John Morris Henson (born July 11, 1967) is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He was the co-host of ABC's Wipeout with John Anderson, a prime-time game show that ran for seven seasons. He rose to prominence as the host of Talk Soup on E! Entertainment network from 1995-1999. He studied acting at Boston University, Circle in the Square, Playwrights Horizons and Three of Us Studios in New York City. He has starred in various theater productions such as
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,
Conduct Unbecoming, Heinous Crimes and Other Delights, The Greenhouse Effect and Remote Evolution.
Henson was born with a white streak of hair on the right side of his head. As a result, he received the nickname "Skunk Boy" while hosting Talk Soup.
Henson attended St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut. During his stint as host of Talk Soup, he appeared as a guest on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. In 2004, he was the host of The John Henson Project, a short-lived comedy-reality show on Spike TV, and hosted several broadcast specials including ABC's Best Commercials You've Never Seen, ABC's Best TV You've Never Seen and, more recently, the 33rd Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. From 2005 to 2007, Henson was the co-host of Watch This!, a daily television show on the TV Guide Channel. Henson has also produced numerous field segments on the entertainment industry for MSNBC and CNN and, additionally, had a small recurring role as a local newscaster on My Name Is Earl.
From 2008 to 2014, Henson co-hosted the ABC obstacle course game-show, Wipeout, and always ended the show with the catch phrase, "Good night, and Big Balls", a reference to the signature obstacle in the show. For the 2020 season, Carla Hall served as both a judge and the host.
Henson has also appeared in the Blink-182 music video for "What's My Age Again?"
Filmography
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year(s) !! Title !! Role
|-
| 1991-1994 || An Evening at the Improv || Performer
|-
| 1994 || Two Drink Minimum || Performer
|-
| 1995 || Caroline's Comedy Hour || Performer
|-
| 1995–1999 || Talk Soup || Host
|-
| 1997–1998 || Space Ghost Coast to Coast || Himself (guest)
|-
| 1998 || Remember WENN || Sheldon Glebe
|-
| 1998 || The Best Commercials You've Never Seen || Host
|-
| 2001 || Politically Incorrect || Guest
|-
| 2004 || The John Henson Project || Host
|-
| 2006 || Watch This! || Host
|-
| 2006 || LA Area Emmy Awards || Host
|-
| 2008–2014 || Wipeout || Co-host
|-
| 2009 || My Name Is Earl || Reporter
|-
| 2009 || The Soup || Himself
|-
| 2010 || Who Wants to Be a Millionaire || Guest Host
|-
| 2010 || WordGirl || Voice of Captain Tangent
|-
| 2012 || Austin & Ally || Mike Moon
|-
| 2012 || Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil || Voice of Chuck Glarman
|-
| 2012 || The Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2012 || Host
|-
| 2014 || Anger Management || Darren
|-
| 2015 || Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero || Voice of Announcer Ron
|-
| 2016 || Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition 2 || Contestant
|-
| 2017 || iWitness || Host
|-
| 2017–2019, 2021–present || Halloween Baking Championship || Host
|-
| 2018 || Voltron: Legendary Defender || Voice of Bob
|-
| 2023 || Wipeout || Himself
|}
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role
|-
| 1997 || Meet Wally Sparks || John Henson
|-
| 1997 || Stag || Timan Bernard
|-
| 1999 || Blink-182: The Urethra Chronicles || Himself
|-
| 2000 || Bar Hopping || Roger
|-
| 2002 || Life Without Dick || Dash Davis, The MC
|}
Podcast
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role
|-
| 2017 || Painkiller Already (#325) || Guest
|-
| 2024 || Joy, a Podcast || Guest
|}