Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Back
  • Biography
  • Trivia
IMDbPro
John Dukakis and Mark Gruner in Jaws 2 (1978)

Biography

John Dukakis

Overview

  • Born
    June 9, 1958 · San Jose, California, USA
  • Birth name
    John Allen Chaffetz Jr.

Mini bio

  • Born in California and raised in the Boston area, John has had a rich and varied career in the political and entertainment businesses.

    While attending Brown University in the mid-70s, the aspiring actor was cast in Universal's sequel to Jaws (1975), Jaws 2 (1978). He relocated to Hollywood and continued to work as an actor for the next 6 years. He had substantial roles in the films, Making Love (1982), Delusion (1981) and Split Image (1982), and on television in Family Ties (1982), Little House on the Prairie (1974), Taxi (1978) and the Jim Jones docudrama, Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980). He finished his career in New York working on the Broadway and off-Broadway stage.

    After retiring from acting, he segued to a job in Washington, D.C. as a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in the Senator's first 2 years in office. In 1987, John's father then-Gov. Michael Dukakis (D-MA), announced his intention to run for President of the United States. John left Washington and moved to Atlanta to run the Southern campaign for the months prior to the Super Tuesday primaries. Later, as the National Political Director, he campaigned all over the country on behalf of the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket. With the 1988 campaign over, John began work with an attorney in Boston named Bob Woolf, who had built a significant international practice representing professional athletes. John ran the music business management department and spent most of his time on a developing local act: New Kids on the Block. Within several years, the company grew and he was sent to Los Angeles to open an office there with an emphasis on working with other established and developing acts. When he left the company in 1992, the company was also working with Boyz II Men and 'Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch'.

    John left Bob Woolf to become the general manager of "Paisley Park Records", a joint venture between the artist Prince and Warner Bros. Records. During his tenure, the company released a "Prince" album as well as projects from George Clinton and Mavis Staples.

    In 1994, he formed a new venture with his partner, Qadree El-Amin. "Southpaw Entertainment" was a full-service management company. In its early years, it primarily focused on the management of Boyz II Men. But after the record-setting success of the 12X platinum "II" album, the company took on new clients. Over the years, Southpaw also handled the careers of Janet Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Brownstone and Blackstreet.

    In early 2002, John left "Southpaw" to take a position as an Executive Vice President of "Overbrook Music", a music label as well as a full service management company owned and operated by Will Smith and his partner, James Lassiter. The company released the multi-platinum-certified soundtrack for the film Wild Wild West (1999), as well as the gold-certified soundtrack for the film _Love and Basketball (1900) . In addition to Will, the company also manages Christina Vidal (MCA Records, Nickelodeon's Taina), Jordan Knight (Interscope Records), Deb Cox (J Records), singer/songwriter Javier (Capitol Records), singer/songwriter Maria (DreamWorks Records) and Samantha Mumba (Polydor/Interscope Records.

    John retired from the music business in 2008 and has been living and working in Boston since then.
    - IMDb mini biography by: breakingaway28@yahoo.co.uk

Family

  • Spouses
      Adriana Sierra(June 21, 2002 - June 10, 2020) (divorced, 3 children)
      Lisa Thurmond(August 16, 1987 - December 2000) (divorced, 1 child)
  • Parents
      John Allen Chaffetz Sr.
      Kitty Dukakis
      Michael Dukakis

Trademarks

  • Handsome, Dark Haired, Resembled Randy Powell

Trivia

  • Nephew of Olympia Dukakis and Apollo Dukakis.
  • He is of mostly Russian Jewish descent.
  • Son of Kitty Dukakis and adoptive son of former U.S. Presidential Candidate Michael Dukakis.
  • Older half-brother, through his biological father, of Jason Chaffetz, U.S. Representative (R) for Utah's 3rd district (2009-17).
  • Now works in politics

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More from this person

  • View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro

More to explore

Recently viewed

You have no recently viewed pages
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.