John Heffron (b. July 19, 1970) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
stand-up comic
Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
.
Career
John started his comedy career as a student at
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
, skipping night classes to perform stand-up comedy. He got his first gig as an emcee at the Main Street Comedy Showcase on the University of Michigan campus. After graduating, John immediately began working in his field of choice, touring the college circuit performing at more than 80 shows each year. By that time, he was already a seasoned comic with more than four years of experience. The college audience related to his type of humor, which talked about his days in college, the retro music that he and his classmates listened to and the
Pop Rocks
Pop Rocks, also called popping candy, is a candy, owned by Zeta Espacial S.A. Pop Rocks ingredients include sugar, lactose (milk sugar), and flavoring. It differs from typical hard candy in that pressurized carbon dioxide gas bubbles are emb ...
candy he played with as a kid. This material made him a hit on college campuses, where he recorded his first comedy CD ''Kid With A Cape''.
By the age of 25, John was a successful headlining comedian who decided to also put his degrees in communications and psychology to work by taking a job as radio sidekick to
Danny Bonaduce
Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler. Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce (''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' One Da ...
(later replaced by
Steve Cochran
Steve Cochran (born Robert Alexander Cochran, May 25, 1917 – June 15, 1965) was an American film, television and stage actor. He attended the University of Wyoming. After a stint working as a cowboy, Cochran developed his acting skills in loca ...
) on the highly-rated
Q95-5 Detroit radio morning show. He worked in Detroit for five years before making his way back to Los Angeles, making his home in Hollywood.
John has made numerous television appearances including NBC's ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ...
'', CBS's ''
The Late Late Show with
Craig Kilborn
Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's ''Spo ...
'', two ''
Comedy Central Presents
''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series e ...
'' specials, and two seasons of ''
Last Comic Standing
''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...
''. He won the title of ''Last Comic Standing'' in season 2.
In addition, John has performed at the prestigious
Just For Laughs Comedy Festivals in Montreal and Bermuda, as well as the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen.
Also an entrepreneur, John—along with partner Joel Zimmer—Heffron released a
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
, ''That Guy Game'',
which puts girls on a scavenger hunt for guys. According to InStyle, Entertainment Weekly and Glamour magazines, it became an immediate hit when
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...
,
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
and
SNL
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
's
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic.
Her breakthrough ro ...
were spotted buying the game. Entrepreneur magazine featured John and Joel in its 2001 "Hot 100" issue. John took the idea a step further by developing a
television pilot
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
based on the concept, which received a significant amount of industry attention.
He also was a regular on a number of
VH1 television series including ''My Coolest Years: My First Time'' and ''I Love The 80s''. He toured with
Charlie Murphy and
Joe Rogan
Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly ...
on the ''Real Men of Comedy'' tour in the fall of 2006 sponsored by
Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
and
Bud Light
Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016.
The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...
. His DVD ''Middle Class Funny'' was released in 2009.
John continues to tour the US performing stand-up.
Personal life
John Heffron was born on July 19, 1970 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and was raised in
South Lyon, Michigan
South Lyon is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,746 at the 2020 census, up from 11,327 at the 2010 census.
As a western suburb of Metro Detroit, South Lyon is about northwest of the city of Detroit an ...
. He graduated in 1988 from
South Lyon High School
South Lyon High School is a public high school located in South Lyon, Michigan, United States, and is part of South Lyon Community Schools. Its cross-town rival is South Lyon East High School.
History
The South Lyon Union School District was f ...
and in 1993 from
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
. In 2004, he married Sherry Rie Glenny, they divorced in 2017
John got Remarried to Michelle Nogoy.(Michelle Heffron ) Nov 2021
Discography
*''Kid With a Cape'' CD (1997)
*''Good Kid, Bad Adult'' CD (2003)
*''The Better Half'' CD (2006)
*''Middle Class Funny'' DVD (2009)
*''The Laughs You Deserve From The 70s, 80s, 90s & Today'' (2018)
*’’ Episodes” (2019)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffron, John
1970 births
Living people
American male comedians
21st-century American comedians
Last Comic Standing winners
People from Detroit
Eastern Michigan University alumni
People from South Lyon, Michigan