| Jay Thomas |
| Born |
Jon Thomas Terrell
July 12, 1948 (1948-07-12) (age 61)
Kermit, Texas, United States |
Jay Thomas (born July 12, 1948) is an American actor and disc jockey.
Personal life
Thomas was born Jon Thomas Terrell in Kermit, Texas, the son of Katharine "Kathy" (née Guzzino) and T. Harry Terrell, Sr.[1] He was raised in his Italian American mother's Catholic religion (his father was Protestant).[2] Thomas attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans, where he grew up. He and his wife Sally live in Southern California and are parents to two sons, Samuel and Jacob. Thomas fathered a son years earlier with another woman and gave the child up for adoption. Thomas and his son John Harding have spoken about their reunion on the Dr. Phil show. John Harding is the lead singer of the band JTX.[3]
Career
Television
Thomas is perhaps best known for his recurring roles. The first on the sitcom Mork and Mindy, on which he played Remo DaVinci, the Italian deli-owner, from 1979 until 1981. He then played the hockey-player-turned-travelling-ice show-skater second husband, Eddie LeBec, of Carla on Cheers (1987-1989). He also appeared on Murphy Brown as a tabloid talk show host, Jerry Gold, who was also one of Murphy's love interests (1989-1998). Thomas won Emmy Awards in 1990 and 1991 for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" for his portrayal of Jerry Gold on Murphy Brown.
Thomas also starred in the short-lived 1990 show Married People. Thomas played Russell Myers, a writer who worked at home who was married to a high powered lawyer (played by Bess Armstrong). When his wife had a baby, Thomas' character became a househusband.
He later starred in the 1992-1995 sitcom Love & War (with Susan Dey then Annie Potts) and in the short-lived 1996 Ted Danson-Mary Steenburgen sitcom Ink. In Summer of 1994, He co-hosted with Lisa Hartman Black a TV special celebrating 30th anniversary of Universal Studios called "Universal Studios Summer Blast".[4] He also had the bad luck to host Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, a controversial one-night special on Fox in February 2000 that featured Darva Conger and Rick Rockwell.
Thomas has also knocked the holiday meatball off of the Christmas Tree for The Late Show with David Letterman almost every year since 1998. (Dave knocked it off in 2004 and 2006.) Each year he also tells his "Lone Ranger Story" which involves him and his friend having to give Clayton Moore a ride home from a radio station promotion at a car dealership while high on marijuana.
In 2008, Thomas was featured on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? as the "expert" available via Skype for the Ask the Expert lifeline. The week he was "expert" he got every single question he was asked right.
Film
His many roles include playing the football coach and best friend of the lead character in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and Hal in the Kevin Costner-film Dragonfly (2002). He also appeared as the Easter Bunny in Disney's The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3.
Radio
Thomas began his career as a disc jockey in the late 1960s while attending Gulf Coast Junior College in Panama City, Florida, working part-time at several local Panama City stations. He also worked the clubs as a crossdresser. His stated goal at that time was to be a stand-up comic. He later worked the 7-midnight shift at WBSR in Pensacola, Florida, a station which was a stepping stone for a number of radio personalities who went on to bigger and better things. He hit the big time at WAPE ("The Big Ape") in Jacksonville, Florida and then moved on to Charlotte, North Carolina where he was the morning drive DJ at BIG WAYS-AM and WROQ-FM in the 1970s and 1980s. Thomas then worked as a radio DJ in New York City and resided in Connecticut with his wife, Sally and their 3 sons. Jay was probably best remembered for being the Morning Host on 92.3 WKTU. He would be replaced by Howard Stern when the format of WKTU was changed to classic rock and the station took on call letters WXRK and station name K-ROCK. This would become the launching pad for Stern's syndicated network. There are apparently no hard feelings between the two and Thomas has since made several appearances on Howard Stern's show.
After WKTU flipped formats Thomas was hired by then new Rhythmic Top 40 upstart KPWR/Los Angeles in 1986 as their new morning host, which is where he would enjoy a successful run. In 1992 Thomas left KPWR due to the changes in station management and a musical shift towards Hip-Hop, which would have felt out of place for Thomas. He would return to New York in the late 1990s as the host of the morning show on WTJM, which had just changed its format to Jammin' Oldies after many years as an adult contemporary station. He would leave the station just before it, like KPWR in Los Angeles, shifted formats to hip hop.
He currently hosts The Jay Thomas Show[5] M-TH 3pm - 6pm on Sirius XM Stars Too (SIRIUS channel 108, XM channel 139), a channel on the SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio service. Jay has numerous co-hosts on his show including Madison,[6] Rodney Lee Conover,[7] and Shuli.[8] Jay is now a Chip and Pepper expert. On March 5, 2008 Howard Stern announced that Jay would be doing a live morning show on Howard 101 from 7 AM to 10 AM on Friday mornings. In addition to that show, he hosts the Saturday 8 AM-noon slot on Sirius XM's 70s on 7 channel.
He resides in Santa Barbara with his family. He owns homes in New Orleans, one of which was destroyed by flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. Jay is well remembered for his stint at 99X, well before 92.3 KTU. His slogan when he ran for office in Charlotte, NC was 'the best politician money can buy.'
He was finally awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6161 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
Professional
Thomas used to invest in retail food chain stores, including Blimpie. He would buy real estate when he would get a big pay day during his acting career. His latest venture is a US$3.5 million property on Cresta Avenue.[citation needed]
References
External links
