- His father worked for the Pentagon.
- He and [Margot Kidder] separated only six days after marrying, and he and Lana Pritchard divorced after seven months.
- Graduated from Washington, DC's Gonzaga College High School in 1964, and was inducted into the school's theatre hall of fame in the spring of 2003.
- Graduated from Clark University, Worcester, MA in 1968.
- Has three children: son, John "Jack" Matthew Heard III (b. 1987), with his ex-girlfriend Melissa Leo; daughter Annika Heard and son Maxwell ''Max'' Heard, both with second wife Sharon. Max died on December 6, 2016, at the age of 22.
- After securing Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern for Home Alone (1990), Chris Columbus felt confident enough to cast actors who were his heroes growing up like Catherine O'Hara after seeing her work on SCTV (1976), as well as Heard, and then Tim Curry and Rob Schneider on Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) because they were all open to the films.
- Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1977" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 29. (1977)
- Received the 1976-1977 Theatre World award.
- He was the son of Helen (Sperling) and John Heard. His father worked at the office of the Secretary of Defense, and his mother was involved in the arts, including acting on stage in community theatre.
- His patrilineal "Heard" line settled in the area around Ipswich, Massachusetts, in the 1600s. His maternal grandfather, Harry Louis Sperling, was the son of Jewish emigrants from Poland and Hungary. The rest of John's ancestry was mainly English and Irish. John was raised Catholic.
- Through John's maternal grandmother, Ebeth A. Burton, John's maternal great-great-uncle was Joseph R. Burton, a politician who was a Republican U.S. Senator from Kansas, from 1901 to 1906.
- Although he notably co-starred with Daniel Stern in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) (although they didn't share any scenes), he and Stern also co-starred in C.H.U.D. (1984) and The Milagro Beanfield War (1988).
- Portrayed Matthew in the Word of Promise audio bible.
- Younger brother of Cordis Heard.
- Ex-stepfather of Maggie McGuane.
- Died the day after Linkin Park frontman, Chester Bennington.
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