John Larroquette (‘Night Court’) on being an Emmy legend with 4 consecutive wins before dropping out of the race [Exclusive Video Interview]
Actor John Larroquette is an Emmy legend for two reasons. He won as Best Comedy Supporting Actor four consecutive times for the original version of “Night Court” (1985-88). That ties him for second place all-time with David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”), with both men just behind Don Knotts (“The Andy Griffith Show”), who had five victories. The other legendary quality is that he pulled his name off the Emmy ballot after that fourth win and dropped completely out of the race, something very few champs have done before.
In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above), he admits, “I’m not that altruistic” in reference to the reason possibly being to let other supporting actors win. He adds, “As we got to that fifth season, I thought that Dan Fielding has been a great character. I didn’t think that the work deserved more attention. It wasn’t so that somebody else could win at all.”
Of his first Emmy victory, he reveals that he was “overwhelmed” with any thought of the ceremony: “I don’t think it’s much of a secret that I got sober in 1982, the year before ‘Night Court’ came along. So life itself, this brand new, not scary blissful five years… was a great ride.”
The new incarnation of “Night Court” stars Melissa Rauch as the daughter of original character Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson), who is now the newly-appointed judge. Larroquette returns as attorney Dan Fielding, but he is the public defense attorney now and not the district attorney. Of that character change, he says, “If we’re going to do this, he has to be very different than he was. He’s 35 years older than he was. I had built this world for him (following the conclusion in the early 1990s), where we find him again and his life is very, very different. He’s a widower and had found someone who really loved him, and he loved her… All of sudden, he was left alone again” as a recluse.
In addition to his four Emmy wins mentioned above, Larroquette also won for his guest role as the diabolical Joey Heric on “The Practice.” He received another bid for that drama series as well as a lead nomination for “The John Larroquette Show.” He prevailed at the Tony Awards as a featured actor opposite Daniel Radcliffe in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
“Night Court” once again airs on NBC and is also streaming on Peacock.
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