Byron Thames (born April 23, 1969) is an American television and film actor and musician.

Early life

Born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, his family moved shortly after his birth to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He moved to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, with his mother at age eight to pursue a career as an actor.

Career

After meeting actor/director

Michael Landon Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on the Pr ...

, Thames was cast in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television network dramatic television series ''

Father Murphy ''Father Murphy'' is an American western drama television series that aired on the NBC network from November 3, 1981, to September 18, 1983. Michael Landon created the series, was the executive producer, and directed the show in partnership wi ...

'' in 1981 at the age of eleven opposite actor and former NFL athlete

Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen (; September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football Le ...

. The series ran for two seasons and ended in 1983. The following year, he was cast in ''

Johnny Dangerously ''Johnny Dangerously'' is a 1984 American crime comedy film, and a parody of 1930s crime/gangster movies. It was directed by Amy Heckerling. The film stars Michael Keaton as an honest, goodhearted man who turns to a life of crime to finance hi ...

'', playing the part of actor

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...

's character as a child, and appeared in a starring role in the

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

-penned dramatic film '' Blame It on the Night''. In 1985 he received a starring role in ''

Seven Minutes in Heaven Seven minutes in heaven (or seven minutes in the closet) is a kissing party game mostly played at teenage parties. The game may also be played with a different duration. The game Two people are selected to go into a closet or other dark enclos ...

''. The film centered on the relationships of three teenage friends, portrayed by Thames,

Jennifer Connelly Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...

and

Maddie Corman Maddie Corman (born Madeleine Cornman; August 15, 1970) is an American actress. She has appeared in over 25 films, including ''Seven Minutes in Heaven'', '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'' and '' A Beautiful Day in t ...

. During the 1980s, Thames also made appearances in a number of television series, including: ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'', ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the fi ...

'', ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...

'', ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

'', ''

Highway To Heaven ''Highway to Heaven'' is an American fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth in order t ...

'' and ''

Brand New Life ''Brand New Life'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Barbara Eden and Don Murray and produced by Walt Disney Television and NBC Productions that aired on NBC as part of ''The Magical World of Disney'' during the 1989–90 ...

''. In 2001, he appeared in ''

Don's Plum ''Don's Plum'' is a 2001 black-and-white independent lengthened short film directed by R. D. Robb, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Kevin Connolly. It was filmed in 1995–1996, and written by Robb with Bethany Ashton, Tawd Beckman ...

'' as the title character, "Don Plum". In 2004, he co-starred with

James Vallo James Vallo is an American producer and actor who played the role of Al Manac in '' Space Daze'' and its sequel ''Spaced Out''. His productions include '' Sister Mary'', '' Not Another B Movie'', ''Chasing Hollywood'' and ''Paranormal Calamity'' ...

in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

sci-fi comedy ''Space Daze'' which was distributed by

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

in 2005 and then reprised his role in the 2009 sequel ''Spaced Out''. In 2007, he teamed up again with Vallo and ''Space Daze'' writer/director John Wesley Norton playing the lead role in the then titled ''Working Title'' which was later released as '' Not Another B Movie'' in 2011 (also distributed by Troma). Thames provided additional voices in two Blue Sky films '' Epic'' and ''

Rio 2 ''Rio 2'' is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. It is the sequel to the 2011 computer-animated film ''Rio'' and the second installment of the ''Rio'' franchise. ...

'', along with

Jim Conroy Jim Conroy (born September 17, 1970) is an American actor and television writer known for appearing on television shows and movies, such as ''The Cuphead Show!'', ''Jellystone!'', ''Kenny the Shark'' and '' Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman'', as well a ...

, John Storey,

Randy Thom David Randall Thom (born August 21, 1951) is an American sound designer and the current director of sound design at Skywalker Sound. Career Randy Thom began working at FM radio station WYSO at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a voluntee ...

Jason Harris Katz Jason Harris Katz is an American voice actor and a former television host. He was the host of the short-lived ''Double Dare 2000'' on Nickelodeon. He also was a host of Nickelodeon's ''Big Help on the Road'' in the late 1990s. He appeared on '' ...

, Holly Dorff, David Cowgill, and more.

Personal life

Byron Thames married actress Lisa Alpert. They had one son together, singer and actor Hudson Thames. Later they divorced and he married actress

Tricia Leigh Fisher Tricia Leigh Fisher is an American actress and singer. Early life Fisher was born to singer Eddie Fisher and actress Connie Stevens. Her older sister is actress and singer Joely Fisher. She has two half-siblings, actor and producer Todd Fishe ...

in August 2007. The couple resides in

, with their child, as well as their children from his prior marriage and her previous relationship.Lovetripper.com: Tricia Leigh Fisher's Los Angeles Wedding
, lovetripper.com; accessed March 22, 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thames, Byron 1969 births American male film actors American male television actors American male child actors Male actors from New Orleans Musicians from New Orleans Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors