Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent

Fritz Howard Formerly an FBI Special Agent, Fritz Howard, who is now Deputy Chief of the LAPD Special Operations Bureau, is a fictional character featured in the TNT programs ''The Closer'' and '' Major Crimes'', and is portrayed by Jon Tenney. Fritz received ...

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

's ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Brenda has a reputation as a c ...

'' and continued in its spinoff '' Major Crimes''.

Early life

Tenney was born in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. His mother, Dr. Lillian Sandra Baum, was a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, and his father, Frederick Haworth Tenney, was a research

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

. His maternal grandparents were

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

immigrants, while his paternal forebears were of English ancestry. He received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1984, where he majored in drama and philosophy. He later attended

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

's Drama Division as a member of ''Group 19'' (1986–1990).

Career

Tenney made his acting debut in a touring production of

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

' ''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

''. He worked steadily on and

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 ...

, and in

regional theater A regional theater or resident theater in the United States is a professional or semi-professional theater company that produces its own seasons. The term ''regional theater'' most often refers to a professional theater outside New York City. A reg ...

. At

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 ...

, his stage credits include '' Biloxi Blues'', ''

The Substance of Fire ''The Substance of Fire'' is a play by Jon Robin Baitz. Overview Isaac Geldhart is a survivor of the Holocaust. He arrived in New York City an orphan, reinvented himself as a bon vivant, married well, and found fame and fortune as a champion of a ...

'' and ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry James ...

''. He began working on television, starring in a number of short-lived series, including

Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco Masterson (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, including ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Cop Rock'' ...

's ''

Brooklyn South ''Brooklyn South'' is an American ensemble police drama television series that aired on CBS for one season from September 22, 1997, to April 27, 1998. It was aired during the 1997–98 television season. The series was co-created by Steven Boc ...

'',

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

's sitcom '' Kristin'', and guest appearances on ''

Cybill ''Cybill'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of tw ...

'', ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), ...

'', ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...

'', '' Spenser: for Hire'' and '' Get Real''. Series with Tenney as a regular were canceled on all four major networks. From 2005 to 2012, Tenney played Special Agent

, the husband of Deputy Chief

Brenda Leigh Johnson Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (portrayed by Kyra Sedgwick) is a fictional character and the main protagonist featured in TNT's ''The Closer''. She heads the Major Crimes Division (formerly the Priority Homicide Division) of the Los Angeles ...

(

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick (; born August 19, 1965) is an American actress, producer and director. For her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama ''The Closer'', she won a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Awa ...

) in

's ''

''. For the 4th season of Lifetime's ''

The Division ''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The ...

'' in 2004, he played Hank Riley. When ''The Closer'' ended he continued to act in its spin-off, '' Major Crimes,'' from 2012 to 2018, with Howard becoming an LAPD deputy chief in the third season. Later, he portrayed Dr. Simon Craig, a love interest of Nora Walker (

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

) in '' Brothers & Sisters''. In 2013, he starred with

Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell (née Romijn ; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model (person), model. She is known for her role as Mystique (comics), Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the X-Men (film series), ...

's ''

King & Maxwell ''King & Maxwell'' is an American drama television series that ran on TNT from June 10 to August 12, 2013. The series featured Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn as Washington, D.C.–based former Secret Service agents solving crimes as private detect ...

'', as Sean King, a former Secret Service agent and lawyer who works as a private investigator. The series was canceled after one season. In 2014, he was cast in a recurring role on

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', it ...

' drama series ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

''. Tenney appeared in several films, including the villainous CEO of Benbrook Oil Company in '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' and the friend of Alex Whitman (

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...

) in '' Fools Rush In''. He also starred in small roles for some films, including '' Tombstone'', ''

Beverly Hills Cop III ''Beverly Hills Cop III'' is a 1994 American action comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by John Landis, who had previously worked with Murphy on ''Trading Places'' and ''Coming to America''. It is the third film in the ''Beverly Hill ...

'', ''

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

'', '' Music from Another Room'' and the 2009 horror film remake of '' The Stepfather''. He also appeared in

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...

's film, '' Rabbit Hole''. He portrayed Martin Jordan in the 2011 superhero film ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

''.

Personal life

From 1994 to 2003, Tenney was married to

Teri Hatcher Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997); Paris Carver in the ''James Bond'' film ''Tomor ...

, with whom he has a daughter, Emerson Rose Tenney. He married producer

Leslie Urdang Leslie R. Urdang (born 1956) is an American film producer and theatre executive. Education Urdang attended Forest Hills High School in New York City, where she was Chairman of ''Senior SING! 1972'' during her senior year, and at which she wa ...

on June 16, 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenney, Jon 1961 births American people of English descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from New Jersey People from Princeton, New Jersey Vassar College alumni Juilliard School alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Jewish American male actors 21st-century American Jews American Ashkenazi Jews