Roy Thinnes

Roy was born on April 6, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois. During his formative years, he had wanted to become a doctor or football player - or, if one wants to believe his early press releases, both. He started in show business at a radio station, where he did everything: engineering, DJ shows, news and dramatizations. That led to an interest in acting in general. After a hitch in the army, he went to New York and then to California, where he started working in episodes of TV shows. Having made his professional acting debut as a teen-aged firebug in a 1957 pilot for the never-sold TV series, "Chicago 212", Thinnes spent several lean years "between engagements", working as a hotel clerk, vitamin salesman and copy boy to Chicago columnist 'Irv Kupcinet' (qv). His first regular TV work was as "Phil Brewer" on the daytime soap opera, _General Hospital (1963)_ (qv); during this period, the young actor became the television equivalent of a matinée idol, sparking a barrage of protest mail when he briefly left "GH" in pursuit of other acting jobs. Aggressively campaigning for the starring role of "Ben Quick" on _The Long, Hot Summer (1965)_ (qv) -- the TV version of the film, _The Long, Hot Summer (1958)_ (qv) -- Thinnes won the part, as well as a whole new crop of adoring female fans. While "Summer" was unsuccessful, Thinnes enjoyed a longer run as "David Vincent" on the _The Fugitive (1963)_ (qv)-like sci-fi series, _The Invaders (1967)_ (qv). Success with this popular show also led to marriage to first wife, 'Lynn Loring' (qv), who acted with him in the show as well as in the movie, _Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969)_ (qv) (aka "Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun"); she is now a CBS film executive. They parted in 1984. Though he'd occasionally show up in such features as _The Hindenburg (1975)_ (qv), _Airport 1975 (1974)_ (qv) and _Blue Bayou (1990)_ (qv), Thinnes has remained essentially a TV star. Among his post-"The Invaders" TV-series roles was "Dr. James Whitman" on _The Psychiatrist (1970)_ (qv), "Capt. (and later Maj.) Holms" on _From Here to Eternity (1980)_ (qv), "Nick Hogan" on _Falcon Crest (1981)_ (qv) (who, in 1983, married "Victoria Gioberti" ['Jamie Rose' (qv)] in a highly-rated ceremony) and the dual role of "Roger Collins" and "Rev. Trask" in the 1991 prime-time revival, _Dark Shadows (1991)_ (qv). Roy's more recent appearances on the _The X-Files (1993)_ (qv) put him back in the forefront. He revived his role as the enigmatic alien, "Jeremiah Smith", a turnabout role series creator 'Chris Carter' (qv) renewed for Roy in the February 25, 2001 episode, _The X-Files: This Is Not Happening (2001)_ (qv).::James E. Finch (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)