Joseph Timothy Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian who appeared as Russian émigré , cellist and fellow 'alien' Sergei Krushnev who befriends Mork in Season 1's Mork and the Immigrant.
Biography[]
Tim Thomerson was born Joseph Timothy Thomerson in Coronado, California, and brought up in both Hawaii and in San Diego.
Following a stint in the Army National Guard, where he served as a cook in a tank company with actor Brion James, Thomerson chose to become an actor, while taking a job as a set builder and prop man at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, famous for its Shakespearean productions.
Following college, Thomerson began a career as a stand-up comedian, honing his skills. He appeared in comedy clubs that included The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, The Improv in Los Angeles, and Catch a Rising Star in New York City.
Career[]
Thomerson has had a very long career in television and appeared in scores of films since the 1970s; In 1985, Thomerson starred as the time-traveling future cop Jack Deth in the low-budget science fiction film Trancers, 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.
Thomerson's most famous film role is that of Jack Deth, the hero of Charles Band's Trancers science fiction series. Playing against his comedic roots, Thomerson played Deth as a hard-nosed epitome of machismo, like Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry cop films. The Jack Deth character continued in four more sequels throughout the 1990s. A fifth sequel, Trancers 6, was made and released in 2002 without Thomerson.
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, 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, Nemesis 3: Prey Harder), many of which were straight to video movies.
In addition, Thomerson has made guest appearances on TV shows The Golden Girls, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Young Riders, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Xena, Warrior Princess, Viper, The District, and Silk Stalkings.
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Filmography (TV Series)[]
| Year | TV Series | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Mannix | A Word Called Courage | Rusty |
| 1976 | Laverne & Shirley | The Bachelor Party | 'Silky' Mulcheck |
| 1976 | Harry O | Hostage | Reporter |
| 1976 | City of Angels | The Parting Shot | Seyers |
| 1977 | All That Glitters | 1 Episode | 'Sonny' Packer |
| 1977-78 | Quark | All Episodes (8) | Gene/Jean |
| 1978 | Hawaii Five-O | Death Mask | Mike Chandler |
| 1978 | Starsky and Hutch | The Avenger | Phil |
| 1979 | Mork & Mindy | Mork and the Immigrant | Sergei Krushnev |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island | Class of '69/The Pug | Lance Reynolds |
| 1979-80 | The Associates | 13 Episodes | Johnny Danko |
| 1980 | Angie | 5 Episodes | Gianni |
| 1981 | Nero Wolfe | Death on the Doorstep | Brian Stoner |
| 1982 | The Two of Us | 16 Episodes | Reggie Cavanaugh |
| 1982 | Private Benjamin | Me, Me, Me | Einhorn |
| 1983 | Gun Shy | 6 Episodes | Theodore Ogilvie |
| 1984 | Hill Street Blues | Mayo, Hold the Pickle
Watt a Way to Go |
Shady Motel Owner
Nat Rikers |
| 1984-1988 | Hunter | Pen Pals
Change Partners and Dance Honorable Profession |
Police Det. Gil Glasgow
Police Sgt. Harry Traynor Mule Mulelowski |
| 1985 | Hardcastle and McCormick | The Game You Learn from Your Father | Duke McGuire |
| 1985 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Cinderella | Royal Adviser |
| 1985-1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Sudden Death
According to Maggie |
Lieutenant Clyde Pitts
Bert Rodgers |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Take My Life... Please!/Devil's Alphabet/The Library | Billy Diamond |
| 1987 | Tour of Duty | The Good, the Bad, and the Dead | Sergeant Aubrey Decker |
| 1987 | Down and Out in Beverly Hills | 13 Episodes | Jerry Baskin |
| 1989 | The Young Riders | Black Ulysses | Colonel Savage |
| 1990 | The Flash | Pilot | Jay Allen |
| 1990 | Midnight Caller | Protection | Perry Fine |
| 1991 | Baywatch | The Fabulous Buchannon Boys | Jim 'Buzz' Buchannon |
| 1991 | The Golden Girls | Where's Charlie? | Stevie |
| 1992 | Nurses | - Moon Over Miami | Col. Calvin Carlton |
| 1992 | True Colors | - Feeling Up! | Ken |
| 1993-1995 | Sirens | 22 episodes | Sgt. James 'Buddy' Zunder |
| 1993-1997 | Silk Stalkings | Night Games
Mother Love Three Weeks of the Condor |
Foster Henshaw
Jack Stoner Monti Storm |
| 1994-1996 | Viper | The Face
Winner Take Al |
Lyle Hinkle
Hanson Dekker |
| 1995 | Walker, Texas Ranger | War Zone | Mitchell Bolton |
| 1995 | Legend | Birth of a Legend | John Wesley Coe |
| 1995 - 96 | Land's End | 22 Episodes | Dave 'Thunder' Thornton |
| 1996 | Pacific Blue | Out of the Past | The Angel |
| 1996-1999 | Xena: Warrior Princess | - The Prodigal
- The Execution |
Meleager the Mighty |
| 1996-1997 | The Sentinel | The Rig
Warriors |
Ben Crilly
Man on Vehicle in Jungle |
| 1997 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | I've Got You Under My Skin | Woody Sams |
| 1998 | Three | Like Felon, Like Daughter | Bank Robber |
| 1998-1999 | The Magnificent Seven | The Collector
The New Law |
Guy Royal |
| 1999 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Ice Station Sabrina | Mr. Alcerro |
| 2001-2002 | The District | Bulldog's Ghost
Resurrection Oil and Water |
Colonel Carl |
| 2001-2003 | Days of Our Lives | 15 Episodes | Oliver Wentworth |
| 2006 | Dr. Vegas | Heal thyself | Pip |
| 2011 | Shameless | Frank Gallagher: Loving Husband, Devoted Father | A.B. Fisher |
| 2013 | The Silicon Assassin Project | Dead Reckoning | Freddy Jones |
Filmography (Features)[]
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Car Wash | Kenny | As Timmothy Tomerson |
| 1977 | Which Way Is Up? | Tour Guide | As Timothy Thomerson |
| 1977 | Record City | Marty | As Timothy Thomerson |
| 1978 | A Wedding | Russell Bean | As Timothy Thomerson |
| 1978 | Remember My Name | Jeff | As Timothy Thomerson |
| 1980 | Carny | Doubles | |
| 1980 | Fade to Black | Jerry Moriarty | |
| 1981 | Take This Job and Shove It | Ray Binkowski | |
| 1981 | St. Helens | Sheriff Dwayne Temple | |
| 1982 | Some Kind of Hero | Cal | |
| 1982 | Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again | Dr. Knute Lanyon | |
| 1982 | Honkytonk Man | Highway Patrolman | |
| 1983 | Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn | Rhodes | |
| 1983 | The Osterman Weekend | Motorcycle cop | |
| 1983 | Uncommon Valor | 'Charts' | |
| 1984 | Rhinestone | Barnett Kale | |
| 1985 | Trancers | Jack Deth | |
| 1985 | Volunteers | John Reynolds | |
| 1985 | Zone Troopers | Sergeant | |
| 1985 | Ratboy | Alan Reynolds | Uncredited |
| 1986 | Iron Eagle | Colonel Ted Masters | |
| 1986 | A Tiger's Tale | Lonny | |
| 1986 | Near Dark | Loy Colton | |
| 1986 | Cherry 2000 | Lester | |
| 1988 | The Wrong Guys | Tim | |
| 1989 | Who's Harry Crumb? | Vince Barnes | |
| 1990 | Vietnam, Texas | Max Heron | |
| 1990 | Air America | Babo | |
| 1991 | Trancers II | Jack Deth | |
| 1991 | Eddie Presley | Shock Comic | |
| 1992 | Nemesis | Farnsworth | |
| 1992 | Stringer | Jack Mitchett | |
| 1992 | Die Watching | Detective Lewis | |
| 1993 | Knights | Farmer | Uncredited |
| 1993 | The Harvest | Steve Mobley | |
| 1994 | Natural Causes | The Westerner | |
| 1994 | Fleshtone | Buddy Fields | |
| 1994 | Hong Kong 97 | Jack McGraw | |
| 1995 | Spitfire | Rex Beechum | |
| 1995 | Dominion | Fitz | |
| 1995 | Heatseeker | Oldest Elder | |
| 1995 | Blast | Police Commissioner | |
| 1998 | Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Hoodlum | |
| 1998 | Border to Border | 'Poet' | |
| 1998 | Crossfire | Crane | |
| 1998 | Together & Alone | Daddy | |
| 1999 | Last Chance | Sam | |
| 1999 | Malevolence | Mr. Williams | |
| 1999 | Suckers | Detective Laughlin | |
| 1999 | Dirt Merchant | Jack | |
| 1999 | Red Team | William Heywood | |
| 2000 | Submerged | Owen Cantrell | |
| 2000 | Highway 395 | ||
| 2001 | Devil's Prey | Sheriff | |
| 2001 | They Crawl | Exterminator | |
| 2001 | Unseen Evil | Ranger Chuck Macneil | |
| 2001 | Gangland | Dr. Adams | |
| 2000 | Shoot or Be Shot | Uncle Bill | |
| 2002 | Ocean Park | Mike | |
| 2003 | Air Marshal | Senator Chambers | |
| 2004 | Paparazzi | Uniformed Officer | |
| 2005 | Hell to Pay | Reverend | |
| 2004 | A Lousy Ten Grand | Judge | |
| 2005 | The Nowhere Man | ||
| 2006 | Forget About It | Al 'Arizona Al' | |
| 2006 | Sasquatch Mountain | Eli | |
| 2006 | The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Arnie Swift | |
| 2006 | Evil Bong | Jack Deth | |
| 2007 | Blue Lake Butcher | Marshall Lex | |
| 2008 | Urban Decay | Detective Thompson | |
| 2008 | God's Ears | Uncle Steve | |
| 2008 | Dual | Deston / Jared | |
| 2009 | Live Evil | The Priest | |
| 2012 | MoniKa | Thomas | |
| 2016 | Catfish Blues | Eddie | |
| 2017 | Asylum of Darkness | Detective Kesler | |
| 2008 | Wicked Lake | Jake | |
| 2009 | War Wolves | Frank Bergman | |
| 2011 | Shameless | A.B. Fisher | TV series |
Mork & Mindy[]
Apart from honing his trade in places like the Improv in LA, at a time when Robin Williams was blazing a trail, Thomerson had a number of other pre-Mork & Mindy encounters. One of his earliest breaks, coming from director Robert Altman who, after seeing Thomerson's stand-up act, cast him in the film A Wedding (1978) surrounded by Carol Burnett, Mia Farrow, Vittorio Gassman, Geraldine Chaplin, and making her film bow, also courtesy of Robert Altman seeing her, Pam Dawber.
On TV 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, a part he played alongside fellow regular, and future Fred McConnell, Conrad Janis.
Thomerson had scenes with both when appearing as Sergei Krushnev, the Russian Cellist and emigre who befriends Mork as a fellow 'alien' in Season 1's Mork and the Immigrant. Sergei moving in to Mindy's Apartment on Mork's invitation without the Orkan asking her, and getting Mork into trouble after telling him that all 'aliens' have to be registered by the Department of Immigration and Naturalization.