John Matthew Heard Jr. (March 7, 1946 – July 21, 2017) was an American actor. He made his debut appearance in film with the ensemble Between the Lines (1977). He appeared in a number of successful films, including Heart Beat (1980), Cutter's Way (1981), Cat People (1982), After Hours (1985), Beaches (1988), Deceived (1991), and as Peter McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for his recurring role as corrupt police detective Vin Makazian on The Sopranos (1999–2004).
Other films include C.H.U.D. (1984), The Trip to Bountiful (1985), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), Big (1988), Awakenings (1990), In the Line of Fire (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), My Fellow Americans (1996), and White Chicks (2004). He was also known for his roles as Roy Foltrigg on The Client (1995–1996) and Governor Frank Tancredi on Prison Break (2005–2006).
Early life and education John Matthew Heard Jr. was born on March 7, 1946, in Washington, D.C. a son of Helen ( Sperling), who was involved in the arts and appeared in community theatre, and John Heard Sr., who worked for the office of the Secretary of Defense. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, and attended Gonzaga College High School, Clark University (in Worcester, Massachusetts), and Catholic University of America. He grew up with two sisters, Lise and Cordis (an actress), and a brother, Matthew Heard, who predeceased his mother and father.
Career In the 1970s, Heard appeared on the stage and in television and film. He appeared off-Broadway in 1974 in Mark Medoff's play The Wager and in 1975 as Guildenstern in Hamlet at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, where he also understudied Sam Waterston as Hamlet. That fall, the production moved to the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. Heard appeared at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in 1977 in a series of new plays. Heard won Obie Awards for his performances in Othello and Split in 1979–1980. He was the male lead in the 1979 film Head Over Heels (which was renamed and re-released as Chilly Scenes of Winter in 1982).
In 1980, Heard was in the film Heart Beat. In 1981, he had the starring role of Alex Cutter in the film Cutter's Way. Richard Schickel in Time, David Ansen in Newsweek, and New York City's weekly newspapers would write glowing reviews. Ansen wrote, "Under Passer's sensitive direction, Heard gives his best film performance: he's funny and abrasive and mad, but you see the self-awareness eating him up inside.". In 1982, he played the lover of Nastassja Kinski, one of the main characters, in the remake of Cat People. He co-starred as photographer George Cooper in C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, 1984) alongside future Home Alone co-star Daniel Stern and in The Trip to Bountiful (1985). In the comedy-drama film Heaven Help Us (aka Catholic Boys, 1985), Heard played a monk named Brother Timothy. In After Hours (also 1985), Heard was bartender Tom Schorr.
He appeared in the film The Milagro Beanfield War and had a significant role playing Paul, Tom Hanks's adult corporate competitor and jilted boyfriend of Elizabeth Perkins, in Big (both 1988). He co-starred with Bette Midler in Beaches (also 1988). In 1990 Heard starred in the philosophical film Mindwalk, in which three characters from different sociopolitical and cultural backgrounds express their opinions on the human experience, and around the same time, he was in Awakenings alongside Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, and The End of Innocence with Dyan Cannon. He starred in Deceived (1991), with Goldie Hawn, playing Jack Saunders, and had a supporting role in Gladiator (1992), with Cuba Gooding Jr.
He played Daugherty in the film Radio Flyer (1992), FBI agent Gavin Vereek in The Pelican Brief (1993), and Vice President Ted Matthews in My Fellow Americans (1996). He starred with Samuel L. Jackson in 1997's One Eight Seven and was featured in the 2000 miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town. He also appeared in the 2004 comedy film White Chicks.
Home Alone and sequel In 1990, Heard starred as Peter McCallister in the comedy Home Alone. He played the part of a father who unwittingly leaves his son Kevin (played by Macaulay Culkin) at home when making a Christmas trip to France. Heard chose to characterize the role with a combination of concerned dramatic acting of a father missing his son along with more classical comedic tropes. The film was one of the biggest hits of 1990, and he reprised his role in the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Television Heard featured in a television production of The Scarlet Letter (1979) as Arthur Dimmesdale. He played real-life Ku Klux Klan leader D. C. Stephenson in the television miniseries Cross of Fire (1989) and the role of David Manning in the ABC miniseries adaptation of Shirley MacLaine's Out on a Limb, a memoir of her journey toward acceptance of spiritual and extraterrestrial realities. From 1995 to 1996, he played the role of Roy Foltrigg in the television series The Client. Heard also had roles on The Sopranos as the troubled corrupt detective Vin Makazian for which he received an Emmy nomination as outstanding guest actor, and later on Battlestar Galactica as Commander Barry Garner.
He had recurring roles on CSI: Miami (as Kenwall Duquesne, father of Calleigh Duquesne) and Prison Break (as Frank Tancredi, governor of Illinois and father of Sara Tancredi). Among other film and television roles in the 2000s and 2010s, he played the mayor of Chicago on two episodes of the Fox series The Chicago Code.
Legacy In 2008, Heard was asked about his career and he replied,
Personal life Heard married actress Margot Kidder in 1979, but the marriage was dissolved after only six days.
In 1987, he had a son with actress and former girlfriend Melissa Leo. Heard was arrested in 1991 and charged with third-degree assault for slapping Leo. In 1997, he was found guilty of trespassing at Leo's home but was acquitted of charges of trespassing at their son's school.
From his marriage to Sharon Heard, he had two children, a son and a daughter. Their son died on December 6, 2016, aged 22.
On May 24, 2010, Heard married Lana Pritchard in Los Angeles. The couple divorced seven months later.
Death
Heard died from cardiac arrest due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease on July 21, 2017, at the age of 71. He was found dead by staff in a hotel in Palo Alto, California, where he was reportedly recovering from minor back surgery which he had just undergone at Stanford University Hospital. The back surgery did not play a role in his death. His cause of death was confirmed by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's office. He was buried in South Side Cemetery in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1977 Between the Lines Harry Lucas First Love David Bonner 1978 Rush It Byron On the Yard Paul Juleson 1979 Chilly Scenes of Winter Charles Richardson 1980 Heart Beat Jack Kerouac 1981 Cutter's Way Alex Cutter 1982 Cat People Oliver Yates 1984 C.H.U.D. George Cooper Best Revenge Charlie Violated Skipper 1985 Too Scared to Scream Sid, Lab Technician Heaven Help Us Brother Timothy After Hours Tom Schorr The Trip to Bountiful Ludie Watts 1987 Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam Johnny "Johnny Boy" (voice) Documentary 1988 The Telephone Telephone Man The Milagro Beanfield War Charlie Bloom The Seventh Sign Reverend Big Paul Davenport Betrayed FBI Agent Mike Carnes Beaches John Pierce 1989 The Package Colonel Glen Whitacre 1990 Blown Away Charlie Mindwalk Thomas Harriman The End of Innocence Dean Home Alone Peter McCallister Awakenings Dr. Kaufman 1991 Rambling Rose Willcox Hillyer Deceived Frank Sullivan / Jack Saunders / Dan Sherman 1992 Radio Flyer Officer Jim Daugherty Gladiator John Riley Waterland Lewis Scott Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Peter McCallister 1993 In the Line of Fire Professor Riger Me and Veronica Frankie The Pelican Brief Gavin Verheek 1996 Before and After Wendell Bye My Fellow Americans Vice President Ted Matthews 1997 One Eight Seven Dave Childress Executive Power Walker Men George Babbington Silent Cradle Dr. Brittain 1998 Snake Eyes Gilbert Powell Desert Blue Professor Lance Davidson 1999 Jazz Night John Little Short The Secret Pact Jerome Carver Fish Out of Water Gregor Freak Weather David 2000 Animal Factory James Decker The Photographer Marcello Pollock Tony Smith 2001 The Boys of Sunset Ridge John Burroughs O Dean Bob Brable Dying on the Edge John Fuller 2002 Researching Raymond Burke Raymond Burke Short Fair Play Owen 2004 Mind the Gap Henry Richards White Chicks Warren Vandergeld My Tiny Universe Bobby Under the City Scova 2005 The Chumscrubber Officer Lou Bratley Edison Captain Brian Tilman The Deal Professor Roseman Tracks The Prison Warden Sweet Land Minister Sorrensen 2006 Steel City Carl Lee Gamers: The Movie Gordon's Dad The Guardian Captain Frank Larson 2007 Dead Lenny Dr. Robert Hooker The Great Debaters Sheriff Dozier Brothers Three: An American Gothic Father 2008 P.J. Dr. Alan Shearson Justice League: The New Frontier Ace Morgan (voice) The Lucky Ones Bob 2009 Red State Blues Fritz Short Formosa Betrayed Tom Braxton Little Hercules in 3-D Coach Nimms 2010 The Truth Jonathan Davenport Ivan's House Ivan Short 2011 Whisper Me a Lullaby "Poppy" 2012 The Legends of Nethiah Nethiah's Father A Perfect Ending Mason Westridge Stealing Roses Walter Would You Rather Conway 2013 The Insomniac Paul Epstein Assault on Wall Street Jeremy Stancroft Snake and Mongoose Wally Parks Runner Runner Harry Furst Torn Detective Kalkowitz Buoyancy Frank Short 2014 Warren Jack Cavanee Animals Albert Boys of Abu Ghraib Sam Farmer The Nurse Frank One More Day Tom Short 2015 Boiling Pot Tim Davis 2016 Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? Sheriff Parsons After the Reality Bob Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero J.P. Monroe So B. It Thurman Hil 2017 Searching for Fortune Michael Denton Sr. Counting for Thunder Garrett Stalworth Pray for Rain Markus Gardener Last Rampage Blackwell Posthumous release 2018 The Tale Older Bill Allens Living Among Us Andrew 2019 Imprisoned Police Chief
Television