Thomas Louis Villard (November 19, 1953 – November 14, 1994) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. He is known for his leading role in the 1980s series '' We Got It Made'', as well as roles in feature films ''

Grease 2 ''Grease 2'' is a 1982 American musical romantic comedy film and the sequel to the 1978 film ''Grease'', adapted from the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Originally titled ''More Grease'', the film was produced ...

'', ''

One Crazy Summer ''One Crazy Summer'' is a 1986 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Savage Steve Holland, and starring John Cusack, Demi Moore, Bobcat Goldthwait, Curtis Armstrong and Joel Murray. The original film score was composed by Cory Ler ...

'', ''

Heartbreak Ridge ''Heartbreak Ridge'' is a 1986 American war film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film also co-stars Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, and Mario Van Peebles, and was released in the United States on Decemb ...

'', '' My Girl'', and ''

Popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...

''.

Early life

Villard was born in

Waipahu, Hawaii Waipahu () is a former sugarcane plantation town and now census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District on the island of Oahu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 43, ...

and grew up in

Spencerport, New York Spencerport is a village in Monroe County, New York, United States, and a suburb of Rochester. The population count was 3,601 at the 2010 census. The Village of Spencerport is within the Town of Ogden and is a village on the Erie Canal. Spence ...

, the son of Diane Ruth (MacNaughton), a teacher for students with emotional challenges, and Ronald Louis Villard, a photochemical engineer. He attended

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The city is within of Erie and within of Pittsburgh. It was the first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The population was 13,388 at the 2010 ce ...

, before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to attend the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

and the

American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts located in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers both Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and two-year certificates in prof ...

in the early 1970s. In 1980, Villard moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and soon started landing roles on television and in movies. He also continued performing on stage until the end of his career.

Career

Villard appeared throughout his career on television, in feature films, and on stage around the country. He was featured in situation comedies, episodic TV series, and had leading roles in lower and mid-range budgeted features. At the peak of his career Villard was given featured supporting roles in big-budget studio fare, such as

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

's ''

'', and '' My Girl'' (with

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

and

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...

). One of his final roles was playing a

Bajoran The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...

monk on ''

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

''.

Personal life and illness

Toward the end of his life, Villard became one of the few actors in Hollywood in the early 1990s who chose to be open about his homosexuality, and the challenge of living with HIV and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. In February 1994, Villard made an unprecedented appearance on ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

'', acknowledging to "...more than 13 million viewers that he was gay, that he had AIDS, and that he needed some help." According to a '' POZ magazine'' profile in December of that year Villard said, "An awful lot of people suddenly wouldn't let me in the door for auditions. I started speaking a couple of months ago about living with AIDS and having hope," he said. "It feels a little more useful than things (I've done) in the past." He went on to explain that since his appearance on ''E.T.'', a whole other group of people had come forward to welcome him. Bill Melamed, Villard's manager added: "I'm particularly proud of him. The reality is, acting is a lousy business... He made a decision that was courageous in any walk of life, but it doesn't surprise me. He has one of the most open spirits."

Death

On November 14, 1994, five days shy of his 41st birthday, Villard died of AIDS-related

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

. As a tribute to him, a non-profit foundation was created by his partner Chambliss, close friend

Karen Kaye Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

, and his friend and chiropractor Cheryl Revkin. The Tom Villard Foundation was a Silver Lake community-based effort which engaged local businesses to provide free goods and services for community members living with AIDS. The beneficiaries were the client base of the former Silver Lake AIDS support organization, ''Being Alive''. The Tom Villard Foundation no longer exists. ''Being Alive'' is now headquartered in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villard, Tom 1953 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American male actors Male actors from New York (state) AIDS-related deaths in California Allegheny College alumni American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Deaths from pneumonia in California American gay actors 20th-century LGBT people Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni LGBT people from Hawaii People from Spencerport, New York American Musical and Dramatic Academy alumni