Justin Baustert
John O'Hurley putts as his wife, Lisa, watches in the background Saturday at Thornblade Club.
John O’Hurley, known for the role of J. Peterman on the sitcom “Seinfeld”, tore his hamstring during the game. “I took a wide turn coming around third and popped a hamstring,” O’Hurley said Friday after his round at Thornblade Club.
“I saw a sports doctor and he told me it was definitely torn and I couldn’t hurt it any more than it is,” O’Hurley said. “He said play with it. With a torn hamstring it made me swing slower so I actually did better.”
O’Hurley has participated in all 18 of the tournaments BMW Pro-Am tournaments. He rode in a golf cart while his wife, Lisa, and the other golfers walked the course.
“This is one of those tournaments where you are playing your own ball and your score matters,” O’Hurley said. “Obviously your handicap matters, but you’re playing your own ball, not playing a scramble. This is pure golf.
My wife and I are very competitive so this is her opportunity where she can just focus on golf, not worry about being a wife or mother.”
O’Hurley said he is impressed with Greenville’s renaissance. “I have not seen, and I travel to about 30 cities a year, so I get a chance to see some of the greatest cities, hamlets, big ones, metropolises … and I would have to say that within my experience, Greenville is the greatest example of urban renewal of any city in the country. It’s an extraordinary town and I am glad to be part of it. I feel like this is a second home for me.”
O’Hurley also owns a significant part of the J. Peterman Co. catalog. John Peterman, the character O’Hurley played in “Seinfeld”, was bankrupt and asked O’Hurley for help in restarting the company. Since then O’Hurley said, “We are joined at the wrist and ankles for the rest of our lives. It’s the greatest act of identify theft ever.”
O’Hurley also talked about the ultra-successful National Dog Show, adopting a rescue dog, his albums he began orchestrating when he was four-years-old, and an upcoming visit to the Pentagon to discuss his energy company’s technology.
National Dog Show
“John Miller, head of NBC Sports, called me and when I picked up the phone he said, ‘Woof, woof.’ That’s how the whole thing started. He had taken the movie, “Best in Show” and over a weekend decided he was going to do a dog show.
“We were very lucky to have a space of time, two hours on Thanksgiving Day following the Macy’s Parade. It is probably the greatest piece of television programming ever and the most successful ever done. Every single year we get about 30 million people watching the show and it just grows and grows every year. It’s become, 17 years we’ve been doing it now, a family tradition and everybody stops and watches the show from noon to two. Or they cook while they are watching it. It’s something to do if you’re four or 94.”
Adopting a rescue dog
“It was actually a freakish kind of thing. I opened the St. Louis ASPCA, with the keynote address. I went into the back room and took one of the dogs out of there. Dogs find you, you don’t find them and it happened to be this one dog and our eyes met and I said ‘that’s the dog I want to hold for my address. I was holding the dog and the dog kept burrowing deeper into my jacket, and by the time I had finished my remarks there were two little legs sticking out and a tail, that was it. That’s all you saw of the dog so I just concluded my remarks by looking inside my lapel and saying ‘does anybody want to go to Beverly Hills.’”
“Piece of Our Minds”
“I have had these (albums) in my head since I was four-years-old. I have always been composing in my head and they always have stayed in my head … until probably 15 years ago I decided I would put them down. Otherwise they would be lost if anything ever happened to me all the music would be lost.”
Meeting at the Pentagon
“I have a renewable energy company that has a unique technology in the world. It processes any form of waste including sewage, tires, and takes all that stuff and turns it into energy but with zero emissions. I will be meeting with the Pentagon next week and we’re finalizing plans for them to buy into the technology."