Military TV, Television - Military Times

Comic Jay Mohr revels in being singled out for ‘Gary’

LOS ANGELES — Funny how you feel like you’ve seen Jay Mohr somewhere before.

He has been a comedian since his teen years, but he has made a living playing in the background.

He’s the kind of guy you see at the airport, squint and try to figure out where you know him from.

For the record, you may recognize him from two seasons with “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-’90s; as a sleazy sports agent in “Jerry Maguire”; as Jennifer Aniston’s love interest in 1997’s “Picture Perfect”; as a Hollywood producer in Fox’s short-lived series “Action”; as the first host of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing ”competition; and, most recently, from a recurring role on CBS’ “Ghost Whisperer.”

Now Mohr, 38, has a sitcom to call his very own: CBS’ “Gary Unmarried,” a freshman series in which he plays a recently divorced father who shares custody of two children (Ryan Malgarini and Kathryn Newton), re-entering the dating scene as he deals with his ex (Paula Marshall).

Mohr says he can certainly relate to the show’s premise. He’s divorced from former model Nicole Chamberlain, with whom he has a 6-year-old son, Jackson.

He married actress Nikki Cox in December 2006.

Mohr says more children are in the works — “we’re full-steam ahead with that” — but this really is the happiest he has ever been, he says, sitting on a stage couch on the studio set.

“I’m just a different guy. I never thought I would be so happy and so still and so quiet.

“I’ve never been at a place where I actually wanted nothing, with the exception of more of what’s going on right now.”

More for Mohr is on the way. CBS is pairing “Gary Unmarried” with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ “New Adventures of Old Christine” on Wednesdays in hopes of establishing a second evening of comedies beyond its Monday night power lineup. “Gary” is averaging 7.2 million viewers a week, enough to earn a full-season pickup.

Mohr appreciates the vote of confidence. “It’s kind of like being rewarded just for hanging into show business for the last 20 years,” he says. “Every job I didn’t get was worth it for this job.”

In his recent acting roles, he missed the ability to make people laugh, he says. And he’s a longtime fan of the old-fashioned sitcom format.

“There are so many one-hour procedural shows out there,” he says, “and it’s like they’re greater than the sum of their parts. People talk about these shows like they cured cancer. A sitcom is comfort food. It’s a grilled cheese sandwich and chicken soup with Tabasco.”

Co-star Marshall picks a different culinary metaphor to describe Mohr. “I think of him as sweet-and-sour pork,” she says.

“He’s so sour and acerbic, and he’s arrogant and funny and obnoxious. And then he says something (that) is so sweet. I just knew he’d be great in this role.”