John Lehr (born November 25, 1965) 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 ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and television

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

Personal life

Lehr was born on November 25, 1965, in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

. He went to high school at Shawnee Mission West High. He graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1988. While attending Northwestern, he worked as a substitute teacher at Kilmer Elementary School on the North Side of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He later received his teaching certificate and taught full time at Kilmer Elementary. Lehr converted to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

in 2000. Lehr appeared in the movie ''

The Sweetest Thing ''The Sweetest Thing'' is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Roger Kumble and written by Nancy Pimental, who based the characters on herself and friend Kate Walsh. It stars Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Selma Blair. Plot A group ...

'', starring

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...

, as a man driving a

golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...

on a

driving range A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...

being hit by balls. He is credited as "Ralph". In 2010, Lehr signed on as a supporter of

Alley Cat Allies Alley Cat Allies (incorporated on October 6, 1991) is a nonprofit animal welfare organisation. It advocates for reform of public policies and institutions to better serve the interests of cats. Based in Bethesda, Maryland, the group is best k ...

, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to transforming communities to protect and improve the lives of cats, joking that “As a feral human, I feel a deep connection with these animals.”

Stagework

Lehr is an alumnus of Mee-Ow, an improv group at Northwestern University. In 2004, his one-man shows ''The Lehr Curse: A Series of Comedic Lectures'' ran

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Sitcom career

Lehr is also a co-creator, executive producer and star of the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

-original series '' Quick Draw'', which premiered in August 2013. The second season premiered in August 2014. In 2011, Lehr co-created the web series ''

Jailbait Jailbait is slang for a person who is younger than the legal age of consent for sexual activity and usually appears older, with the implication that a person above the age of consent might find them sexually attractive. The term ''jailbait'' ...

'' which premiered on April 1, 2011, on

Crackle.com Crackle, formerly called Grouper and Sony Crackle, is a free video streaming service supported by advertisements that was founded in 2004. The service was purchased by Sony Pictures in 2006 and renamed Crackle. In 2018 the name was changed to So ...

Lehr is the co-creator and star of the TBS television series '' 10 Items or Less'', which premiered in November 2006. Lehr is also an executive producer and writer for the show. The second season premiered in January 2008, and season three premiered in January 2009. Before ''10 Items'', he played

's brother in ''

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

'' during its first season (1998) and also appeared in ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', in the 1996 episode "

The One with the Flashback "The One with the Flashback" is the sixth episode of ''Friends'' third season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 31, 1996. Plot Janice asks the group if any of the six of them have almost slept with each other. T ...

", as Eric. As of 2015 he is working on a new show for the cable channel

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

called, '' The Loop'', about a couple who decides to give up the daily grind and sail around the world. Soon they get caught accidentally with a drug smuggling ring, and things go downhill from there.

Television commercials

Geico

Lehr played one of the

GEICO Cavemen The GEICO Cavemen are trademarked characters of the auto insurance company GEICO, used in a series of television advertisements that aired beginning in 2004. The campaign was created by Joe Lawson and Noel Ritter while working at The Martin Age ...

in a popular series of commercials for the auto insurance company GEICO. Other actors in the commercials were Jeffrey Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber. Lehr appeared in the first ad, in which the

caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or "ape-like" by Marcellin ...

is a worker holding a boom mike on the set of a television commercial. He gets upset about the tenor of the commercial and its demeaning comments about cavemen, and storms off the set. In a later ad, he plays a caveman being counseled by a therapist played by

Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire ( née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress who played roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' films and Adrian Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''The Godfather Part II'' and ''Rocky'', Shir ...

. In a February 2009 interview on '' Anytime with Bob Kushell'', Lehr stated that the caveman makeup took about three hours to apply.

Footnotes

External links

*
Official websiteInterview with John Lehr at WickedInfo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehr, John 1965 births Living people People from Overland Park, Kansas Northwestern University alumni Male actors from Kansas American male comedians 21st-century American comedians American male film actors American male television actors Converts to Judaism Jewish American male actors Jewish American male comedians 21st-century American Jews