Hiram Thomas Hinkley (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in the comedy ''

Back to the Beach ''Back to the Beach'' is a 1987 American comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903. It r ...

'' (1987), and subsequently appeared in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning short film ''

Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall ''Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall'' is a 1987 American short comedy film directed by Bryan Gordon. At the 60th Academy Awards, held in 1988, it won an Oscar for Best Short Subject. Cast * John Achorn as George Scurry * Tim Choate as Phil ...

'' (also 1987). The same year, he appeared as a lead character opposite

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar la ...

in the short-lived

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series '' Hard Knocks''. Hinkley later had supporting roles in ''

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Coli ...

'' (1990), the horror film '' Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation'' (also 1990), and the comedy '' The Little Vampire'' (2000).

Life and career

Hinkley was born Hiram Thomas Hinkley, Jr. on May 31, 1960, in

El Centro, California El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban ar ...

. He attended

Culver High School Culver High School is a public high school in District #4 of Culver, Oregon, United States. Student Profile In the 2021–2022 school year, Culver's student population was 70.9% white, 25.6% Hispanic, 2.0% Native American/Alaskan Native, 0.5% Afri ...

Culver, Oregon Culver is a city in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,357 at the 2010 census. History Orace Gabriel Collver moved from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Central Oregon and founded the town of Culver. Since he was the postmaster ...

. Hinkley's on-screen career began in the 1980s, including television guest roles, and periodic regular turns on TV series, including the short-lived

series '' Hard Knocks'' (1987), that also featured

. Having appeared in the

-winning ''

'', he has also been known for his roles in such popular box office draws as ''

The Cable Guy ''The Cable Guy'' is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack Bl ...

'' (1996), '' The Little Vampire'' (2000), ''

Ocean's Thirteen ''Ocean's Thirteen'' (stylized as ''Ocean's 13'') is a 2007 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. It is the final installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy and the sequel to ...

'' (2007) and ''

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'' (2008). He also made several appearances in the first season of the sitcom ''

Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...

'' as Jay Selby, the best friend of Paul Buchman (played by

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). He also voiced Earl Grunewald on the animated series ''

Life with Louie ''Life with Louie'' is an American animated sitcom television series that ran on the FOX Network from 1994-1998. The series was based on the childhood of well-known stand-up comedian Louie Anderson, growing up with his family in the town of Ceda ...

''. In 1995, he co-starred in the short-lived

Fox TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

sitcom ''

The Preston Episodes ''The Preston Episodes'' is an American sitcom that aired from September 9, 1995, to October 28, 1995, on Fox. Premise A divorced English professor recently moved from New Jersey starts working as a caption writer for a gossip magazine called '' ...

'' with

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015� ...

. That same year, Hinkley married actress

Tracey Needham Tracey Renee Needham (born March 28, 1967) is an American actress who has acted primarily in television roles such as Paige Thatcher on '' Life Goes On'' (2nd-4th seasons; 1990–1993), Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Meg Austin on the first seaso ...

. In 1999, Needham gave birth to their daughter. As of 2010, Hinkley worked as a teacher, teaching theatre arts to children in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Notes

References

External links

* 1960 births Living people American male voice actors American male film actors Male actors from California Male actors from Oregon People from Jefferson County, Oregon {{US-screen-actor-1960s-stub