Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean | |
|---|---|
| File:Michael Leonard Ontkean.jpg | |
| Born | Michael Leonard Ontkean January 24, 1946 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of New Hampshire |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1955–2011 |
| Spouses | Francis Ontkean
(m. 1971–1980)
|
| Children | 2 |
Michael Leonard Ontkean (born January 24, 1946) is a Canadian retired actor.[1] Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing a career in acting in the early 1970s.
He initially came to prominence portraying Officer Willie Gillis on the crime drama series The Rookies from 1972 to 1974, followed by lead roles in the hockey sports comedy film Slap Shot (1977) and the romantic comedy Willie & Phil (1980).
In 1982, he had a starring role opposite Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson in the drama Making Love, in which he portrayed a married man who comes to terms with his homosexuality. Ontkean continued to appear in films, such as Clara's Heart (1988) and Postcards from the Edge (1990) before being cast as Sheriff Harry S. Truman on David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990–1991).
Early life
Ontkean was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Muriel (née Cooper), an actress, and Leonard Ontkean, a boxer and actor.[2] He was a child actor in Vancouver and he appeared on the Canadian television series Hudson's Bay (1959).[3] His family later relocated to Toronto, where he attended St. Michael's Choir School, Holy Rosary and later, St. Michael's College School.[citation needed]
Ontkean also grew up playing hockey and he earned a hockey scholarship to the University of New Hampshire, a Division I program playing in the ECAC. In his three years on the varsity program, Ontkean scored 63 goals and 111 points in 85 games played.[4] He led the team in goal scoring his junior year with 30 goals, and was second behind fellow Canadian Louis Frigon his senior year.
Career
Ontkean began in Hollywood by guest starring in The Partridge Family in 1971, and he was a television guest player on such shows as Ironside and Longstreet, but his break was in the ABC series The Rookies (1972–1976),[1] in which he played Officer Willie Gillis for the first two seasons.
Ontkean's hockey skill played a large role in his landing the role of Ned Braden in Slap Shot (1977),[1] as he performed all of his on-ice shots himself. In 1979 he appeared in the first episode of Tales of the Unexpected.
Other early movie roles included Necromancy (1972) with Orson Welles; Voices (1979) with Amy Irving; Willie & Phil (1980) with Margot Kidder; The Blood of Others (1984); The Allnighter and Maid to Order (both 1987) (the latter with Ally Sheedy); Clara's Heart (1988) with Whoopi Goldberg, and Bye Bye Blues (1989).
Making Love
Making Love (1982) is about a married man who discovers his homosexuality. Ontkean was not the director's first choice for the film: Arthur Hiller had previously approached Tom Berenger, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, William Hurt and Peter Strauss to play the lead, before finally approaching Ontkean. According to Hiller, the reaction of most actors was to tell him not to even consider them for the role.[5] The film reunited Ontkean with Kate Jackson; the two had previously co-starred together in The Rookies. Many years later, Ontkean tried to prevent clips from the film from being shown in The Celluloid Closet, a 1996 documentary about LGBT characters in film, but he was unsuccessful.[6]
Twin Peaks
Ontkean appeared as Sheriff Harry S. Truman in David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks (1990).[7] He filmed scenes for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me but, like many others from the original TV series, his scenes were deleted from the final film.
As a result of his retirement, Ontkean did not reprise his role of Sheriff Harry S. Truman in the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks.[8]
After Twin Peaks
Ontkean subsequently appeared in many film and television productions including Kids Don't Tell (1985) with JoBeth Williams; The Right of the People (1986); In Defense of a Married Man (1990); In a Child's Name (1991) with Valerie Bertinelli; Legacy of Lies (1992); Rapture and Vendetta II: The New Mafia (both 1993); Swann: A Mystery and The Stepford Husbands (both 1996); Summer of the Monkeys and A Chance of Snow (both 1998) (the latter again with JoBeth Williams); Bear with Me (2000), and Mrs. Ashboro's Cat (2003).
Ontkean had a recurring role on Fox's short-lived series North Shore in 2004, and also appeared in the 2008 comedy TV show Sophie. He also featured in the 2011 film The Descendants, which was his last role before he decided to retire from acting.[9]
Ontkean was approached to reprise his role as Sheriff Truman for the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks but declined to come out of retirement. His role was replaced by Robert Forster, playing Sheriff Truman's brother Frank.[10]
Personal life
He is married to Jamie Smith Jackson, design director and owner of Jamie Jackson Design, and they reside in Hawaii. Together they have two daughters, Jenna Millman and Sadie Sapphire Ontkean.[11][12][13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Peace Killers | Jeff | |
| 1972 | Necromancy | Frank Brandon | |
| 1972 | Pickup on 101 | Chuck | |
| 1972 | Girls on the Road | Will | |
| 1977 | Slap Shot | Ned Braden | |
| 1979 | Voices | Drew Rothman | |
| 1980 | Willie & Phil | Willie Kaufman | |
| 1982 | Making Love | Zach | |
| 1984 | The Blood of Others | Jean | |
| 1984 | Just the Way You Are | Peter Nichols | |
| 1985 | Kids Don't Tell | John Ryan | Television film |
| 1986 | The Right of the People | Christopher Wells | Television film |
| 1987 | The Allnighter | Mickey | |
| 1987 | Maid to Order | Nick McGuire | |
| 1987 | Street Justice | Curt Flynn | |
| 1988 | Clara's Heart | Bill Hart | |
| 1989 | Bye Bye Blues | Teddy Harper | |
| 1989 | Cold Front | Derek McKenzie | |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | Robert Munch | |
| 1990 | In Defense of a Married Man | Robert | Television film |
| 1992 | Legacy of Lies | Zach Resnick | Television film |
| 1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Sheriff Harry S. Truman | Scenes deleted |
| 1993 | Rapture | Jeff Lisker | Television film |
| 1993 | Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica | Jan DeBoer | Television film |
| 1993 | Bride of Violence 2 | Hank Parnell | Television film |
| 1996 | The Man Next Door | Eli Cooley | Television film |
| 1996 | The Stepford Husbands | Mick Davison | Television film |
| 1996 | Swann | Stephen | |
| 1998 | Summer of the Monkeys | John Lee | |
| 1998 | A Chance of Snow | Matthew Parker | Television film |
| 1998 | Nico the Unicorn | Tom Gentry | |
| 1999 | Just a Little Harmless Sex | Jeff | |
| 2000 | Bear with Me | Greg Bradley | |
| 2000 | Green Sails | John Scott | Television film |
| 2002 | A Killing Spring | Tom Keaton | Television film |
| 2004 | Ghost Cat | Wes Merritt | Television film |
| 2011 | The Descendants | Cousin Michael |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Hudson's Bay | Jeremy Warrant | Episode: "Pierre's Three Evils" |
| 1970 | Ironside | Man | Episode: "Noel's Gonna Fly" |
| 1970 | Dan August | Mike Foschke | Episode: "The Soldier" |
| 1971 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | Alcide | Episode: "The Boy from Dead Man's Bayou" |
| 1971 | The Partridge Family | Lester Braddock | Episode: "Not With My Sister, You Don't!" |
| 1971 | Longstreet | David De Carie | Episode: "So, Who's Fred Hornbeck?" |
| 1972–1974 | The Rookies | Officer Willie Gillis | 47 episodes |
| 1979 | Tales of the Unexpected | Tommy | Episode: "The Man from the South" |
| 1989 | The Hitchhiker | Gordon Brooks | Episode: "Square Deal" |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | Sheriff Harry S. Truman | 30 episodes |
| 1991 | In a Child's Name | Kenneth Taylor | Miniseries |
| 1994 | Family Album | Ward Thayer | Miniseries |
| 1999 | PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal | John Doe / Wesley Addison | Episode: "John Doe" |
| 1997–2000 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Field / Dr. Charles McCamber | 2 episodes |
| 2004–2005 | North Shore | Gordon Matthews | 4 episodes |
| 2008 | Sophie | Victor Hearst | 3 episodes |
References
- ^ a b c "Michael Ontkean". The New York Times.
- ^ "Michael Ontkean Biography (1946?-)".
- ^ "CTVA Canada – "Hudson's Bay" (1959–60) – Barry Nelson Gerge Tobias".
- ^ "Michael Ontkean".
- ^ Leigh Rutledge, The Gay Book of Lists. Boston, Alyson Publications, 1987, p. 102
- ^ Baker, Robin; Hanson, Briony (1996). Celluloid Icons. London, UK: Channel 4. p. 17. ISBN 1-85144-172-7.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. (6 April 1990). "TV WEEKEND; A Skewed Vision of a Small Town In 'Twin Peaks'". The New York Times.
- ^ Michael Ausiello. "'Twin Peaks': Sheriff Harry Truman Recast: Michael Ontkean, Robert Forster – TVLine". TVLine.
- ^ "Michael Ontkean Filmography". The New York Times.
- ^ https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/twin-peaks-teaser
- ^ "Mildred Smith". Marshall Democrat-News. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Showcase | Jamie Jackson Design". www.jamiejacksondesign.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ "FASHION I". Sadie Sapphire. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
External links
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- 1946 births
- Living people
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male television actors
- Male actors from Vancouver
- University of New Hampshire alumni
- New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players
- 20th-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States