Michael Jeter was a Tony and Emmy award winning American actor, well known for his work on stage and screen. Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, son of William and Virginia Jeter. He was a student at Memphis State University when his interests changed from medicine to acting. He pursued his initial stage career in Baltimore, Maryland, as he had heard it was hard to get work in New York without an equity card.

His woebegone look, extreme flexibility and high energy led Tommy Tune to cast him in the Off-Broadway Cloud 9 and, on Broadway, in a memorable role in the musical Grand Hotel, for which he won a Tony Award in 1990.

He was open about his homosexuality and troubles with drug and alcohol addiction, and for a time decided to retire from entertainment, but was eventually enticed back with roles on television and in movies. Much of his film and television work specialized in playing eccentric, pretentious or wimpy characters like The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Drop Zone. Although occasionally, Jeter was able to stray away from these kinds of roles for more appealing characters like Jurassic Park III and Open Range. He won an Emmy award in 1992 for his role in the television sitcom Evening Shade. He was also a favorite with younger audiences in his role as "Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle" on Sesame Street from 2000 to 2003.

He was diagnosed with HIV in 1997