Pete Thornton is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

''. He is played by

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

. Pete is

Angus MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both po ...

's best friend and boss at both the Department of External Services (DXS) and the

Phoenix Foundation The Phoenix Foundation is a libertarian foundation that has supported numerous attempts, at times violent, to create independent libertarian states. The foundation was created by Nevada-based real estate millionaire Michael Oliver, his friend ...

. Along with MacGyver, Thornton is the only regular character in the series. Little is revealed about Pete's youth and background before the show starts, but he has been married to Connie Thornton with whom he has a son, Michael Thornton. It is also clear that he has extensive background working for the U.S. government. He was a

war veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

with service in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. At an unknown time, he left the military and joined the Department of External Services (DXS), a U.S. government agency involved in intelligence and black ops work. He met MacGyver there in 1980 while tracking the international assassin

Murdoc Murdoc is a fictional character that appears in the ABC television series ''MacGyver'' and in the CBS reboot series of the same name. In both portrayals, Murdoc is an assassin and frequent antagonist of both series. Original series Murdoc ...

, and was so impressed that he recruited him into the DXS.Season 2, Episode 18 - "Partners". This episode recounts the events that took place. He reaches the position of Deputy Chief of the Department in 1986 before leaving later that same year. He then goes to work for the Phoenix Foundation as Director of Operations, and takes MacGyver with him as a troubleshooter. Pete settles down with a desk job, but still is involved in many field operations along with MacGyver. In 1991, actor Dana Elcar began to develop

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

, a degenerative condition of the eyes that causes

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

. This condition was written into the show, and Elcar's character also develops the disease.

2016 Reboot

In the 2016 reboot, the character was replaced with a female character Patricia Thornton, played by

Sandrine Holt Sandrine Claire Holt (born Sandrine Vanessa Ho; 19 November 1972) is a British-born Canadian model and actress. Early life Holt was born Sandrine Vanessa Ho in Croydon. Her middle name was later changed to Claire. Her father, Man Shun ("Horace" ...

References

MacGyver characters Fictional secret agents and spies Fictional vigilantes Television characters introduced in 1986 {{tv-char-stub