Richard Thomas (actor)
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Disambiguation: for other people of the same name, see Richard Thomas.
Richard Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor.
He was born Richard Earl Thomas in New York City, New York, the son of Richard Thomas (born ca. 1925) and Barbara Fallis. His parents were both dancers with the New York City Ballet and were owners of the New York School of Ballet.
Thomas was seven when he made his Broadway debut in Sunrise at Campobello (1958) playing John Roosevelt, son of FDR.
He soon began his television career. In 1959, he appeared in the TV presentation of Ibsen's A Doll's House with Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer and Hume Cronyn. He then began acting in daytime TV, appearing in soap operas such as The Edge of Night and As the World Turns, which were broadcast from his native Manhattan.
Thomas received his first major roles in film, appearing in the 1969 motion pictures Winning with Paul Newman, about auto racing, and Last Summer with Barbara Hershey, a summer romance movie.
He became nationally recognized for his portrayal of John-Boy in the 1970s TV series The Waltons, which was based on the real-life of writer Earl Hamner Jr. Thomas won an Emmy for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series in 1972.
Thomas has had two wives, Alma Gonzales (married 1975-divorced 1993) and Georgiana Bischoff (married 1994-present). He and Alma had one son and triplet daughters; and he and Georgiana have one son.
In 1980, Thomas made his first Broadway appearance in over twelve years when he stepped in as a replacement in Fifth of July. In 1993, he played the title role in a Shakespeare Theatre production of Richard II.
He has also served as national chairman of the Better Hearing Institute and as host of the PAX TV series It's A Miracle.
Filmography
- A Doll's House (TV) (1959)
- 1, 2, 3 Go (1961) (TV Series) .... Regular
- From These Roots (1961) (TV Series) .... Richard .... aka The Edge of Night (1983) (USA last season title)
- The Edge of Night (1961) (TV Series) .... Ben Schultz, Jr.
- A Flame in the Wind (1964) (TV Series) .... Chris Austen (1964-1965) .... aka A Time for Us (1965) (new title)
- As the World Turns (1956) (TV Series) (1966-1967)
- Winning (1969)
- Last Summer (1969) .... aka You Can't Have Everything (1970)
- Cactus in the Snow (1970)
- Red Sky at Morning (1971)
- The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) (TV)
- The Todd Killings (1971) .... aka Skipper (1971)
- You'll Like My Mother (1972)
- Sixteen (1972) .... aka Like a Crow on a June Bug (1972)
- The Waltons (1972) (TV Series) .... John "John Boy" Walton, Jr., #1 (1972-1977)
- The Thanksgiving Story (1973) (TV)
- The Red Badge of Courage (1974) (TV)
- The Silence (1975) (TV)
- Getting Married (1978) (TV) .... aka 24 Hours of the Rebel (1977)
- No Other Love (1979) (TV)
- All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) (TV)
- To Find My Son (1980) (TV)
- Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
- Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981) (TV)
- Barefoot in the Park (1981) (TV)
- Pavarotti & Friends (1982) (TV)
- Johnny Belinda (1982) (TV)
- Fifth of July (1982) (TV)
- Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story (1983) (TV)
- Hobson's Choice (1983) (TV)
- The Master of Ballantrae (1984) (TV)
- Final Jeopardy (1985) (TV)
- Go Toward the Light (1988) (TV)
- Andy Colby's Incredible Adventure (1988) .... aka Andy Colby's Incredible Video Adventure (1988) .... aka Andy Colby's Incredibly Awesome Adventure (1988) .... aka Andy and the Airwave Rangers (1988)
- Glory! Glory! (1989) (TV)
- Andre's Mother (1990) (TV)
- Common Ground (1990) (TV)
- It (1990) (TV)
- Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis (1991) (TV)
- Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1991) (TV) .... aka A Thousand Heroes (1992) (TV)
- Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992) (TV)
- I Can Make You Love Me (1993) (TV) ... aka Stalking Laura (1993) (TV)
- Precious Victims (1993) (TV)
- Linda (1993) (TV) .... aka Lust for Murder (1993) (TV)
- A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993) (TV)
- To Save the Children (1994) (TV)
- Death in Small Doses (1995) (TV)
- A Walton Wedding (1995) (TV)
- Down, Out & Dangerous (1995) (TV)
- The Invaders (1995) (TV mini-Series)
- The Christmas Box (1995) (TV)
- West Virginia (1996) (TV mini-Series) .... Narrator
- What Love Sees (1996) (TV)
- Timepiece (1996) (TV)
- Promised Land (1996) (TV Series)
- A Walton Easter (1997) (TV)
- A Thousand Men and a Baby (1997) (TV) .... aka Narrow Escape (1997) (TV) (UK)
- Big and Hairy (1998) (TV)
- The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998) (TV Series)
- The Million Dollar Kid (1999)
- It's a Miracle (1999) (TV Series) .... Host
- Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder (2000) (TV)
- In the Name of the People (2000) (TV)
- Wonder Boys (2000)
- The Christmas Secret (2000) (TV) .... aka Flight of the Reindeer (2000) (TV) (International: English title)
- Bloodhounds, Inc. (2000) (TV)
- Just Cause (2001) (TV Series)
- The Miracle of the Cards (2001) (TV)
- Beyond the Prairie, Part 2: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder (2002) (TV)
- Anna's Dream (2002) (TV)
External links
- IMDb entry for Richard Thomas (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001796/)
- IBDB entry for Richard Thomas (http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=62182)