Richard Thomas (actor)

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:Infobox person Richard Earl Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama series The Waltons for which he won an Emmy Award.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also received another Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations for that role.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Thomas later starred as Bill Denbrough in the 1990 television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It, and played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series The Americans. More recently, he appeared in Netflix's Ozark and portrayed Atticus Finch in the 2022-2024 tour of To Kill a Mockingbird. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life and education

Thomas was born on June 13, 1951, in Manhattan, the son of Barbara Fallis and Richard S. Thomas. His parents were dancers with the New York City Ballet and owned the New York School of Ballet.<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Thomas has a birthmark on his left cheek. He has stated that this led to his being turned down for a role in a television commercial in his youth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Thomas was educated at two private day schools for boys, first at Allen-Stevenson School,<ref name=WSJ>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and then at the now-defunct McBurney School, both in his home district of Manhattan, New York City.

He was a student at Columbia College, the undergraduate college of Columbia University, where he majored in Chinese before switching to the English department.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After he landed the role in The Waltons, he left Columbia during his junior year to commit to the role full-time in Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Acting career

File:Richard Thomas 1 2 3 Go 1961.JPG

Thomas at age 10 in 1, 2, 3 Go!

In 1958, at age seven, Thomas made his Broadway debut in Sunrise at Campobello.<ref name="auto"/> In 1959, he appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame NBC television presentation of Ibsen's A Doll's House with Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, and Hume Cronyn.<ref>" 'A Doll's House' 1959" tcm.com, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> He then began acting in daytime TV, appearing in soap operas such as The Edge of Night (as Ben Schultz, 1961), A Flame in the Wind and As the World Turns (as Tom Hughes, 1966–67) which were broadcast from his native Manhattan. In 1970, he guest starred in NBC's Bonanza ("The Weary Willies").

Thomas's first major film roles were in the auto racing drama Winning (1969) with Paul Newman<ref>Winning Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> and the coming-of-age story Last Summer (also 1969) with Bruce Davison and Barbara Hershey.<ref>Canby, Vincent. "Screen: 'Last Summer':Cinema I Film Brings Trio of Newcomers" The New York Times, June 11, 1969</ref>

In 1971 Thomas appeared in The Todd Killings, a psychological thriller released by National General Pictures, directed by Barry Shear and co-starring Robert F. Lyons, Belinda Montgomery and Barbara Bel Geddes, based on the true crimes of serial killer Charles Schmid. Also in 1971, he starred in Red Sky at Morning, and played the lead in the independent production Cactus in the Snow.<ref>Template:AFI film</ref>

File:Richard Thomas John-Boy Walton 1973.JPG

Thomas on the set of The Waltons in 1973

Beginning in 1972, Thomas became recognized worldwide for his portrayal of John-Boy Walton in the TV series The Waltons, based on the life story of writer Earl Hamner, Jr. He appeared in the original CBS television film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in 1971,<ref>The Homecoming Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> which inspired the commissioning of the otherwise largely recast series, The Waltons, and then played the role of John-Boy Walton continuously in 122 episodes. In March 1977, Thomas left the series and his role was taken over by Robert Wightman. However, Thomas returned to the role in three Waltons TV movies in the 1990s, including A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion in 1993.<ref>A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion tcm.com, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> Thomas won an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series in 1973.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Thomas played against type as murderer and rapist Kenneth Kinsolving in You'll Like My Mother in 1972 with Patty Duke.<ref>You’ll Like My Mother Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> He played the lead roles of Private Henry Fleming in the NBC TV movie The Red Badge of Courage in 1974<ref>The Red Badge of Courage Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> and Paul Baumer in the 1979 CBS TV movie on All Quiet on the Western Front.<ref>All Quiet on the Western Front Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref>

In other TV films, he played Col. Warner's younger son Jim in Roots: The Next Generations (the 1979 sequel to 1977's Roots),<ref>Roots: The Next Generations Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> the title role in the biopic Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story in 1983,<ref>Living Proof: The Hank Williams, Jr., Story Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> Will Mossup in CBS's Hobson's Choice in 1983,<ref>Hobson’s Choice tcm.com, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> Henry Durie in The Master of Ballantrae for Hallmark Hall of Fame,<ref>The Master of Ballantrae Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> Martin Campbell in Final Jeopardy,<ref>Final Jeopardy Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> and the adult Bill Denbrough in the 1990 television mini-series It, adapted from Stephen King's horror novel.<ref>Stephen King’s It Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref>

In 1980, Thomas made his first Broadway appearance in more than 12 years when he was a replacement in Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July.<ref>Fifth of July Playbill, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref> In the same year, he appeared as Shad (the young farmer entrusted to employ mercenaries to save his planet from Sador and his invading forces) in Battle Beyond the Stars.<ref>Battle Beyond the Stars Turner Classic Movies, retrieved October 25, 2017</ref>

In 1987, he appeared on stage in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., in the one-man tour-de-force Citizen Tom Paine (playing Paine "like a star-spangled tiger, ferocious about freedom and ready to savage anyone who stands in his way," in a staging of Howard Fast's play set in the bicentennial year of the United States Constitution).<ref>Louise Sweeney (1987). "On stage: reliving historic turning points. Howard Fast's 'Citizen Tom Paine'." The Christian Science Monitor. March 12, 1987)</ref> In 1990, he joined with Nathan Lane at the Mark Taper Forum<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Los Angeles for Terrence McNally's The Lisbon Traviata in the role of Stephan. In 1993, he played the title role in a Shakespeare Theater stage production of Richard II in Washington, D.C.<ref>Brantley, Ben. "Review/Theater: Richard II; Richard Thomas Puts His Stamp On Giving Up a Throne Vigorously" The New York Times, September 22, 1993</ref>

Thomas starred in the ABC TV movie Death in Small Doses, directed by Sondra Locke. He starred with Maureen O'Hara and his It co-star Annette O'Toole in the Hallmark Channel movie The Christmas Box in 1995.<ref>McCarthy, John P. "Cbs Sunday Movie 'the Christmas Box' " Variety, December 13, 1995</ref>

Thomas appeared in a quartet of performances at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut including Hamlet (1987),<ref>Winer, Laurie. "Theater; An Actor's Long Road from Sitcoms to Elsinore" The New York Times, September 27, 1987</ref> Peer Gynt (1989), Richard III (1994) and Tiny Alice (1996). In 1997 and 1998, he played degenerate Joe Greene in two episodes of Touched by an Angel and four episodes of Promised Land.

In 2001, he appeared in London's West End in a theatre production of Yasmina Reza's Art with Judd Hirsch.<ref>Paddock, Terri. "Hirsch, Thomas and Morton Return for 19th UK 'Art' Cast, July 31" Playbill, July 18, 2001</ref> He also appeared on the New York stage in The Public Theater's production in Central Park of As You Like It in 2005,<ref>Simonson, Robert. "Lynn Collins and Brian Bedford Offer the Bard's 'As You Like It' in Central Park, June 25" Playbill, June 25, 2005</ref> Michael Frayn's Democracy on Broadway in 2004,<ref>Simonson, Robert. "Broadway's 'Democracy' to Close on April 17" Playbill, April 1, 2005</ref> and the Primary Stages' off-Broadway production of Terrence McNally's The Stendhal Syndrome in the same year.<ref>Hernandez, Ernio. "Rossellini and Thomas Fall Under McNally's 'Stendhal Syndrome', Opens Feb. 16" Playbill, February 16, 2004</ref>

He hosted the PAX TV series It's a Miracle.<ref>" 'It’s a Miracle' Cast" TV Guide, retrieved October 26, 2017</ref> He starred in the series Just Cause in 2003 for the PAX TV network.

In 2005, he appeared in the Richard Greenburg Broadway debut of A Naked Girl on the Appian Way.

File:Richard Thomas (left) with opera star Stacey Robinson in 2014.jpg

Thomas with singer Stacey Robinson in 2014

In 2006, Thomas began an American theater tour of Reginald Rose's play Twelve Angry Men along with Cheers star George Wendt at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, playing the pivotal role of Juror Eight opposite Wendt's Juror One.<ref>Higgins, Beau. "Richard Thomas-George Wendt in 'Twelve Angry Men'" broadwayworld.com, May 5, 2007</ref>

In 2009 and 2010, Thomas was featured on Broadway in Race, a play by David Mamet. The production was directed by Mamet and included James Spader, David Alan Grier, and Kerry Washington.<ref>Brantley, Ben. "In Mametland, a Skirmish in Black and White" The New York Times, December 6, 2009</ref> In February and March 2011, he starred at the off-Broadway New York Public Theater in Timon of Athens.<ref> Soloski, Alexis. " 'Timon of Athens' Kicks Off Public Lab Shakespeare" The Village Voice, March 2, 2011</ref>

Thomas played Frank Gaad<ref name="auto"/> in the FX Network period spy drama television series The Americans which debuted in January 2013.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Thomas appeared in the 2017 Broadway revival of The Little Foxes and was nominated for a 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.<ref name=fox>"Tony Awards 2017: Complete Winners List" Variety, June 11, 2017</ref>

In December 2018, Thomas portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in Pittsburgh CLO's production of A Musical Christmas Carol.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In February 2021, Thomas portrayed Bodie Lord in the Amazon thriller drama television series Tell Me Your Secrets, appearing in episode 5.

In January 2022, Thomas portrayed Wendy Byrde's estranged father, Nathan Davis, in three episodes of season 4 of the Netflix series Ozark.

Starting in April 2022, Thomas starred as Atticus Finch in a National Broadway tour of a stage production of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

In 2024, Thomas played Professor Webb in Thornton Wilder's play Our Town, with Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As of January 2023, Thomas has been credited on Audible for narrating over 340 books.

Personal life

Thomas married Alma Gonzales in 1975.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1976, they had a son. Triplet daughters were born in 1981.<ref name=people/> Thomas and Gonzales divorced in 1993.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Thomas married Santa Fe art dealer Georgiana Bischoff on November 20, 1994<ref name=people>"Mountains of Love" People, December 5, 1994</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and their son was born in 1996. Richard adopted Bischoff's two daughters who were from previous marriages.<ref name=people/> Thomas and Bischoff currently reside in New York.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Thomas is a Kentucky Colonel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1969	Winning	Charley
	Last Summer	Peter
1971	Red Sky at Morning	Joshua Arnold
	The Todd Killings	Billy Roy
	Cactus in the Snow	Harley MacIntosh	aka You Can't Have Everything or Soldier Story
1972	You'll Like My Mother	Kenny Kinsolving
1974	Sisters of the Space Age	Narrator	Short film
1977	September 30, 1955	Jimmy J.
1980	Battle Beyond the Stars	Shad
1989	Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder	Charles Ingalls	Video
2000	The Million Dollar Kid	Ted Hunter
	Wonder Boys	Walter Gaskell
	Bloodhounds Inc.	Robert Hunter	Video
2009	Taking Woodstock	Reverend Don Darren Pettie
2015	Anesthesia	Mr. Werth
2021	Christmas vs. the Walters	Roger
	The Unforgivable	Michael Malcolm

Television films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	A Doll's House	Ivor
1971	The Homecoming: A Christmas Story	John-Boy Walton
1974	The Red Badge of Courage	Pvt. Henry Fleming
1975	The Silence	Cadet James Pelosi
1978	Getting Married	Michael Carboni
1979	No Other Love	Andrew Madison
	All Quiet on the Western Front	Paul Baumer
1980	To Find My Son	David Benjamin
1981	Berlin Tunnel 21	Lieutenant Sandy Mueller
	Barefoot in the Park	Paul Bratter
1982	Pavarotti & Friends	Himself
	Johnny Belinda	William Richmond
	Fifth of July	Kenneth Talley Jr.
	Christmas at Kennedy Center with Leontyne Price	Himself
1983	Living Proof: The Hank Williams, Jr. Story	Hank Williams Jr.
	Hobson's Choice	Will Mossup
1984	The Master of Ballantrae	Henry Durie
1985	Final Jeopardy	Marty Campbell
1988	Go Toward the Light	Greg Madison
1989	Glory! Glory!	Rev. Bobby Joe
1990	Andre's Mother	Cal Porter – Andre's Lover
	Common Ground	Colin Diver
1991	Mission of the Shark	Lieutenant Steven Scott
	Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus	James O'Hanlan
1992	A Thousand Heroes	Gary Brown	aka Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232
	Lincoln	John Hay	Voice role
1993	I Can Make You Love Me	Richard Farley	aka Stalking Laura
	Precious Victims	Don Weber
	Linda	Paul Cowley
	A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion	John-Boy Walton
1994	To Save the Children	David Young
1995	Death in Small Doses	Richard Lyon
	A Walton Wedding	John-Boy Walton
	Down, Out & Dangerous	Tim Willows
	The Christmas Box	Richard Evans
1996	West Virginia: A Film History	Narrator	Voice role
	What Love Sees	Gordon Holly
	Timepiece	Richard Evans
1997	A Walton Easter	John-Boy Walton
	A Thousand Men and a Baby	Dr. Hugh 'Bud' Keenan	aka Narrow Escape
	Flood: A River's Rampage	Herb Dellenbach
1998	Big and Hairy	Victor Dewlap
2000	In the Name of the People	Jack Murphy
	The Christmas Secret	Jerry McNeil
2001	The Miracle of the Cards	Dr. Neal Kassell
2002	Beyond the Prairie, Part 2	Charles Ingalls
	Anna's Dream	Rod Morgan
2005	Annie's Point	Richard Eason
2006	Wild Hearts	Bob
2011	Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow	Dick	aka Time after Time
2021	The Waltons' Homecoming	John-Boy Walton (voice) / Host
2022	A Waltons Thanksgiving	John-Boy Walton (voice) / Host

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Way Out	Jeremy Keeler	Episode: "The Croaker"
	Great Ghost Tales	Conradin	Episode: "Srendhi Vashtar"
	The Defenders	Johnny Remington	Episode: "The Boy Between"
	From These Roots	Richard	Unknown episodes
	The Edge of Night	Ben Schultz, Jr.
1961–1962	1, 2, 3 Go!	Himself	5 episodes
1964	A Flame in the Wind	Chris Austin	Episode: "#1.1"
1965	Seaway	Martin Anderson	Episode: "Last Voyage"
1966–1967	As the World Turns	Thomas Christopher Hughes #4	Unknown episodes
1969–1970	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Dennis Alan Graham	2 episodes
1970	Medical Center	Toby Tavormina	Episode: "Runaway"
	Bracken's World	Alan	Episode: "Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon"
	Bonanza	Billy	Episode: "The Weary Willies"
1971	The F.B.I.	John "Chill" Chilton	Episode: "The Game of Terror"
1972	Night Gallery	Ian Evans	Episode: "The Sins of the Fathers"
1972–1977	The Waltons	John-Boy Walton	124 episodes
1973	Match Game 73	Himself	5 episodes
1979	Roots: The Next Generations	Jim Warner	3 episodes
1989	The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible	Mark	Episode: "The Easter Story"
1990	Tales from the Crypt	Dr. Trask	Episode: "Mute Witness to Murder"
	It	Bill Denbrough	2 episodes
1995	The Outer Limits	Dr. Stephen Ledbetter	Episode: "The New Breed"
	The Invaders	Jerry Thayer	2 episodes
1996	Dave's World	Himself	Episode: "L.A. Times"
1997–1998	Promised Land	Joe Greene	4 episodes
	Touched by an Angel		2 episodes
1997	Riding the Rails	Narrator	TV documentary
1998	The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson	David Robinson	30 episodes
1999	The Practice	Walter Arens	Episode: "Committed"
1999–2001	It's a Miracle	Host	24 episodes
2001	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Daniel Varney	Episode: "Scourge"
2002–2003	Just Cause	Hamilton Whitney III	22 episodes
2006	Nightmares & Dreamscapes	Howard Cottrell	Episode: "Autopsy Room Four"
2009	Law & Order	Roger Jenkins	Episode: "Dignity"
2011	Rizzoli & Isles	Professor Dwayne Cravitz	Episode: "Rebel Without a Pause"
2013–2016	The Americans	Frank Gaad	41 episodes
2013	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Nat Randolph	Episode: "Brief Interlude"
	White Collar	William Wolcott	Episode: "Master Plan"
2014	The Good Wife	Ed Pratt	Episode: "Dear God"
2016	Chicago P.D.	Adam Ames	Episode: "A Night Owl"
	Elementary	Mitch Barrett	Episode: "Henny Penny the Sky is Falling"
	Conviction	Earl Slavitt	Episode: "A Different Kind of Death"
2017, 2019	Billions	Sanford Bensinger	3 episodes
2017	Blue Bloods	Congressman Richard Walters	Episode: "Ghosts of the Past"
2019	The Blacklist	David Foy	Episode: "The Third Estate"
2019–2020	NCIS: New Orleans	Deputy Director Van Cleef	2 episodes
2020	The Comey Rule	Chuck Rosenberg	2 episodes
2021	Tell Me Your Secrets	Bodie Lord	5 episodes
2022	Ozark	Nathan Davis	9 episodes

Producer

• What Love Sees (1996) (co-producer)
• Summer of Fear (1996) (co-executive producer)
• For All Time (2000) (co-executive producer)
• Camping with Camus (2000) (producer)

Director

• The Waltons (5 episodes)

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1973	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	The Waltons	Template:Won
1974				Template:Nom
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor – Television Series Drama<ref name=globe>"Richard Thomas Golden Globes" goldenglobes.com, retrieved October 26, 2017</ref>		Template:Nom
1975				Template:Nom
1990	CableACE Awards	Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	Glory! Glory!	Template:Nom
1995			Linda	Template:Nom
2016	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play<ref>Cox, Gordon. "Drama Desk Nominations: ‘She Loves Me,’ ‘American Psycho’ Earn Most Nods (FULL LIST)" Variety, April 28, 2016</ref>	Incident at Vichy	Template:Nom
2017	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actor in a Play<ref name=fox/>	The Little Foxes	Template:Nom

External links

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• Template:Iobdb name
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• Image of Robert L. Jacks, Michael Learned, Richard Thomas and Lee Rich with their Emmys for "The Waltons," Los Angeles, California, 1973. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.