Tom Wopat
Encyclopedia
Tom Wopat is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and singer. He first achieved fame as Luke Duke
Luke Duke
Lucas K. "Luke" Duke is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard which ran from 1979 to 1985. Luke was played by Tom Wopat....

 in the long-running 1979 television series The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...

, along with John Schneider
John Schneider (television actor)
John Richard Schneider III is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Bo Duke in the 1980s American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, and as Jonathan Kent on Smallville, a 2001 television adaptation of Superman.Alongside his acting career, Schneider performed as a...

. He also played Jeff, one of Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...

's ex-husbands in the TV series Cybill
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 series revolves around Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her show...

.

Life and career

Wopat was born in Lodi, Wisconsin
Lodi, Wisconsin
Lodi is a city in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the census of 2000, the population was 2,882. The city's estimated 2005 population was 2,929...

. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

, and made his television debut in the daytime drama One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...

; however, he achieved television fame in the popular long-running television series The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...

 (1979–1985).

He also embarked on a music career. He has recorded eight albums. Musically he switches between rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 styles, though his last two albums have been of classic pop standards. The latter recording, Dissertation on the State of Bliss, is a collection of Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...

 songs.

Wopat first appeared on the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 stage as a replacement in the 1977 musical I Love My Wife
I Love My Wife
I Love My Wife is a musical with a book and lyrics by Michael Stewart and music by Cy Coleman, based on a play by Luis Rego.A satire of the sexual revolution of the 1970s, the musical takes place on Christmas Eve in suburban Trenton, New Jersey, where two married couples who have been close friends...

, as "Wally". He then appeared as a replacement in the stage musicals City of Angels
City of Angels (musical)
City of Angels is a musical comedy with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel, and book by Larry Gelbart. The musical weaves together two plots, the "real" world of a writer trying to turn his book into a screenplay, and the "reel" world of the fictional film.-Productions:City of Angels...

, and Guys and Dolls. He finally appeared in the opening cast of the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...

opposite Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...

, Susan Lucci
Susan Lucci
Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the daytime drama All My Children. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with New York Times and Los Angeles Times citing her as the...

 and Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...

, who played Annie Oakley (in consecutive order). He was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 in 1999 for his performance as "Frank Butler". He has since appeared in the revivals of the musicals Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...

and 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...

.

In 1996, Wopat served as host for Dick Clark's new country music performance show on The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...

, Prime Time Country, however his time on the show was short-lived; before the first season was over, Wopat was replaced by Contemporary Christian artist Gary Chapman
Gary Chapman (musician)
Gary Chapman is an American Contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter and former television talk show host.-Early life and music career:...

 as host.

In 2005, Wopat appeared in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 revival of David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...

's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell...

as the browbeaten customer, James Lingk.

On November 3, 2005, a Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...

episode called "Exposed" reunited Tom Wopat and John Schneider. Wopat played Sen. Jack Jennings, an old friend of Jonathan Kent's who comes to Smallville to seek his help in an upcoming campaign.

Wopat starred in the North Carolina Theatre's production of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...

, in the role of Harold Hill in November 2006.

In 2008, Wopat starred on Broadway as the father in the musical A Catered Affair
A Catered Affair
A Catered Affair is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film The Catered Affair written by Gore Vidal and the original 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky, set in 1953 in the Bronx...

, written by Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...

 (book) and John Bucchino
John Bucchino
John Bucchino is an American composer. His hometown is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.He has done work for several off-Broadway shows and highly acclaimed concerts...

 (score), which opened on April 17, 2008 at the Walter Kerr Theatre
Walter Kerr Theatre
The Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....

. He received his second Tony nomination for that performance.

Wopat starred as Detective Jones in the Independent Black Comedy, The Understudy
The Understudy (film)
The Understudy is a 2008 black comedy from British duo David Conolly and Hannah Davis and is their second feature-length film through their Mansion Pictures flagship, which is currently traveling the Film Festival circuit around the world.-Plot:...



Wopat has returned to the Madison area for various occasions, including performances at various area theatres.

Wopat also provided a minor voice part as a member of the "Bloodhounds" on the 2007 release, Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2 is an action/adventure video game developed by Rockstar Games and the sequel to 2003's Manhunt. The game was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii on October 29, 2007....

 video game.

On May 26, 2008, Wopat sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America
God Bless America
"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song ....

" at the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals MLB game.

In 2009, he appeared opposite Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

 in Taking Chance
Taking Chance
Taking Chance is a 2009 historical drama film based upon the experiences of Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl , who escorts the body of a fallen Marine, PFC Chance Phelps , back to his hometown from the Iraq War....

, the HBO production about the returning home of a young man named Chance Phelps
Chance Phelps
Chance Russell Phelps was a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps who served with 2nd Platoon, Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.Phelps was killed in Iraq as the convoy he was...

, a United States Marine, who was killed in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. Wopat plays Phelps' father in the movie, which is based on a true story.

On April 21 and 22, 2009, Wopat appeared at the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 Lyric Opera House in the musical "Chicago" as the greedy lawyer Billy Flynn. He has played this part in national touring productions.

Wopat, along with Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...

, took part in a workshop of a new musical, Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...

, in July 2007. It is based on the 2002 film directed by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...

. In July 2009, Wopat originated the role of Frank Abignale, Sr. in the musical "Catch Me if You Can" from July 2009 to August 2009 at the 5th Avenue Theatre
5th Avenue Theatre
The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theater building located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land is owned by the University of Washington and was once part of the original campus...

, Seattle, Washington.

Wopat is featured in the new musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim
Sondheim on Sondheim
Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The revue had a limited run on Broadway in 2010.-Background:...

, conceived and directed by James Lapine
James Lapine
James Lapine is an American stage director and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.-Biography:Lapine was born in Mansfield, Ohio and graduated...

, presenting the life and works of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

. The revue premiered on Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre's Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...

 on March 19, 2010 in previews and closed on June 27.
The show was a hit with Wopat a highlight - alongside Barbara Cook. In September 2011 it was announced that Wopat would take on a relatively small role in Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...

's new film Django Unchained.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1979–85 Luke Duke Television series
1980 Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...

David Chilton Episode: "Flying Aces/The Mermaid Returns"
1983 Luke Duke 7 episodes
1984 Story, Songs and Stars Television program
1984 Burning Rage Tom Silver Television program
1987 Christmas Comes to Willow Creek
Christmas Comes to Willow Creek
Christmas Comes to Willow Creek is a 1987 American film made for TV and directed by Richard Lang and produced by Billie André and Blue André The screenplay was written by Michael Norell and Andy Siegel,...

Pete Television program
1988 Blue Skies Frank Cobb Television series
1989 Dr. Jed McFadden 12 episodes
1992 Just My Imagination Bobby Rex Television program
1995–98 Cybill
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 series revolves around Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her show...

Jeff Robbins Television series
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series 
1996 Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...

Bill Dawson Episode: "Kendo Killing"
1997 Contagious Sam Television program
1997 Crisis Center Chuck Goodman Episode: "Someone to Watch Over Me"
1997 Luke Duke Television program
1997–98 Home Improvement Ian Episodes: "Jill's Passion", "Taking Jill for Granite"
1998 Meteorites! Tom Johnson Television program
1999 Luke Duke Video game
2000 Luke Duke Television program
2001 100 Centre Street
100 Centre Street
100 Centre Street is an American legal drama created by Sidney Lumet and starring Alan Arkin.-Premise:The show takes its name for the street address of the criminal division of the New York Supreme Court for New York County. The show aired in the United States on the A&E Network cable television...

Hanley Rand Episode: "Lost Causes"
2001–02 All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

Hank Pelham unknown episodes
2004 Luke Duke Video game
2005 Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...

Senator Jack Jennings Episode: "Exposed"
2006 Standoff
Standoff (TV series)
Standoff is an American drama series that premiered on the Fox network on September 5, 2006. Created by Craig Silverstein, the series focused on an FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit whose members negotiated hostage situations and shared relationships. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television...

Rick Keeslar Episode: "Pilot"
2006 Bonneville
Bonneville (film)
Bonneville is a 2006 American dramedy film directed by Christopher N. Rowley. The screenplay by Daniel D. Davis is based on a story by Davis and Rowley.-Plot:...

Arlo
2007 Voice role
2008 Bill Television program
2008 Detective Jones
2009 Taking Chance
Taking Chance
Taking Chance is a 2009 historical drama film based upon the experiences of Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl , who escorts the body of a fallen Marine, PFC Chance Phelps , back to his hometown from the Iraq War....

John Phelps Television program
2010 Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...

Wilkins Brother #2 Episode: "Just Passing Through/Candace's Big Day"
2010 Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex (film)
Jonah Hex is a 2010 post-Civil War antihero Western film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character, Jonah Hex, and also stars John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender,...

Colonel Slocum

Albums

Year Album
1983 Tom Wopat
1987 A Little Bit Closer
1990 Don't Look Back
1992 Learning to Love
1995 Hands On
2000 In the Still of the Night
2005 Tom Wopat Sings Harold Arlen:
Dissertation on the State of Bliss
2009 Consider it Swung

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions Album
US Country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

CAN Country
1986 "True Love (Never Did Run Smooth)" 39 A Little Bit Closer
"I Won't Let You Down" 44
1987 "The Rock and Roll of Love" 16 14
"Put Me Out of My Misery" 28 25
"Susannah" 20
1988 "A Little Bit Closer" 18
"Hey Little Sister" 40 singles only
"Not Enough Love" 29
1991 "Too Many Honky Tonks (On My Way Home)" 46 46 Learning to Love
"Back to the Well" 51 54

External links

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