Biography
Dark-haired comedic actor Jon Cryer remains best-known for his lovable performance as Duckie Dale in the 1986 teen movie
Pretty in Pink. Even though he was 21 years old playing a high school senior, he exhibited a vulnerable yet goofy freshness unlike most other teen stars. The son of Broadway performers, he was schooled in the Bronx before making his film debut in the romantic comedy
No Small Affair as a young photographer obsessed with
Demi Moore. He made some unfortunate movies after
Pretty in Pink, including the
Ferris Bueller knock-off
Morgan Stewart's Coming Home, which suggested unfair comparisons with actor
Matthew Broderick. Other forgettable movies followed until he was cast as the star of the sitcom The Famous Teddy Z, which was then followed by several other short-lived sitcoms. After appearing in the anarchic comedy Hot Shots!, he proved fairly successful with offbeat comedies and independent films. He helped write the talky romantic comedy
The Pompatus of Love then starred in the similarly themed
Plan B. He teamed up with director Richard Schenkman to write the offbeat comedy Went to Coney Island on a Mission From God...Be Back by Five. After an erratic appearance in the
Eddie Murphy movie
Holy Man, he went back to television for the sitcoms
The Trouble With Normal (with
Paget Brewster) and
Two and a Half Men (with
Charlie Sheen). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide