David Naughton

David Walsh Naughton (born February 13, 1951) is an American actor and singer known for his starring roles in the horror film An American Werewolf in London (1981) and the Disney comedy Midnight Madness (1980), as well as for a long-running "Be a Pepper" ad campaign for beverage maker Dr Pepper. He also starred in the short-lived sitcom Makin' It and sang its hit theme song "Makin' It", giving him a Top 5 hit on the Billboard charts.[1]

David Naughton
Naughton at the 2011 Weekend of Horrors.
Born	David Walsh Naughton February 13, 1951 West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Denise Stephens ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1983)​ Deborah Dutton ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 2005)​ Seann Sara Sella ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2009)​ Cheryl L Naughton ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2
Relatives	James Naughton (brother)

Early life

Naughton was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Rosemary (née Walsh) and Joseph Naughton, both of whom were teachers. He is the younger brother of theater and film actor James Naughton. His family is Irish American.[2] Naughton attended the University of Pennsylvania[3] and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[4] Naughton was an Assistant Stage Manager and Understudy for the Broadway production of Hugh Leonard's Da.[5]

Career

Naughton first became widely known as a result of his four-year stint (1977-1981) singing and dancing in television commercials and personal appearances to promote Dr Pepper.[6] He starred in the sitcom Makin' It and hit the Billboard Top Ten in 1979 with the sitcom's theme song, also titled "Makin' It." A US million selling disc, the track also peaked at #44 in the UK Singles Chart.[7] He starred in the Disney comedy Midnight Madness (1980) followed by his lead role in the Academy Award-winning horror film An American Werewolf in London (1981). He also appeared in the television series My Sister Sam and also in episodes of MacGyver, Melrose Place, Murder, She Wrote, JAG and Seinfeld. Dr Pepper ended its relationship with Naughton after he appeared naked in An American Werewolf in London.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Midnight Madness	Adam Larson
1981	Separate Ways	Jerry Lansing
	An American Werewolf in London	David Kessler
1984	Hot Dog…The Movie	Dan
	Not for Publication	Barry Denver
	Terror in the Aisles	David Kessler	Archival footage
1986	The Boy in Blue	Bill
	Separate Vacations	Richard Moore
1987	Kidnapped	Vince McCarthy
1988	Private Affairs	Mauro
1990	The Sleeping Car	Jason McCree
	Overexposed	Phillip
1991	Steel and Lace	Dunn
1993	Wild Cactus	Philip Marcus
	Amityville: A New Generation	Dick Cutler	Direct-to-video
1994	Desert Steel	Zach
	Beanstalk	Mr. Ladd
	Caribbean Kill	N/A
1995	Ice Cream Man	Martin Cassera
	The Adventures of Black Feather	Professeur Byrd
	Mirror, Mirror III: The Voyeur	Detective Kobeck
1996	Urban Safari	Joe
2000	Little Insect	Buzz	Voice only
2001	A Crack in the Floor	EMT Driver
	Flying Virus	Dr. Stephen North
2003	Wonderful Days	Commander Locke Dr. Noah	Voice only: English version
2006	Big Bad Wolf	Sheriff Ruben
2007	Brutal Massacre: A Comedy	Harry Penderecki
	Hallows Point	Shopkeeper
2009	Little Hercules in 3-D	Dwayne Harr
2012	A Thousand Cuts	Alan
2013	Cool as Hell	Clark
2017	Do It or Die	Herb Clough
	The Hatred	Walter

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	Planet of the Apes	Dr. Stole	Episode: "The Surgeon"
1976	Muggsy	Danny Atwater	Episode: "Hit and Run"
	The Other Side of Victory	N/A	Television movie
1979	Makin' It	Billy Manucci	9 episodes
1982	I, Desire	David Balsiger	Television movie
1983	The Love Boat	Edwin Winnaker	Episode: "Fountain of Youth/Bad Luck Cabin/Uncle Daddy"
	At Ease	Pfc. Tony Baker	14 episodes
1984	Getting Physical	Mickey Ritter	Television movie
1986-1988	My Sister Sam	Jack Kincaid	44 episodes
1988	Goddess of Love	Ted Beckman	Television movie
	Murder, She Wrote	Ken Parrish	Episode: "Wearing of the Green"
1989	The Twilight Zone	John Sellick	Episode: "Special Service"
1991	The Belles of Bleeker Street	Chris	Episode: "Pilot"
	MacGyver	LaManna	Episode: "Honest Abe"
	Seinfeld	Dick	Episode: "The Red Dot"
1993	Body Bags	Pete	Television movie ("The Gas Station" segment)
	Basic Values: Sex, Shock & Censorship in the 90's	Brad	Television movie
1994	Diagnosis: Murder	Harry Gelson	Episode: "My Four Husbands"
1994-1995	Turbocharged Thunderbirds	Scott Tracy Virgil Tracy Additional Voices	Voice only
1996	Melrose Place	Lou Chandler	Episode: "Run, Billy, Run"
	Touched by an Angel	Michael Russell	Episode: "Birthmarks"
	Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.	Norm Kipper	Episodes: "Movin' Up", "Trust Me"
1997	Cybill	Andy	Episodes: "Bachelor Party", "Little Bo Peep"
1998	Chance of a Lifetime	Art Haber	Television movie
	Silk Stalkings	Max Behring	Episode: "Ramone, P.I."
1999	V.I.P.	Roy	Episode: "K-Val"
	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Paul Dinsman	Episode: "It's Never Too Late"
2000, 2001	JAG	Det. Grady	Episodes: "JAG TV", "Past Tense"
2001	ER	Ben Stevens	Episode: "Thy Will Be Done"
	Kate Brasher	Ames	Episode: "Tracy"
	Out of the Wilderness	Professor Byrd	Television movie
	The Nightmare Room	Mr. Ryan	Episode: "Tangled Web"
2002	Justice League	The Streak	Episodes: "Legends", "Legends: Part II"
2005	Higglytown Heroes	Orchestra Conductor Hero	Episode: "Say What?/Higgly Harmonies"
	Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder	Steven	Television movie
2009	Psych	Dr. Ken Tucker	Episode: "Let's Get Hairy"
2010	Big Love	Mr. Usher	Episode: "Next Ticket Out"
2011	The Mentalist	Neurologist	Episode: "Fugue in Red"
2012	Major Crimes	State Senator McAustin	Episode: "The Shame Game"
2013	Grey's Anatomy	Nick Parker	Episode: "Transplant Wasteland"
2013-2015	Granite Flats	Dr. Millard Whittison	23 episodes
2013	Holliston	Mark Ward	Episode: "Joe's Soda"
2015	American Horror Story	Mr. Samuels	Episode: "Mommy"
2017	Sharknado 5: Global Swarming	Ambassador Kessler	Television movie
2018	SuperMansion	Himself	Episode: "Comicarnage"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure	Manfred
2006	Marvel Ultimate Alliance	Mr. Fantastic
2016	Fallout 4: WRVR	Traveler
2017	Saga of the Nine Worlds	Guard Captain	The Four Stags Collector's Edition
2018	Project Pro Skater	God

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Location	Other work/Notes
1975-1976	Hamlet	Francisco Player Queen Ensemble	Vivian Beaumont Theater	Understudy for Osric
1978-1980	Da		Morosco Theatre	Assistant Stage Manager Understudy for Young Charlie

References

1. "Billboard Top 40 Hits (1979) at cyList".
2. "Actor's angels heaven-sent James Naughton has waited a lifetime for this 'breakout' role". Miami Herald. 3 June 1990. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
3. "David Naughton Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010.
4. Reilly, Sue (28 September 1981). "David Naughton Trades Dr Pepper for London Moonshine". People. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
5. League, The Broadway. "Da – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB".
6. Auden, Sandy (2006). "Getting Naked: An American Werewolf in London Revealed -- An Interview with David Naughton". The SF Site. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 388. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

• David Naughton at IMDb
• David Naughton at the Internet Broadway Database
• David Naughton at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• David Naughton at the TCM Movie Database
• David Naughton at AllMovie
• David Naughton at AllMusic
• "David Naughton at The Official John Carpenter website". 2001. Archived from the original on May 13, 2001.