David Naughton

David Walsh Naughton (born February 13, 1951)^[1] is an American actor and singer. He is 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.^[2]

David Naughton
Naughton at Nightmare Weekend Richmond in 2023
Born	David Walsh Naughton (1951-02-13) February 13, 1951 (age 74) West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art University of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1974–present
Spouses	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 on February 13, 1951, in West Hartford, Connecticut,^[1] the son of Rosemary (née Walsh) and Joseph Naughton, both of whom were teachers. He is the younger of two boys; his older brother is theater and film actor James Naughton. His family is Irish-American.^[3]

Naughton attended the University of Pennsylvania^[4] and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[5] He earned a soccer scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania where he studied drama and graduated in 1973.^[6] He then moved to London to further his acting training.^[6] After two years in London, he moved to New York where he worked as a waiter and pursued his acting career.^[6]

Career

Naughton's professional acting debut was in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Hamlet starring Sam Waterston.^[6][7] Naughton subsequently found steady work in various other local theater productions.^[6] He was an Assistant Stage Manager and Understudy for the Broadway production of Hugh Leonard's Da.^[8]

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.^[9] The commercials were considered creative and wildly popular.^[6] They involved Naughton dancing and singing in a Broadway musical style while handing out bottles of the beverage to people who then followed his lead Pied Piper style.^[6] The commercials won numerous Clio awards, and involved a multitude of celebrities from Mickey Rooney and Jimmie Walker to Fred Flintstone and Popeye.^[7]

By 1981, Naughton was at the height of his success as a soft drink spokesperson, but he wanted to try other ventures and decided to end his role in the commercials.^[7] Though the main commercial stint ended in 1981, Naughton occasionally returned to the pitchman role for the soft drink. In 1988, he did a commercial for Diet Dr. Pepper that was reminiscent of the earlier commercials.^[7] In 2010, Naughton joined a flash mob singing the iconic jingle at the New York Stock Exchange.^[7]

His popularity from the commercials led to him being cast as the star of the sitcom Makin' It.^[6] In 1979, he also recorded the show's theme song, Billboard, which was also titled "Makin' It."^[1][7] A US million selling disc, the track also peaked at No. 44 in the UK Singles Chart.^[10] The sitcom itself was less successful and lasted only 9 episodes, but his career continued to blossom. The next year, he starred in his first film, the Disney comedy Midnight Madness (1980).

That lead role then led to a starring role in a higher profile film: An American Werewolf in London (1981). The firm was directed by John Landis, who had already made a name for himself with National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and the Blues Brothers (1980). An American Werewolf in London was a comedy-horror film whose special effects and make-up (used to show the werewolf metamorphosis) were particularly innovative for their time.^[11] Rick Baker's make-up work won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Make-up.^[11] The film was a critical and box office hit.^[12]

After the success of An American Werewolf in London, Naughton continued to work steadily, but never regained the same level of success. He appeared in various lesser known movies, as well as smaller roles in numerous episodes of television shows including MacGyver, Melrose Place, Murder, She Wrote, JAG, and Seinfeld.

From 1986-1988, Naughton had a reoccurring role on My Sister Sam as the goofy ex-boyfriend of the series' main character, which was played by Pam Dawber. Naughton appeared in 19 episodes.^[13] The series had a strong first season, but was cancelled due to low ratings in its second season.^[14] The following year, the series co-star, Rebecca Schaefer, was murdered at her apartment by a stalker who had pursued her for three years.^[14] In the wake of the tragedy, several actors from the sitcom including Naughton did a PSA to raise awareness of handgun violence.^[15]

Personal life

Naughton has been married four times and divorced three times. In 2008, he was arrested for domestic violence in Henderson, Nevada.^[6][16]

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	Director Howard Avedis
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 Gardener
	Beanstalk	Mr. Ladd
	Caribbean Kill	N/A
1995	Ice Cream Man	Martin Cassera	Direct-to-video
	The Adventures of Black Feather	Professeur Byrd
	Mirror, Mirror III: The Voyeur	Detective Kobeck
1996	Urban Safari	Joe
2000	Little Insect	Buzz	Voice
2001	A Crack in the Floor	EMT Driver
	Flying Virus	Dr. Stephen North
2003	Sky Blue	Commander Locke Dr. Noah	Voice, English dub[17]
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
2023	Waking Nightmare	Dr. Doolin

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 film
1979	Makin' It	Billy Manucci	9 episodes
1982	I, Desire	David Balsiger	Television film
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 film
1986–1988	My Sister Sam	Jack Kincaid	44 episodes
1988	Goddess of Love	Ted Beckman	Television film
	Murder, She Wrote	Ken Parrish	Episode: "Wearing of the Green"
1989	The Twilight Zone	John Sellig	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 film ("The Gas Station" segment)
	Basic Values: Sex, Shock & Censorship in the 90's	Brad	Television film
1994	Diagnosis: Murder	Harry Gelson	Episode: "My Four Husbands"
1994–1995	Turbocharged Thunderbirds	Scott Tracy, Virgil Tracy, additional voices	Voice
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	2 episodes
1997	Cybill	Andy	2 episodes
1998	Chance of a Lifetime	Art Haber	Television film
	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	2 episodes
2001	ER	Ben Stevens	Episode: "Thy Will Be Done"
	Kate Brasher	Ames	Episode: "Tracy"
	Out of the Wilderness	Professor Byrd	Television film
	The Nightmare Room	Mr. Ryan	Episode: "Tangled Web"
2002	Justice League	The Streak	Voice, episode: "Legends"
2005	Higglytown Heroes	Orchestra Conductor Hero	Voice, episode: "Higgly Harmonies"[17]
	Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder	Steven	Television film
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 film
2018	SuperMansion	Himself	Voice, episode: "Comicarnage"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure	Manfred	[17]
2006	Marvel Ultimate Alliance	Mister Fantastic	[17]
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