Jay Mohr

Jon Ferguson Cox "Jay" Mohr (born Jon Ferguson Mohr; August 23, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and radio host. He is known for his role as Professor Rick Payne in the TV series Ghost Whisperer (2006–2008), the title role in the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried (2008–2010), as a featured cast member on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (1993–1995) and the back-stabbing sports agent Bob Sugar in Jerry Maguire (1996). Since making his feature film debut with Jerry Maguire, he has appeared in the films Suicide Kings (1997), Picture Perfect (1997), Paulie (1998), Mafia! (1998), Small Soldiers (1998), The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), Are We There Yet? (2005), Street Kings (2008), Hereafter (2010) and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013).
Mohr hosts his own podcast Mohr Stories on the SModcast Network and, since September 2015, hosted Jay Mohr Sports, a daily midday sports radio talk show on Fox Sports Radio. Mohr left Fox Sports Radio in January 2016 to pursue acting ventures. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award as the inaugural host and executive producer of Last Comic Standing (2003–2006).
== Early life ==
Mohr was born in Verona, New Jersey to Iva Jean (née Ferguson), a nurse, and Jon Wood Mohr, a marketing executive.[1][2] He has two sisters, Julia and Virginia. He has Scottish, German, English, and Welsh ancestry.[3][4] Mohr was raised Presbyterian, but later converted to Roman Catholicism.[5][6][7]
== Career ==
=== Acting career ===
Mohr appeared as a featured player for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons of Saturday Night Live. His memoir, Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live (Hyperion Books, 2004), details this tumultuous period of his life, including his battle with chronic panic attacks.[8] He later credited his SNL co-star Sarah Silverman with saving his life by helping him treat the problem.
Mohr had a recurring role in the first season of The Jeff Foxworthy Show as Jeff Foxworthy's brother, Wayne. Mohr's first major film role was in 1996 when he played the conniving Bob Sugar, a sleazy sports agent in Jerry Maguire, followed in 1997 by a starring role in Picture Perfect. In 1999, Mohr starred in the television series Action, in which he played sleazy film producer Peter Dragon. He was the voice-over artist for Fox Sports Net's Beyond the Glory. Mohr appeared in additional movies including Suicide Kings, Are We There Yet?, Small Soldiers, Go, Pay It Forward, and The Groomsmen. Mohr was offered a late night talk show job by Michael Eisner, but he declined, instead convincing Eisner to let him host a talk show on ESPN, Mohr Sports, which ran briefly in 2001 before being cancelled. The talk show job Mohr passed was then offered to Jimmy Kimmel and became Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[9]
In 2003 and 2004, Mohr created, hosted, and was executive producer of NBC's Last Comic Standing reality television program. The show aired for three seasons, but was cancelled near the end of the third season due to poor ratings, only to be renewed later. Mohr was very vocal toward NBC concerning its cancellation[10] and did not return for the show's fourth season in 2006. Mohr was replaced with new host Anthony Clark, but was credited as a consultant. On the season finale of Last Comic Standing 4, Mohr performed as a guest comedian. His recurring role on the TV series Ghost Whisperer developed into a regular role. He appeared in "My Own Private Practice Guy", a 2003 episode of the sitcom Scrubs, and in three episodes of The West Wing in 2004 in the recurring role of Taylor Reid. Parts of Mohr's stand up was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties.
Mohr starred as newly divorced father Gary Brooks, the title character, for two seasons on the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried. Paula Marshall played his ex-wife. In January 2010 he took the role as Billy in Clint Eastwood's thriller film Hereafter.[11] He also guest-starred on NBC's Outlaw in 2010.[12]
=== Radio ===
Mohr has contributed frequently to The Jim Rome Show and often guest-hosted the program. His nickname on the show is "Slam Man," and, more recently, the derisive "Weigh More" and "Ham Man," "Salami Man" and—when feeling particularly fancy -- "Prosciutto Man." Mohr finished in 7th place in the 2007 Smack-Off, 6th place in the 2008 Smack-Off, 10th place in the 2009 Smack-Off, 6th place in the 2010 Smack-Off, and 6th place in the 2011 Smack-Off. Mohr is also known to do "drive-by" call-ins to the show, typically to promote one of his stand-up shows or live events.
On January 2, 2013, Mohr replaced Rome on Fox Sports Radio, as he hosts a daily talk show titled Jay Mohr Sports in Rome's longtime 12 to 3 p.m. (ET) timeslot, as Rome moved his show from Premiere Networks (the distributor of Fox Sports Radio) to CBS Sports Radio.[13] The show can be heard on several internet platforms and regional affiliates. On November 3, 2014, Jay Mohr Sports moved to the 3 to 6pm time slot, so Rich Eisen could take over the 12-3pm slot on Fox Sports Radio.[14]
=== Podcast ===
Mohr hosts his own podcast titled Mohr Stories. The podcast was hosted on the SModcast Network,[15] often taped in his garage, which he has dubbed Fake Mustache Studios.[16] On May 4, 2012, Mohr announced his amicable departure from the SModcast network. He has since begun hosting Mohr Stories on his own network, Fake Mustache Studios.[17]
=== Other work ===
In June 2004, Mohr's first book, Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live, was published by Hyperion and chronicled his two years working on Saturday Night Live. In May 2010, publisher Simon & Schusterreleased Mohr's second book, No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales from a Stand-Up Dad.
Mohr's album Happy. And A Lot was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[18] The material was written by his wife Nikki Cox.[19]
Mohr has hosted the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas since 2013.
In 2016, Mohr became the host of the Los Angeles Rams pregame show airing Saturday evenings after college football on KABC-TV.[20] He was replaced as the host in November 2016 with no explanation.[citation needed]
== Personal life ==
Mohr has a son, Jackson,[21] from his six-year marriage to former model Nicole Chamberlain.
He married actress Nikki Cox on December 29, 2006.[21] Cox wrote one of his stand-up shows.[19] In December 2008, he filed legal papers requesting a legal name change to Jon Ferguson Cox Mohr, adding his wife's surname.[22] Their son, Meredith Daniel Mohr, was born on May 5, 2011.[23] Mohr confirmed on May 16, 2017 during The Adam Carolla Show that he and Cox were "in the middle" of a divorce.[24] Their divorce was finalized in August 2018.[25]
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1996	Jerry Maguire 	Bob Sugar 	
1997	Picture Perfect 	Nick 	
1997	Suicide Kings 	Brett Campbell 	
1997	The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue	Mack (voice) 	
1998	Paulie 	Benny/Paulie (voice) 	
1998	Small Soldiers 	Larry Benson 	
1998	Jane Austen's Mafia! 	Anthony 'Tony' Cortino	
1998	Playing by Heart 	Mark 	
1999	200 Cigarettes 	Jack 	
1999	Go 	Zack 	Teen Choice Award Nomination
2000	Cherry Falls 	Leonard Marliston 	
2000	Pay It Forward 	Chris Chandler 	
2001	Speaking of Sex 	Dan 	
2002	The Adventures of Pluto Nash 	Tony Francis 	
2002	Alphine Stars 	Ned (voice) 	
2002	Simone 	Hal Sinclair 	
2004	Seeing Other People 	Ed 	
2005	Are We There Yet? 	Marty 	
2005	King's Ransom 	Corey 	
2006	Even Money 	Augie 	
2006	The Groomsmen 	Cousin Mike Sullivan 	
2008	Street Kings 	Sgt. Mike Clady 	
2009	Lonely Street 	Bubba Mabry 	
2010	Hereafter 	Billy 	
2013	The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 	Rick the Implausible 	
2014	Dumbbells 	Harold 	
2015	Road Hard 	Jack Taylor 	
2018	All About Nina 	Mike 	
2018	American Nightmares 	Raymond 	
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1992 	TGIF 	 	Interstitial shorts
1992–1993	Camp Wilder 	Dorfman 	
1993–1995	Saturday Night Live 	Various 	
1995 	The Barefoot Executive 	Matt 	
1996 	The Jeff Foxworthy Show 	Wayne Foxworthy 	
1996 	Local Heroes 	Jake Bartholomew 	
1998 	From the Earth to the Moon 	Brett Hutchins 	
1998 	Mafia! 	Anthony Cortino 	
1999 	Olive, the Other Reindeer 	Tim (voice) 	
1999–2000	Action 	Peter Dragon 	Golden Satellite award
2000 	The Simpsons 	Christopher Walken (voice)	
2000–2005	Family Guy 	Various 	
2001 	Night Visions 	Lt. Dale Stillman 	
2001 	Black River 	Boyd 'Bo' Aikens 	
2003 	Scrubs 	Dr. Peter Fisher 	
2003 	Fastlane 	Roland Hill 	
2003 	CSI: Miamifom[clarification needed]	Aaron Schecter 	
2003–2004	Last Comic Standing 	Presenter 	Executive Producer; Primetime Emmy nomination
2004 	The West Wing 	Taylor Reid 	
2004 	The Man Show 	AssWatch Salesman 	
2005 	Las Vegas 	Martin Levson 	
2006 	A Salute to the Troops and USO 	Host 	
2006 	Christmas Do-Over 	Kevin 	
2006 	Community Service 	Will Shepard 	
2006–2008	Ghost Whisperer 	Professor Rick Payne 	
2008–2010	Gary Unmarried 	Gary Brooks 	
2009 	Monk 	Harrison Powell 	
2010 	Outlaw 	Henry Ashford 	
2011 	Law & Order: Criminal Intent 	Nyle Brite 	
2011 	A Christmas Wedding Tail 	Rusty (voice) 	
2011 	Prime Suspect 	A.D.A. Bullock 	
2011–2013	Suburgatory 	Steven Royce 	Recurring role
2012 	Applebaum 	Al 	
2012 	Brothers-In-Law 	 	
2012 	Jay Mohr: Funny for a Girl 	Himself 	Standup special
2013 	Money Where Your Mouth Is 	Host 	
2015 	Jay Mohr: Happy. And a Lot. 	Himself 	Standup special
2017–2019	American Housewife 	Alan 	2 episodes
2018 	The Mick 	Bert 	2 episodes
=== Video Games ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2006	Scarface: The World Is Yours 	Jimmy (voice) 	
2008	Blitz: The League II 	Agent 	
2008	Saints Row 2 	Dane Vogel (voice) 	
2009	Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust	Kip Whiteman (voice)	
2013	Apache Overdose Gangstar IV 	Ned Silver (voice) 	
2015	Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell 	Dane Vogel (voice) 	
== Celebrity impressions ==
* Teddy Atlas
* Charles Barkley
* Tony Bennett
* Russell Brand
* Eddie Vedder
* Vin Scully
* Bruce Springsteen
* Harry Caray
* David Caruso
* Louis C.K.
* Richard Dawson
* Andrew Dice Clay
* Droopy (sometimes "Alternative Lifestyle" Droopy, other times a combination of both Droopy and Dice Clay)
* Ricky Gervais
* Buddy Hackett
* Barry Katz (Mohr's manager)
* Harvey Keitel
* John Madden
* Matthew McConaughey
* Norm Macdonald
* Dennis Miller
* Tracy Morgan
* Shaquille O'Neal
* Al Pacino
* Chris Penn
* Colin Quinn
* Charles Nelson Reilly
* Jim Rome
* Christopher Walken