Richard Thomas (actor) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Thomas
Thomas at the Peabody Awards in May 2015
Born	Richard Earl Thomas (1951-06-13) June 13, 1951 (age 74) Manhattan, New York, United States
Education	Allen-Stevenson School, New York City (NYC) McBurney School, also NYC Columbia University (dropped out)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1958–present
Spouse(s)	Alma Gonzales ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 1993)​ Georgiana Bischoff ​ ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	7
Parents	Richard Thomas (father) Barbara Fallis (mother)

Richard Earl Thomas (born on June 13, 1951) is an American actor. He is famous for playing John-Boy Walton in the TV show The Waltons. For this role, he won an Emmy Award. He was also nominated for another Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards.

Later, Thomas starred as Bill Denbrough in the 1990 TV mini-series It, which was based on Stephen King's scary novel. He also played Special Agent Frank Gaad in the spy thriller series The Americans. More recently, he appeared in the Netflix show Ozark. He is currently touring with the play To Kill a Mockingbird, where he plays Atticus Finch.

Early Life and Education

Richard Thomas was born in Manhattan, New York, on June 13, 1951. His parents, Barbara Fallis and Richard S. Thomas, were dancers with the New York City Ballet. They also owned the New York School of Ballet.

Thomas has a birthmark on his left cheek. He once said that because of this, he was turned down for a TV commercial when he was young.

He went to Columbia College at Columbia University. He first studied Chinese, then switched to English. He left college during his third year to act full-time in The Waltons in Los Angeles.

Acting Career Highlights

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

Richard Thomas started acting on Broadway in 1958, at just seven years old, in a play called Sunrise at Campobello. In 1959, he was in a TV show called A Doll's House. He also acted in daytime soap operas like The Edge of Night and As the World Turns. In 1970, he was a guest star in the TV western Bonanza.

His first big movie roles were in Winning (1969) with Paul Newman and Last Summer (also 1969). In 1971, he appeared in the thriller The Todd Killings and the movie Red Sky at Morning.

Thomas on the set of The Waltons in 1973

In 1972, Richard Thomas became famous worldwide for playing John-Boy Walton in the TV series The Waltons. This show was based on the life story of writer Earl Hamner, Jr.. He first played John-Boy in the TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in 1971. He then continued the role for 122 episodes of The Waltons. In 1977, he left the series, but he came back for three Waltons TV movies in the 1990s. He won an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series in 1973 for his work on the show.

Thomas also played different kinds of characters. He was a murderer in You'll Like My Mother (1972). He played Private Henry Fleming in the TV movie The Red Badge of Courage (1974) and Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front (1979). He was also in Roots: The Next Generations (1979) and played the adult Bill Denbrough in the 1990 mini-series It.

In 1980, Thomas returned to Broadway in the play Fifth of July. That same year, he starred as Shad in the science fiction movie Battle Beyond the Stars. He continued to act on stage in plays like Citizen Tom Paine (1987) and The Lisbon Traviata (1990). In 1993, he played the main role in Shakespeare's Richard II.

He appeared in TV movies like Death in Small Doses and The Christmas Box (1995). He also performed in many plays at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut, including Hamlet (1987) and Richard III (1994).

In 2001, he acted in the play Art in London. He also appeared in New York plays like As You Like It (2005) and Democracy (2004). He hosted the TV series It's a Miracle and starred in Just Cause (2003).

Thomas with singer Stacey Robinson in 2014

From 2006, Thomas toured the U.S. with the play Twelve Angry Men. In 2009 and 2010, he was on Broadway in Race. In 2011, he starred in Timon of Athens.

From 2013 to 2016, Thomas played Frank Gaad in the TV series The Americans. In 2017, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in The Little Foxes on Broadway.

In 2018, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A Musical Christmas Carol in Pittsburgh. In 2021, he was Bodie Lord in the Amazon show Tell Me Your Secrets. In 2022, he played Nathan Davis in the Netflix series Ozark.

Since April 2022, Thomas has been touring as Atticus Finch in the stage play of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In 2024, he played Professor Webb in the play Our Town. He has also narrated over 340 audiobooks for Audible.

Personal Life

Richard Thomas married Alma Gonzales in 1975. They had a son in 1976 and triplet daughters in 1981. They divorced in 1993.

Thomas married Georgiana Bischoff, an art dealer, on November 20, 1994. They had a son in 1996. Richard also adopted Georgiana's two daughters from her previous marriages. Richard and Georgiana currently live in New York.

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Richard Thomas para niños