Michael Ontkean

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Michael Leonard Ontkean (born January 24, 1946) is a retired Canadian actor.

Ontkean, born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, moved to the United States to complete a hockey scholarship before embarking on a university in New Hampshire to study acting in the early 1970s. He first came to fame on the crime drama series The Rookies (1972-74), followed by lead roles in the hockey sports comedy film Slap Shot (1977) and the romantic comedy Willie & Phil (1980).

In 1982, he appeared opposite Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson in the film Making Love, in which he played a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality.

Ontkean appeared in films such as Clara's Heart (1988) and Postcards from the Edge (1990), before being cast as Sheriff Harry S. Truman on David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990–1991), the role in which he is most well known.

Early life

Ontkean was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Muriel (née Cooper), an actress, and Leonard Ontkean, a boxer and comedian. He appeared in Vancouver as a child actor on the Canadian television show Hudson's Bay (1959). His family later moved to Toronto, where he attended St. Michael's Choir School and Holy Rosary Catholic School before attending St. Michael's College School. He grew up playing hockey and he received a hockey scholarship to the University of New Hampshire, a Division I program in the ECAC. Ontkean scored 63 goals and 111 points in 85 games played during his three years on the varsity team. With 30 goals, he led the team in goal scoring in junior year, and second second behind fellow Canadian Louis Frigon in senior year.

Personal life

Michael was married to Jamie Smith-Jackson, an actor and design consultant, and the founder of Jamie Jackson Design. Jenna Millman and Sadie Sapphire Ontkean's two children were born later in life; they now have two children.

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Career

Ontkean began acting in The Partridge Family in 1971, and he was a television guest star on programs like Ironside and Longstreet, but his break came in the ABC series The Rookies (1972–1976), in which he played Officer Willie Gillis for the first two seasons. In The Rookies, actor Bruce Fairbairn was recalled. Ontkean's hockey skills contributed to his debut in Slap Shot (1977), when he did all of his on-ice shots himself. He appeared in the first episode of Tales of the Unexpected in 1979.

Necromancy (1972) with Orson Welles; Voices (1980) with Orson Blake; The Right of the People (1985) with Orson Welles (1984); Kids Don't Tell (1985) with Kate Baker; and Children's Heart (1989) with Clara Grayberg (1989).

Making Love (1982) is about a married man who discovers his homosexuality. Ontkean was not the director's first choice for the film: Arthur Hiller had already approached Tom Berenger, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, William Hurt, and Peter Strauss to act in the lead before arriving ontkean. According to Hiller, the majority of actors' reaction was to tell him not to even consider them for the role. Ontkean with Kate Jackson was reunited in the film; the two had previously co-starred together in The Rookies. Ontkean attempted to prevent clips from the film from being included in The Celluloid Closet, a 1996 documentary about LGBT characters in film, but it was unsuccessful.

In David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks (1990-1991), Ontkean appeared as Sheriff Harry S. Truman. He filmed scenes for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, but unfortunately, many scenes from the original TV series were cut from the final film.

Ontkean appeared in many film and television productions, including In Defense of a Married Man (1990) with Valerie Bertinelli; In a Child's Name (1991); a sequel to Ontkean's (1992); Swann's Ontkean (1990); In Defence of a Soldier's Name (1991); and In Defense of a Child's Name (1992) with Elaine Bertinelli; The New Mafia (both 1996);

Ontkean appeared on Fox's short-lived series North Shore in 2004 and also appeared in the 2008 comedy TV series Sophie.

He appeared in The Descendants, 2011, which was his last film appearance before he ceased to act. The film was shot in Hawaii, where he lives.

Ontkean was asked to reprise his role as Sheriff Truman for the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks. Ontkean was apparently excited about returning to the role and enlisted Twin Peaks authority Brad Dukes to assist him in finding the jacket he wore on the show. The Dukes discovered a good replica, bought it and sent it to Ontkean. However, Ontkean officially dropped out of the Twin Peaks revival in 2015, for reasons that were not revealed. "We last talked in August, and he told me he wasn't going to Washington at all." I told him that I was shocked to hear this. I'm perplexed, rather than being heartbroken. Without Michael Ontkean as Sheriff Harry S., Twin Peaks would not be twin Peaks. Truman" trumps.

Ontkean's role was ontkean's, after Robert Forster, portraying Sheriff Truman's brother Frank. Forster was initially David Lynch's first attempt to play Harry Truman in 1990.

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