Timothy Bottoms facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Timothy Bottoms
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Bottoms in 2015
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| Born |
Timothy James Bottoms
August 30, 1951 |
| Occupation | Actor, producer |
| Years active | 1970–present |
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Notable credit(s)
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James T. Hart in The Paper Chase |
| Spouse(s) |
Alicia Cory
(m. 1975; div. 1982)Marcia Morehart
(m. 1984) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives |
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Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and movie producer. He is famous for his roles in several popular films from the 1970s.
He became well-known for playing the main character in Johnny Got His Gun (1971). That same year, he starred as Sonny Crawford in The Last Picture Show. This movie was a huge hit and made him, Cybill Shepherd, and Jeff Bridges famous. He also played a law student named James Hart in the movie The Paper Chase (1973).
Later in his career, he became known for looking and sounding like U.S. President George W. Bush. He played the president in a TV comedy show, a movie, and a serious TV film about the September 11 attacks.
Contents
Early Life and First Steps in Acting
Timothy Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California. He was the oldest of four sons. His father, James "Bud" Bottoms, was a sculptor and art teacher, and his mother was Betty Bottoms.
He went to Santa Barbara High School and graduated in 1970. While in school, he acted and sang in many plays, which gave him great experience for his future career.
A Career in Movies and TV
Famous Early Roles
Timothy Bottoms started his movie career in 1971 with a big role as Joe Bonham in Johnny Got His Gun. In the movie, his character is a young soldier who is severely injured in World War I. Footage from this film was later used in the music video for the Metallica song "One".
Also in 1971, he starred in The Last Picture Show, which was a major success. He played a teenager named Sonny Crawford growing up in a small Texas town. He even played Sonny again in the 1990 sequel, Texasville.
In 1973, he played a first-year law student at Harvard University in The Paper Chase. His character had to deal with a very strict and intimidating professor. He also played the main villain in the 1977 disaster movie Rollercoaster.
Playing a President
Because he looked a lot like U.S. President George W. Bush, Bottoms was asked to play him in three different projects.
- He played a funny version of the president in a sitcom (a situation comedy) on Comedy Central called That's My Bush!.
- He made a brief appearance as President Bush in the family movie The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.
- He played President Bush in a serious way in the TV movie DC 9/11: Time of Crisis. This film was a docudrama, which means it was a fictional story based on real events, in this case the September 11 attacks.
Other Work
Bottoms has appeared in many other movies and TV shows. He had a recurring role on the TV series Dirt, where he played the owner of a magazine.
He also worked as a producer. He co-produced a documentary called Picture This – The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas. This film showed what it was like behind the scenes of The Last Picture Show and its sequel Texasville. In the documentary, he shared that he had a crush on his co-star Cybill Shepherd while filming the first movie.
In 2023, Bottoms wrote and published his first novel, called The Pier.
Personal Life
Timothy is the oldest of four brothers, and his brothers Joseph Bottoms and Sam Bottoms also became actors.
Bottoms has been married twice. He first married singer Alicia Cory in 1975, and they had one son together. After they divorced, he married Marcia Morehart in 1984. He and Marcia have three children.
