John Bennett Perry

John Bennett Perry (born January 4, 1941) is an American retired actor, singer and model. He is the father of the actor Matthew Perry.

Early life and education Perry was born on January 4, 1941, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, the son of businessman, bank director and civic leader Alton L. Perry (1906–2003) and Maria (née Bennett; 1906–1971). He attended college at St. Lawrence University, where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

Career Perry began his career focusing on singing, being part of the Serendipity Singers and with his stage credits including the 1967 musical Now Is the Time for All Good Men. He also appeared as an extra in the crowd scene in the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" segment in the 1972 film Cabaret. Perry portrayed the clean-shaven "sailor" in the Old Spice commercials of the 1970s and 1980s.

Perry has appeared in numerous films such as Lipstick (1976), Midway (1976), The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), Only When I Laugh (1981), Independence Day (1996) and George of the Jungle (1997), and on such television programs as The West Wing, L.A. Law, Days of Our Lives, Little House on the Prairie, Centennial, 240-Robert, Nakia, Falcon Crest, Murder, She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder and Magnum, P.I.. He played General Douglas MacArthur in the 1989 film Farewell to the King.

In the 1978–79 TV season, he and Stephanie Edwards co-hosted EveryDay, a syndicated daytime talk/variety series that also featured Murray Langston, Tom Chapin, Bob Corff and Anne Bloom. He and Edwards were both nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Talk, Service or Variety Series, losing to Phil Donahue of The Phil Donahue Show.

He appeared alongside his son Matthew Perry in the 1997 movie Fools Rush In, and in the episode "My Unicorn" of the sitcom Scrubs, each time as the father of his real-life son's character. He also appeared in the episode of Friends with the title "The One with Rachel's New Dress", playing the father of Rachel Green's boyfriend Joshua.

Personal life From 1968 to 1970, he was married to Suzanne Langford, press secretary to former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The couple had a son together, Matthew Perry (1969–2023), who also became an actor. After the couple divorced, Langford returned to Ottawa, Ontario with their son, and Perry moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. When their son Matthew was 14 years old, he moved back to the U.S. to live with Perry. Perry married Debbie Boyle in 1981 and five years later the couple had a child together.

Perry's son Matthew died on October 28, 2023, at age 54, from an apparent drowning, stemming from a ketamine overdose.

Filmography Film

Television