights' and 'George Lopez' Actor, Dead at 66 |newspaper=The New York Daily News |date=December 27, 2017 |access-date=December 27, 2017}} He is survived by two sons and his wife.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1980
|Emigrant Boy | |
| 1981
|Cos | |
| 1986
|Hamburger: The Motion Picture |Nacio Herb Zipser | |
| 1986
|Announcer (voice) | |
| 1987
|Student | |
| 1989
|Additional Voices (voice) | |
| 1990
|Voice Talent (voice) | |
| 1991
|Herman Hathaway | |
| 1991
|An American Tail: Fievel Goes West |Various (voice) |Uncredited |
| 1994
|(voice) | |
| 1995
|Various (voice) |Uncredited |
| 2000
|Ground Zero |Sportscaster | |
| 2000
|Above Suspicion |Nick | |
| 2000
|John Scali | |
| 2006
|Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby |Jarvis | |
| 2006
|(voice) | |
| 2010
|Newscaster (voice) | |
| 2012
|Slob Guy/Civil War Ghost (voice) | |
| 2013
|Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return |Additional Voices (voice) | |
| 2017
|Man on Phone (voice) | |
| 2019
|McVitie/Conductor (voice) |(Posthumous Release) (final film role) |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1978
| The Defection of Simas Kudirka | Kabek | TV movie |
| 1979
| Women at West Point | Tom Fenton | TV movie |
| 1980
| | Uncredited |
| 1981
| TV movie |
| 1981
| Alex Grauman | 2 episodes |
| 1981
| M*A*S*H | Lt. Rollins | Episode: "Snappier Judgement" |
| 1983
| Chip Frye | 6 episodes |
| 1983
| George Plummer | Episodes: "Steele Away with Me", parts 1 and 2 |
| 1985
| Amos | Scott Lasher | TV movie |
| 1985
| Leonard | Episodes: "Cold Storage", "Oh, Donna" |
| 1985
| | Episode: "Disaster at Buzz Creek" |
| 1987
| Stingray | | Episode: "Playback" |
| 1987
| Brian | Episodes: "The Magnetic Presidency", "Love Labor's Last" |
| 1987
| Jerry | Episode: "In the Lion's Den" |
| 1987
| Jeff Hagis | Episode: "We Gather Together" |
| 1988
| Amen | Lawrence Osborne | Episode: "Get 'Em Up, Scout" |
| 1988–1989
| Kevin Farrell | Episodes: "How to Succeed in Day Care", "Out for a Stretch" |
| 1989
| Sgt. Masters | Episode: "Afterburner" |
| 1986–1989
| MacGillicudy | 17 episodes |
| 1989
| Barry Swenson | Episode: "Conflict of Interest" |
| 1989
| Gibson | Episode: "The Not So Sweet Smell of Success" |
| 1990
| Evan Phillips | Episode: "Complainin' in the Rain" |
| 1990
| Babes | Crellin | Episode: "Marlene's Problem" |
| 1991
| Father Monroe | Episode: "There Goes the Bride pt. 2" |
| 1991
| Roseanne | Cyrano/Phil | Episode: "Communicable Theater" |
| 1992
| Tom Waterman |
| 1992
| Mark Hayes | Episode: "Till Debt Do Us Part" |
| 1992
| Dream On | Dr. Raines | Episode: "For Richard or for Poorer" |
| 1994
| Gaye | Episode: "The Stinger" |
| 1994
| Dennis Markle | Episode: "The Mr. Sharon Stone Show" |
| 1994
| Special Agt. Matthew Dickerson | Episode: "The Last Laugh Pt. 2" |
| 1995
| Cybill | Stan | Episode: "How Can I Call You My Ex-Husbands If You Won't Go Away?" |
| 1995
| Professor Aaron Martin | Episode: "The Graduate" |
| 1995
| | Episode: "A Fish Called Pepper" |
| 1995–1996
| Mr. Donner | 20 episodes |
| 1996
| Dulmur | Episode: "Trials and Tribble-ations" |
| 1996
| Mr. Overton | Episodes: "Family Ties", "Evolution" |
| 1997
| Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer | Detective Seybolt | 6 episodes |
| 1997
| Dr. Hammond | Episode: "Debra's Sick" |
| 1997
| ER | Roger Drummond | Episode: "Post Modem" |
| 1996–1997
| Detective Seybolt | 4 episodes |
| 1997
| Dr. Breen | Episode: "Room at the Top" |
| 1997
| Detective Bobby Leary | Episode: "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" |
| 1997
| | Episode: "Orange Kid" |
| 1997
| Mr. Delk | Episode: "Book Smart" |
| 1997
| D.A. Horowitz | Episode: "Hide and Seek" |
| 1997
| Profiler | Burton | Episodes: "It Cuts Both Ways", "Old Acquaintance" |
| 1997–1998
| Officer Anthony Fiano | Episodes: "Love Hurts", "Gay Avec" |
| 1998
| Agent Neff | Episode: "Bay of Big's" |
| 1998
| Dr. Swan | 2 episodes |
| 1999
| Howard Heller | Episode: "My Brother's Keeper" |
| 1999
| Mr. Lynch | 2 episodes |
| 2000–2001
| Mr. Schillings | 2 episodes |
| 2000–2002
| Russell Lynchburg | 2 episodes |
| 2000
| Deputy Chief Shaw | Episode: "SWAT's Happening" |
| 2001
| Leo Kelley | Episode: "Bad Chemistry" |
| 2002
| Dr. Jack Preijers | Episode: "Audrey Pauley" |
| 2002–2007
| Jack Powers | 20 episodes |
| 2009
| Dr. Dennis Blair | Episode: "Walking Back the Cat" |
| 2009
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Officer Danny Finn | Episode: "Coupe de Grace" |
| 2012
| Pilot | Episode: "The Honeymoon Is Over" |
= Video games =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 2007
|Additional Voices (voice) |Uncredited |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0088269}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessing, Jack}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:Frostburg State University alumni