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Gasping for Airtime
Background:
"I think I made a mistake once...yeah...it was only once." Jay Mohr.
Actor and stand-up comedian Jay Mohr was first noticed as a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live (1993-1995) with his straight-on impressions of Christopher Walken, Rikki Lake, Dick Vitale, Tony Bennett and Sean Penn. The funnyman who frequently appears on The Opie and Anthony Show on XM Satellite Radio has appeared in such films as Jerry Maguire (1996, starring Tom Cruise), Picture Perfect (1997, costarred with Jennifer Aniston), Pay It Forward (2000), The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), Seeing Other People (2004) and Are We There Yet? (2005). On television, Mohr recently starred as Peter Dragon in the critically acclaimed Fox series "Action,” which won him a Golden Satellite award.
As for his upcoming projects, Mohr, who released an autobiography entitled "Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live" (2004), will star in the films The Groomsmen and Lonely Street. He is also set to star in the NBC comedy pilot "Community Service.”
The ruggedly attractive and likeable comic actor is on list of Comedy Central's “100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.” On a more personal note, the 5' 7½" tall and blond-haired was married to model-turned-actress Nicole Chamberlain. He is currently engaged to actress Nikki Cox and reportedly will tie the knot sometime in late 2006.
No Nancy Boy
Childhood and Family:
"Hey, I'm no nancy boy. I've got my bitchin' truck and my rottweiler. I'm a dude...But I still admit to my girlfriend when I'm wrong." Jay Mohr.
In Verona, the suburbs of New Jersey, Jon Ferguson Mohr, who would later be famous as Jay Mohr, was born on August 23, 1970. His father, Jon, is a marketing executive who works for a pharmaceuticals company and his mother, Jean, is a nurse. The youngest child of the family, Jay Mohr has two older sisters: Julie Mohr and Virginia Mohr (manages a bed & breakfast establishment).
Since 1993 Mohr had been together with former model and actress Nicole Chamberlain. They tied the knot in 1998 and have one son, Jackson. Mohr and Chamberlain divorced in December of 2004 and Mohr became engaged to actress Nikki Cox (born on June 2, 1978) in February of 2006. They reportedly plan to exchange the wedding vows sometime in late 2006.
Action
Career:
Graduating from high school, young Jay Mohr packed for the Big Apple to pursue career in comedy. Within two years of his arrival, the 20-year-old already had ten national comedy shows under his belt. In 1991, Mohr hosted the MTV show "Lip Service" and subsequently landed a debut as a series regular in the sitcom "Camp Wilder” in the following year. In the ABC classic, Mohr played the role of Dorfman, alongside Mary Page Keller and Jerry O'Connell.
1993 mark a career boost for Mohr. He was selected to become a regular performer and writer on NBC’s classic late night live sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live." During his stint from 1993 to 1995, Mohr wowed audiences with his straight-on impressions of Christopher Walken, Rikki Lake, Dick Vitale, Tony Bennett and Sean Penn.
Mohr once expressed his displeasure about not getting enough screen time on "Saturday Night Live" saying: "All that waiting around for a glimmer of stage time, just getting angry every week...It was just an oppressive, horrible, horrible place to be. I went to work feeling nauseous."
When his “Saturday Night Live” contract ended in 1995, Mohr made a feature film debut in Jason Alexander's directorial debut For Better or Worse (1995), playing the supporting role of Dwayne. The romantic comedy, also starring Jason Alexander, James Woods and Lolita Davidovich, received regional release before airing on TNT. Meanwhile, Mohr also made TV-movie acting debut on ABC’s comedy The Barefoot Executive, alongside Eddie Albert.
1996 saw Mohr costarred as former protege and rival agent Bob Sugar in Cameron Crowe's acclaimed romantic drama comedy starring Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire. He also returned on television to play the recurring role in the first season of the ABC sitcom “The Jeff Foxworthy,” as the title role’s brother, Wayne, and become series regular on FOX’s comedy "Local Heroes."
Mohr had his first screen lead opposite Jennifer Aniston in Glenn Gordon Caron's romantic comedy Picture Perfect (1997). In the film, Mohr played a man who is hired by Aniston’s character to play the part of her "picture perfect fiance" but soon falls in love with her for real. Afterward, FOX recruited Mohr to star as sleazy film producer Peter Dragon in their comedy series “Action” (1999-2000).
In the new millennium, Mohr went to star with Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey in Mimi Leder's adaptation of Catherine Ryan Hyde's book, the romantic drama Pay it Forward (also featuring Haley Joel Osment). He also continued hosting, at a short-lived 2001 talk show on ESPN entitled “Mohr Sports” and a 2003 reality series called "Last Comic Standing: The Search for the Funniest Person In America" (he also executive-produced), which still runs till this day.
Back into acting, Mohr appeared in Ron Underwood's sci-fi comedy action The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2003, starring Eddie Murphy) and in three episodes of the drama series "The West Wing," as conservative talk show host Taylor Reid. In 2004, Mohr starred opposite Julianne Nicholson, playing a happy couple who are just months away from their wedding but decides to allow each other last flings, in Wallace Wolodarsky’s comedy Seeing Other People. In June of 2004, Mohr released an autobiography entitled "Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live," in which he gives the details during this tumultuous period of his life, including his battle with chronic panic attacks.
In 2005, Mohr can be seen in Brian Levant's family comedy Are We There Yet?, playing friend and employee to the owner of a sports memorabilia store (played by Ice Cube) and in an episode of the crime drama series “Las Vegas” (starring James Caan and Josh Duhamel). He costarred with Anthony Anderson in Jeff Byrd's crime comedy King's Ransom, playing a dimwitted rube who hijacks a millionaire’s plan to kidnap himself by kidnapping him first, and lent his voice in three episodes of the animated comedy series "Family Guy." More recently, Mohr was cast alongside Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito to star in Mark Rydell's crime drama Even Money (2006).
Mohr just completed filming writer-director Edward Burns' comedy The Groomsmen (starring Shari Albert and Edward Burns). He is currently on set for Peter Ettinger's new film, the mystery comedy Lonely Street. In the film, adapted from Steve Brewer's novel, Mohr stars as a gullible private detective who becomes the prime suspect in a tabloid reporter's murder after being hired to snoop on him by a mysterious celebrity.
Jay Mohr, who was featured in two Super Bowl XL commercials for Diet Pepsi, currently writes an article for the Sports Illustrated website SI.com entitled Mohr Sports. He is also set to star in the NBC comedy pilot "Community Service," playing an arrogant New Yorker who goes to a small town in Ohio to get back a girl he lost, but ends up trapped there doing community service.
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