John Mese Explained

John Mese
Birth Date:4 November 1963
Birth Place:Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:1987–present
Children:1

John R.[1] [2] [3] Mese (born November 4, 1963) is an American actor, producer, director, and writer. He has had roles in numerous films and television shows. Credited appearances on television include: Rizzoli & Isles, Suits, Castle, The Mentalist, Weeds, Monk, Law & Order, Boomtown, Without a Trace, The X Files, and Sex and the City. Mese is also the writer of a children's book series that was featured in the March 2009 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.[4]

Early life and education

John Mese is the son of J.D. and Kay Mese[5] of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was born and raised. He finished his secondary education at Catholic High School and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in advertising[6] and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Theatre from Louisiana State University. At LSU, he was a member of the Sigma Chi[7] fraternity and performed in a number of LSU Theatre productions. In 1986, he was a finalist in the "Face of the '80s" contest organized by Ford Models and GQ Magazine.[8] [9]

Career

Theatre

At LSU, he acted in several theater productions, to name a few: The Tooth of Crime in 1986, in which he played Hoss; Sly Fox in 1982, and Death of a Salesman in 1986. He played "Treat" in Lyle Kessler's play Orphans.[10] He played Alvaro Mangiacavallo in the LSU Theatre main stage production of The Rose Tattoo, directed by John Dennis in 1987.[11]

He has the title role in an acclaimed[12] one-man show written by Champ Clark, Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando,[13] which premiered at the Santa Monica Playhouse in 2019 and was praised by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley.[14] Wild Son is based on face-to-face interviews between the journalist Champ Clark and Christian Brando before the latter's death in 2008.[15] [16] The show was performed at Bistro Byronz, a restaurant chain in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on June 19, 2022.[17] The show ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 15-20, 2022.[18] [19]

Film

Mese had the starring role as Richard Broderick in the film Noise in the Middle (2020), also starring Tara Buck as Richard’s deceased wife.[20] He played Augie in King of Herrings (2013), an indie film directed by Eddie Jemison and also starring Mese's fellow LSU alumnus Joe Chrest.[21] Mese played "Crow" in Derek Sitter's award-winning short, Bugtussle (2022).[22] Bugtussle was recognized by the Accolade Global Film Competition for "Awards of Merit" in August 2022, notably for Leading Actor (Mese), Supporting Actor (Sitter), Film Short, Script/Writer (Sitter), Original Score, composed by James Hutchens and Johnny Bourbon.[23]

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Dangerous PropositionDarbyDir. Brad Sanders
2005Pizza My HeartJean Paul VeberDir. Andy Wolk
Gone But Not ForgottenRandy HighsmithDir. Armand Mastroianni
Lloyd McMastersDir. James Contner
2007Perfect DayExecutive Producer/WriterDir. John Mese
2008Pillow TalkExecutive Producer/WriterDir. John Mese
2013King of HerringsAugie + ProducerDir. Eddie Jemison & Sean Richardson
2020Noise in the MiddleRichard BroderickDir. Marcus McCollum
2022BugtussleCrowDir. Derek Sitter

Television

Mese was featured alongside Mark Harmon and Frederic Lehne in a Lili Fini Zanuck-directed production called "We Have Cleared the Tower," in which Mese played the role of Donn Eisele of the Apollo 7 mission; Harmon played Wally Schirra, and Lehne played Walt Cunningham.[24] [25] Mese was a cast member for Episode 1 ("Can We Do This?") and Episode 3 ("We Have Cleared The Tower") of From the Earth to the Moon (1998). His "first big job" for television was in 1992 as the love interest of Marlee Matlin on Reasonable Doubts.[26] Prior to that, his TV roles (on shows like The Fanelli Boys, Matlock, and Northern Exposure) were relatively minor. He was "the Congo Man"[27] in a Budweiser Beer commercial narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker (in character as Carrie Bradshaw). In 2000, Mese played Sheriff Phil Adderly on Chimera (The X-Files), one of the "Monster of the Week" episodes in the seventh season of The X Files. He played the baseball coach, in season 2 episode 10 of Ghost Whisperer.

Writing

Mese and his wife, Dawn Kelsey, are the authors of a children's book series called Flippy and Friends. The idea started in 2002; Mese and Kelsey worked with illustrator Chanler Holden and her husband, Major Mittendorf.

In 2017, Mese penned an editorial for the entertainment section of Purple Clover; this was an autobiographical sketch about boyhood fantasy, titled "My First Playboy."[28]

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Foil . David . BR man finalist in GQ competition . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Advocate . 24 April 2023 . 17 April 1986 . When John R. Mese decided to enter the "Face of the 80s for Men" contest, he was so secretive about it that he asked a buddy to drive him to Goudchaux to leave his entry..
  2. Web site: Semifinalists to be interviewed in N.O. . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Advocate . 24 April 2023 . 12 April 1986 . John R. Mese.
  3. Foil, David. (1986, April 18). "Faces' tell what it's like. The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), pp. 1-C. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/0EB473D60DA95D8B.
  4. Clark, Jane Bennett: "An Author Swims Against the Tide." Kiplinger's Personal Finance. March 2009.
  5. Web site: Foil . David . BR man finalist in GQ competition . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Advocate . 24 April 2023 . 17 April 1986 . His mother, Kay Mese of Baton Rouge, was thrilled. "Oh yes," she said. "John didn't know we were going to be here. His father (Dr. J. D. Mese) had a tennis game tonight. His regular foursome. But my other son and I are here and we're delighted.".
  6. Web site: Interview with a Wild Son - by Ashley Rovira . 2023-05-03 . https://archive.today/20230503010338/https://heavycrownpress.substack.com/p/interview-with-a-wild-son . 2023-05-03 .
  7. News: Foil . David . BR man finalist in GQ competition . Baton Rouge Morning Advocate . April 17, 1986.
  8. Web site: Foil . David . BR man finalist in GQ competition . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Advocate . 24 April 2023 . 17 April 1986 . A few hours later, the handsome 6-foot-1 Baton Rougean was named one of the nation's 14 finalists in the "Face of the '80s for Men" competition presented by Gentlemen's Quarterly magazine and Ford Models, and sponsored by Gilette. "Face of the '80s for Men" is designed to select a male model to represent Ford Models and to appear in GQ magazine..
  9. Web site: Bynum . Chris . The Face . Newsbank . The Times Picayune (New Orleans) . 24 April 2023 . 27 April 1986.
  10. Web site: Foil . David . LSU's "Orphans" a rewarding experience . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Morning Advocate . 29 August 2022 . 8 April 1989 . There were moments in Thursday's performance when it seemed Treat got so furious at his predicament that Mese let him go to the point of inchoate hurt. In its way, that stripping away of pretense was far more threatening than all the punk posturing Treat exhibits. Harold's emotional pummeling of Treat -- "tough love," maybe? -- is probably the play's most agonizing moment. McNeal's Harold is relentless. Mese's eyes betray Treat's flickering terror of opening up..
  11. News: "The Rose Tattoo" . 19 January 2023 . The Baton Rouge Advocate Magazine . 26 April 1987 . English.
  12. Web site: Ebert . Chaz . Bravo for Champ Clark's Play, Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando . Chaz's Journal . RogerEbert.com . 12 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220505103530/https://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/bravo-for-champ-clarks-play-wild-son-the-testimony-of-christian-brando . 5 May 2022 . English . 10 May 2019.
  13. Web site: Kogan . Rick . Champ Clark has a new noir novel and a play about Marlon Brando's son and his own life is quite a story . The Chicago Tribune . 12 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220505101106/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-bye-cruel-world-champ-clark-kogan-20220505-dfrdgooldfhcxl4yhhrlv2uady-story.html . 5 May 2022 . English . Online . 5 May 2022 . It had its premiere at the Santa Monica Playhouse in 2019. Chicago’s Chaz Ebert called it “stunning,” elaborating by writing, “with a riveting performance by actor John Mese … I can’t recommend it highly enough.”.
  14. Web site: "Wild Son": The Testimony of Christian Brando - A World Premiere at Santa Monica Playhouse - ONLY Three Performances Left!! . TheHollywoodTimes.Today . The Hollywood Times . 13 July 2022 . English . May 10, 2019 . Beth Henley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright says, “Champ Clark’s play is a burning jewel. John Mese is mesmerizing. A rare theatre experience where the magic shimmers.”.
  15. Web site: Clark . Champ . My Surprising Bond with the Troubled Christian Brando . The Hollywood Reporter . 13 July 2022 . English . Online . April 19, 2019.
  16. Web site: Benjamin Shifren . Esther . "Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando" Review - A Compelling Performance of his Story . Splash Mags . Splash Magazines Worldwide . 13 July 2022 . English . Online . May 14, 2009 . Mese, in a riveting one-hour solo performance, sits, or moves around the stage effectively while constantly sipping canned beer. He does a sterling job of acting out Christian’s tragic story, his rebellion and fractured relationship with his father.....
  17. Web site: Brando at Byronz - by Ashley Rovira – Heavy Crown Press . 2022-07-12 . https://archive.today/20220712013506/https://heavycrownpress.substack.com/p/brando-at-byronz . 2022-07-12.
  18. Web site: Kogan . Rick . Champ Clark has a new noir novel and a play about Marlon Brando's son and his own life is quite a story . The Chicago Tribune . 12 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220505101106/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-bye-cruel-world-champ-clark-kogan-20220505-dfrdgooldfhcxl4yhhrlv2uady-story.html . 5 May 2022 . English . Online . 5 May 2022 . The one-man play has been selected for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. It will be performed there in August and Clark will be in Scotland for it.”.
  19. Web site: Rovira . Ashley . Boomers and Zoomers . Heavy Crown Press . Heavy Crown Press . 29 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220828013503/https://heavycrownpress.substack.com/p/boomers-and-zoomers . 28 August 2022 . 27 August 2022 . For the Festival Fringe this year, Mese performed in Venue 16, Greenside at Riddle’s Court..
  20. Web site: Noise in the Middle Film Threat . 2022-07-12 . https://archive.today/20220712023620/https://filmthreat.com/reviews/noise-in-the-middle/ . 2022-07-12 .
  21. Web site: Rovira . Ashley . King of Herrings: A throwback review (with spoilers) . Substack . Heavy Crown Press . 16 July 2022 . https://archive.today/20220716125920/https://heavycrownpress.substack.com/p/king-of-herrings?r=g5hgt&s=w . 16 July 2022 . English . Online . 16 July 2022 . John Mese gives a silently penetrative performance as Augie..
  22. Web site: Short Film Review: Bugtussle: A Doomed Dash for a Better Life . March 6, 2022 . Indie Shorts Mag . 12 July 2022.
  23. Web site: Awards of Merit August 2022 | .
  24. News: Tucker . Ken . Shoot the Moon . Markee (Regional America's Magazine for Film Production) . October 1997.
  25. Web site: Mark Harmon, Fredric Lehne, and John Mese in From the Earth to the Moon (1998) . IMDb . From the Earth to the Moon (1998) . 13 July 2022.
  26. Web site: Lamb . Madelyn . Doubts making career for BR native . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Advocate . 29 August 2022 . 15 March 1992.
  27. Web site: LSU alumni finding success in acting careers . Newsbank . Baton Rouge Advocate . 24 April 2023 . 12 July 1994 . Many people would recognize Mese as "the Congo Man" from a Budweiser Beer commercial. His line: "There I was, there I was, there I was....in the Congo.".
  28. Web site: My First Playboy (Purple Clover) . 2017-09-28 . https://archive.today/20220714183323/https://purpleclover.littlethings.com/entertainment/8044-my-first-playboy . 2022-07-14 .
  29. Web site: Fair . Mikel . Bugtussle, Directed by Derek Sitter - Oregon Short Film Festival #shorts . YouTube . @MikelFair YouTube . 1 March 2023.

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