Tim Thomerson

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Joseph Timothy “Tim” Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. Most famous for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancers series, Thomerson is renowned for his work in numerous low-budget movies and his comedic television roles.

Early life

Tim Thomerson was born in Coronado, California. He was brought up in Hawaii and in San Diego. Following a stint in the National Guard, Thomerson chose to become an actor, while taking a job as a set builder and prop man at the Old Globe Theatre, which is famous for its Shakespearean productions. After meeting character actor Anthony Zerbe, he took Anthony’s advice and studied acting with Stella Adler in New York City.

After his college tenure had ended, Thomerson began a career as a stand-up comedy, honing his skills. He appeared in clubs that included The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, Bud Friedman’s Improvisation, Catch a Rising Star, and Catskills.

Career

When Thomerson moved into comedy, he found himself in a boon alongside the likes of David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Freddie Prinze. In L.A., he became a regular at the Comedy Store and the Improv as well as making numerous appearances on television variety shows, and in Las Vegas.

For over 30 years, Thomerson has had a very long career in television and in film, with IMDB calling him one of the best character actors ever. He had a memorable minor role in Car Wash.

In 1985, Thomerson starred as the time-traveling future cop Jack Deth in the low budget sci-fi film Trancers which was produced by Charles Band and Empire Pictures. The role made him an icon of the B-movie genre, and led to Thomerson building a working relationship with the Bands.

In 1986, Thomerson would reunite with a few of his Trancers co-stars for Zone Troopers, and he appeared in the vampire film Near Dark. He also appeared as a villain opposite Melanie Griffith’s heroine in Cherry 2000.

When Charles Band started up Full Moon Features in the late 1980s, one of his first projects was Trancers II (released in 1991), in which he reunited Thomerson with much of the cast from the first film. Thomerson would appear in every sequel thereafter, with the exception of Trancers 6, which instead starred Zette Sullivan in her only lead role, and used archive footage of Thomerson to enhance the story. Thomerson is considering returning in another Trancers sequel.

Another movie role that made Thomerson popular with fans of science-fiction was that of Brick Bardo, a Dirty Harry-like alien cop who is 13 inches tall, and uses his blaster gun to take on gangsters and devil-possessed toys in two obscure feature films. The character also appeared very briefly in Bad Channels.

Thomerson has had many memorable roles in feature films, including Uncommon Valor, Air America, Volunteers, Who’s Harry Crumb?, Iron Eagle, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, just to name a few, as well as numerous television roles such as Tour of Duty and 21 Jump Street. In the ’90s he was a series regular on the television police drama Sirens followed by a regular, co-starring role on the series Land’s End starring Fred Dryer.

Thomerson has been fortunate enough to have worked with some of his favorite actors, which include Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, Wilford Brimley, and Richard Farnsworth. His personal comic hero is the late Richard Pryor.

Initial success

One of Thomerson’s early acting breaks came from director Robert Altman who, after seeing Thomerson’s stand-up act, cast him in the film A Wedding. At this early stage of Thomerson’s movie career he found himself surrounded by the likes of Vittorio Gassman, Carol Burnett, Geraldine Chaplin, and a very young Dennis Franz.

Thomerson first came to prominence in the short-lived comedy science-fiction TV series Quark in 1977–78, as Gene/Jean, a character of dual gender who randomly switched from a macho to a feminine personality.

Movie star

Thomerson’s most famous role is that of Jack Deth, the hero of Charles Band’s Trancers series. Playing against his comedic roots, Thomerson played Deth as a hard-nosed epitome of machismo, like the sci-fi equivalent of Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry series. The character continued in four more sequels throughout the 1990s. (A fifth sequel, Trancers 6, was released in 2002 but Thomerson was not involved.)

Other career highlights include Babo in the adventure film Air America with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr., grimy mercenary Rhodes in Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn, demented cult leader Lester in Cherry 2000, Loy in the horror classic Near Dark, diminutive lawman Brick Bardo in Dollman and Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, and a scruffy motorcyclist in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Thomerson is a stock player in the films of actor/director Michael Worth (DUAL, Devil on the Mountain, God’s Ears) and a favorite of director Albert Pyun (Dollman, Knights, Nemesis).

In addition, Thomerson has made guest appearances on TV shows such as Walker, Texas Ranger, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Xena, Warrior Princess, Viper, The District, and Silk Stalkings.

Personal life

Thomerson’s wife Teri Blythe has worked extensively in Hollywood as a script supervisor, make-up artist, casting director, and producer.

Thomerson was good friends with the late actor Brion James. Both served together as cooks in a tank company while in the Army Reserve in California. After their service, they both went to New York to break into acting.

Filmography

References

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External links

• Tim Thomerson at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim Thomerson at Allmovie