Jim O’Heir had a good career as a working TV actor and he was grateful for it. Then he landed a small role on a new NBC comedy called “Parks and Recreation” and everything changed. O’Heir, whose previous credits included appearances on shows including “Malcolm in the Middle” to “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” would go on to become a “Parks and Recreation” series regular as the sweetly buffoonish Jerry Gergich, acting opposite a cast that also included Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari and Nick Offerman.
Jerry was often the butt of jokes at the show’s fictional Pawnee, Ind., government office, but was also happily married with kids and a wife who looked like a supermodel. (She was, after all, played by Christie Brinkley.
) In “Welcome to Pawnee,” O’Heir pays tribute to the series that transformed his career. He mixes personal memoir with stories from key players on the show — including creator Greg Daniels, showrunner Mike Schur and co-stars such as Chris Pratt, Adam Scott and Retta — throughout the book available Nov. 19.
The celebrated miniature horse, L’il Sebastian, is not heard from, but he gets talked about. A lot. “I’ve had a lucky career and done a lot of wonderful things, but ‘Parks’ was so above and beyond anything else, and I feel like I owe so much to this show,” says O’Heir, who appeared on the series throughout its 2009-15 run.
“This book is my love letter to these people.” O’Heir, 62, is as affable as Jerry but is definitely mor.