Peter Josh DeLuise is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director born on November 6, 1966 in New York City, USA. He is known as the director and writer of several episodes of the “Stargate” franchise, as well as for his acting role in “21 Jump Street”.
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Early life
Peter John DeLuise is the first of three sons of Carol Arthur and Dom DeLuise, of Italian descent. Shortly after Peter’s birth, the family moved to a home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. Despite the fact that both his parents were actors, Peter and his younger brothers Michael and David did not have lavish childhoods – in his teens, Peter worked in an ice cream parlor to earn some extra money and had to borrow his mother’s Chevette.
His undiagnosed dyslexia and difficulty socializing caused him problems, especially at school. He was also an overeating boy, a trait that made him rather funny behavior with his peers: ‘I was the fat boy, so as a defense mechanism I was the prankster’.
However, not everything was difficult for teenage Peter. He was captain of his high school football team, a fact that made him quite popular. He refused to indulge in drugs and alcohol like some of his classmates: “I was more interested in girls. But if I got a girl, she’d be more interested in getting cocaine.”
After graduating from Palisades High, Peter left home and started looking for acting jobs, working in a flower shop to support himself.
Career
Acting career
Peter made his acting debut at a young age in his father’s movie “Hot Stuff” in 1979. In 1983 he landed another role in the movie “Happy”, and two years later in the series “The Facts of Life”. Although he had minor roles in these productions, it encouraged him to pursue an acting career.
From 1985, Peter was part of the main cast of several films such as “Free Ride”, “The Midnight Hour” and “Listen to Me”. However, on TV he only landed minor roles until 1989 when he was cast in “21 Jump Streetas main character, Officer Doug Penhall, a role he is mostly remembered for to this day.
Starring Johnny Depp, this FOX series focused on a group of young undercover detectives investigating young people and crimes related to them. The show ended in 1991 and received an Imagen Foundation Award as “Best Drama Series”.
When “21 Jump Street” ended, Peter acted in several movies and briefly appeared in the famous TV series “Friends” as Carl. However, it wasn’t until 1994 that he landed another starring role on TV when he was cast as Seaman Dagwood in “Seaquest DSV”.
From 1999 to 2006, Peter made several appearances in “Stargate SG-1”, playing various non-accredited roles.
However, his acting career was not over yet as in 2007 he played Wayne Ross, a recurring character in the series “Robson Arms”. Although Peter mainly played minor characters in TV and movies in the following years, he landed another starring role in 2016 in ‘Mostly Ghostly: One Night in Doom House’ and then in ‘All Summer Long’, a TV movie directed by himself in 2019.
Director and producer
During the time when Peter was not active as an actor, he pursued a side career as a director. His first credited job was in three episodes of “21 Jump Street”, then in several TV series, such as “Higher Ground”, “Andromeda”, “Stargate SG-1” and other projects.
He was also part of the production staff of several TV projects. He began as a consulting producer on the apocalyptic-themed series “Jeremiah,” and then worked as a supervising producer on “Level Up” and “When Calls the Heart.” In addition, he has produced several TV movies for Cartoon Network, Hallmark Channel and other networks.
Screenwriter
Peter was the lead writer on a total of 12 episodes of the sci-fi franchise “Stargate”, and is credited as the lead writer on the 2003 film “Between the Sheets”.
Private life
First marriage
Peter DeLuise met Gina Nemo in high school and began a long-term relationship with her until 1996 when the couple finally broke up. Peter moved to Canada in 1987 for work-related reasons, but returned to Los Angeles a few months later and left a message on Gina’s answering machine asking her to be his wife. Peter shared his thoughts in an interview at the time: ‘After seven years you get married or you split up (…) We tried to break up and it didn’t work’.
However, in 1992, the couple filed for divorce for undisclosed reasons.
Second marriage
Peter met actress Anne Marie Loder in 1999, on the set of the series “Higher Ground” directed by DeLuise, in which Loder had a leading role. “We were both single and fell head over heels pretty quickly,” Anne Marie recalled in a interview from 2019. It was a bit complicated for the couple at first, as they worked together: “He was my boss, but he didn’t want to put me in an awkward position. He was so kind and generous that I ended up asking him out. He was quite a gentleman’.
The couple began dating on September 30, 1999 and married on June 7, 2002. In April 2004, they welcomed their first son named Jake and have remained married ever since.
Famous family
Peter comes from a family of actors as both his parents and younger brothers chose this career path.
Peter’s father Dom DeLuise was an American actor and comedian born on August 1, 1933 in New York, known for his roles in several films such as “The Cannonball Run”, “The Secret of NIMH” and “Blazing Saddles”. During his long career, he was rewarded with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, an award at the Taormina International Film Festival for his film “Fatso”, and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award as Best TV Actor.
The matriarch of the Carol family is also an actress, whose most famous role was in “Blazing Saddles” as Harriett Johnson, and was a spokeswoman for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Peter’s brother Michael is known for his recurring appearances on “Gilmore Girls” and “CSI: NY”, while David, the youngest brother of the siblings trio, is known for starring in Disney’s series “Wizards of Waverly Place”.
Net value
Peter DeLuise’s net worth is estimated at $10 million, as a result of his career as an actor, director and producer.
Appearance
He is a man of white ethnicity, who is 6 feet 8 inches (1.88 m) tall. He has handsome features and natural brown eyes.
Interesting facts
Peter is very active on his Instagram account, in which he shares photos of his travels and daily life. During his time as the writer of “Stargate SG-1,” he named one of the characters by his wife’s last name: Loder.
Peter has shared screen time with his family on several occasions – the first being in 1979 when he and his two brothers appeared in their father’s movie “Hot Stuff”. The second time was when his brother Michael became a recurring character on “21 Jump Street”.
Another time he worked with his family was when his younger brother David became a recurring character in “Stargate SG-1”, a series that also starred Peter’s wife Anne Marie.
