John Christopher Jones obit

John Christopher Jones Dies: Actor Who Appeared On Broadway In ‘Hurlyburly’, ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Was 77

 He was not on the list.

John Christopher Jones, an actor whose more than a dozen Broadway credits include David Rabe’s Hurlyburly, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and the 1993 musical adaptation of The Goodbye Girl, died September 15 in New York from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 77.

His death was announced on social media by his wife, MaryBeth Coudal, whose post noted that despite the challenge of battling Parkinson’s for more than 22 years, Jones “never allowed his diminishing abilities to dampen his extraordinary creative output and unwavering enthusiasm for the theater.”

Born into what Coudal describes as a theatrical family in Greenfield, Mass., Jones later studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in the early 1970s and was a founding member of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass.

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1975 in a production of Anthony Scully’s Little Black Sheep, returning two years later in Simon Gray’s Otherwise Engaged, directed by Harold Pinter. Subsequent Broadway credits include Hurlyburly, directed by Mike Nichols; The Goodbye Girl, directed by Gene Saks; Democracy, directed by Michael Blakemore; and Beauty and the Beast, directed by Rob Roth.

Among his many Off Broadway credits are Aristocrats by Brian Friel, Tartuffe by Molière, Gray’s Quartermaine’s Terms, Tony Kushner’s Slavs!, Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire and Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies.

Jones, who also directed Off Broadway and translated such classics as Turgenev’s A Month in the Country and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, also appeared in movies and television series, including the films Moonstruck, In & Out and Awakenings. On TV, he appeared in episodes of The Sopranos and New Amsterdam, among others, and was a series regular in the sitcoms On Our Own (1977) and The Popcorn Kid (1987).

Jones was featured in Jim Bernfield’s 2021 documentary Me to Play, which chronicled the challenges faced by Jones and his friend and fellow actor Dan Moran – both were battling Parkinson’s – as they attempted to stage Samuel Beckett’s Endgame Off Broadway.

According to his wife, Jones was writing a memoir at the time of his death. In addition to Coudal, he is survived by children Hayden Coudal Jones, Catherine Elizabeth Jones, and Charlotte “Char” Louise Jones.

Actor

Rebound Redux (2025)

Rebound Redux

Short

PJ

2025

 

Aasif Mandvi, Katja Herbers, and Mike Colter in Evil (2019)

Evil

7.8

TV Series

Professor Johan Taupin

2024

1 episode

 

Ryan Eggold in New Amsterdam (2018)

New Amsterdam

7.9

TV Series

Bob Rayburn

2021

1 episode

 

Amy's Horse (2015)

Amy's Horse

Podcast Series

Clerk

2015

1 episode

 

Tony Goldwyn, Maura Tierney, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Mehcad Brooks, and Odelya Halevi in Law & Order (1990)

Law & Order

7.8

TV Series

Larry NovakRaymond MaxwellDennis Shearer

1991–2009

3 episodes

 

The Village (2004)

The Village

6.6

Robert Percy

2004

 

Benjamin Franklin (2002)

Benjamin Franklin

8.0

TV Mini Series

Ephraim Eliot

2002

3 episodes

 

Alan Arkin, Paula Devicq, Manny Perez, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and Joseph Lyle Taylor in 100 Centre Street (2001)

100 Centre Street

7.9

TV Series

2002

1 episode

 

Tom Cavanagh in Ed (2000)

Ed

7.6

TV Series

Jim Frawley

2001

1 episode

 

Lorraine Bracco, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steven Van Zandt, Dominic Chianese, Robert Iler, Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Aida Turturro in The Sopranos (1999)

The Sopranos

9.2

TV Series

Kevin Cullen

2000

1 episode

 

Denzel Washington in The Hurricane (1999)

The Hurricane

7.6

Reporter at Bar

1999

 

Earthly Possessions (1999)

Earthly Possessions

6.1

TV Movie

Marvel Hodge

1999

 

Dellaventura (1997)

Dellaventura

7.3

TV Series

Doctor Benson

1997

1 episode

 

Dan Aykroyd, Brendon Ryan Barrett, Spencer Breslin, Courtney Chase, Michael Finiguerra, Dakin Matthews, and Kevin Sheridan in Soul Man (1997)

Soul Man

6.1

TV Series

Ross

1997

1 episode

 

Kevin Kline in In & Out (1997)

In & Out

6.4

Bachelor Party Guest

1997

 

Rescuing Desire (1996)

Rescuing Desire

7.1

Jim

1996

 

The Substance of Fire (1996)

The Substance of Fire

6.0

Book Binder

1996

 

As the World Turns (1956)

As the World Turns

6.3

TV Series

Al

1995

1 episode

 

Mr. Wonderful (1993)

Mr. Wonderful

5.9

Miller

1993

 

The Secret (1992)

The Secret

6.0

TV Movie

Link

1992

 

The Bruce Diet (1992)

The Bruce Diet

3.9

Short

Bruce

1992

 

Kevin Spacey in Darrow (1991)

Darrow

6.1

TV Movie

Edgar Lee Masters

1991

 

Monsters (1988)

Monsters

7.3

TV Series

Officer Parkhurst

1991

1 episode

 

Robert De Niro and Robin Williams in Awakenings (1990)

Awakenings

7.8

Dr. Sullivan

1990

 

Mickey Rourke in Desperate Hours (1990)

Desperate Hours

5.4

Neff

1990

 

Misplaced (1989)

Misplaced

8.0

David

1989

 

Scott Bakula in Eisenhower & Lutz (1988)

Eisenhower & Lutz

7.0

TV Series

Forrest

1988

1 episode

 

Cher in Moonstruck (1987)

Moonstruck

7.2

Lowell

1987

 

Penelope Ann Miller, Faith Ford, Raye Birk, John Christopher Jones, Jeff Joseph, and Bruce Norris in The Popcorn Kid (1987)

The Popcorn Kid

7.3

TV Series

Marlin Bond

1987

6 episodes

 

Spenser: For Hire (1985)

Spenser: For Hire

7.3

TV Series

Fred Taylor

1987

1 episode

 

Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)

Amazing Stories

7.4

TV Series

Vin Colbeck

1986

1 episode

 

George Segal and Shelley Hack in Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer (1983)

Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer

5.5

TV Movie

Artist

1983

 

Bess Armstrong, Dixie Carter, Lynnie Greene, John Christopher Jones, Dan Resin, and Gretchen Wyler in On Our Own (1977)

On Our Own

6.5

TV Series

Eddie Barnes

1977–1978

21 episodes

 

Self

Dan Moran in Me to Play (2021)

Me to Play

8.0

SelfClov

2021