Timothy Bottoms

From a talented acting generation of four brothers, 'Timothy Bottoms' (qv) was the closest to achieving out-and-out super-stardom in the 1970s. The eldest of four siblings, he was followed in birth by 'Joseph Bottoms' (qv), 'Sam Bottoms' (qv) and 'Ben Bottoms' (qv).All four boys were born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, with Timothy James birth date being August 30, 1951. As the children of James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor and high school art teacher, and his wife Betty, artistic expression was certainly encouraged in this family and Timothy expressed an avid interest, even during his preschool years, of wanting to perform. He was a local member of the Youth Theater Productions at school and in 1967 toured Europe along with the Santa Barbara Madrigal Society, which sealed his aspirations.Following high school, Timothy was spotted by Universal in a stage production of "Romeo and Juliet" and chosen (with no prior film experience) for a lead part in director 'Dalton Trumbo' (qv)'s _Johnny Got His Gun (1971)_ (qv). As Joe, a young American soldier who is shelled and left armless and legless on the last day of World War I, Timothy received excellent reviews and earned a Golden Globe nomination as "Most Promising Newcomer." His next starring role propelled him into the top leagues. Cast as aimless Texas-boy "Sonny," the sensitive, mournful-eyed, youthful focus of 'Peter Bogdanovich' (qv)'s downbeat Oscar winner _The Last Picture Show (1971)_ (qv), the film went on to make full-fledged stars not only of Timothy, but of 'Jeff Bridges' (qv) and 'Cybill Shepherd' (qv). Younger brother Sam, who frequently visited the set, wound up touchingly cast as simple, naive, ill-fated character.The early 1970s was a time of great personal accomplishments for Timothy in film. Engagingly maladroit and looking slightly uncomfortable in his own skin, he proved that his first reviews were no flukes. He appeared to great advantage in the touching drama _Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)_ (qv) opposite British acting doyenne 'Maggie Smith' (qv) and as the tousle-haired college protagonist in the coming-of-age box-office hit _The Paper Chase (1973)_ (qv). In an effort to break free of his sensitive prototype, he delved into stranger, darker characters with _The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974)_ (qv) and _Rollercoaster (1977)_ (qv). These efforts were less successful, however, and he quickly began to discover his film career slipping away at the early age of 26.Outgrowing his awkward adorableness, he shifted to the smaller screen in order to secure challenging roles, such as the biblical lead in _The Story of David (1976)_ (qv); his ex-convict in _A Small Town in Texas (1976)_ (qv); his bank teller in _Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (1976)_ (qv); his fatally-stricken track runner in _A Shining Season (1979)_ (qv), and the 'Raymond Massey' (qv) role (in which he aged 30 years) in the ambitious mini-series _East of Eden (1981)_ (qv), with brother Sam recreating the 'James Dean' (qv) part.Timothy's success certainly encouraged his younger siblings. By this time Joseph, Sam and Ben were were all experiencing significant lifts in their own respective careers. As a group, the four brothers hooked up together for the TV movie _Island Sons (1987)_ (qv), in which they all played brothers and used their real first names. The movie was promoted as a pilot for an upcoming weekly series, but it failed to make the grade. While Timothy continued to work steadily throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the quality of material he was given grew more standard. Roles in such films as _Invaders from Mars (1986)_ (qv), _The Drifter (1988)_ (qv) and the foreign-made _Istanbul (1989)_ (qv) did little to reignite his earlier success. A sequel to his famous "The Last Picture Show", entitled _Texasville (1990)_ (qv), could have had heads turning but the movie decided instead to focus instead on 'Jeff Bridges' (qv) (who at this juncture was a big name star) while Timothy's character was given short shrift with what was essentially a cameo.Into the millennium Timothy had a slight taste of his former glory while showing a keen talent for parody with his uncanny impersonation of president 'George W. Bush' (qv). Who would have thought? Bottoms' dead-on spoof on _That's My Bush! (2001)_ (qv), courtesy of the creators of "South Park", led to a brief Bush cameo in the family film _The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)_ (qv) and the much more serious TV-movie _DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003)_ (qv). Interestingly, Timothy needed little in the way of prosthetics. He simply parted his hair differently, added a bit of a drawl and imitated his walk!The still boyish-looking actor with that same trickle of sadness and discomfort has worked continuously for the past thirty years and appeared in over 65 films. Of late he has shined in small independent features such as with his dysfunctional father in writer/director 'Gus Van Sant' (qv)'s _Elephant (2003)_ (qv), which chronicled a Columbine High School-like massacre, and his closer-to-home portrayal as a middle-aged actor in search of his early fame in _Paradise, Texas (2006)_ (qv).Other millennium films include _Shanghai Kiss (2007)_ (qv), _Along the Way (2007)_ (qv), the remake of 'Jack London' (qv)'s _Call of the Wild (2009)_ (qv), _Pound of Flesh (2010)_ (qv), _Realm of the Mole Men (2012)_ (qv) and the quirky romantic comedy _1 Nighter (2012)_ (qv) opposite the producer/writer/director of the film 'Jill Jaress' (qv). In addition, he has been frequently viewed in such comedic and dramatic TV movies as _Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't (2005)_ (qv), _Vampire Bats (2005)_ (qv), _I Married Who? (2012)_ (qv), _Sweet Surrender (2014)_ (qv) and _How Not to Propose (2015)_ (qv), and made guest appearances on the popular series "The Governor's Wife," "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice" and "The Bridge."Timothy's marriage to folk singer Alicia Cory from 1975 to 1978, produced son Bartholomew. He has three other children (Benton, William, Bridget) with current wife (since 1984) Marcia Morehart. Bottoms divides his time between his acting work and his other great love of training wild horses at his two ranches near Big Sur, California. On the sly he has worked as a surveyor's assistant.While brothers Joseph and Ben are lesser seen these days and finding satisfying lives outside the Hollywood realm, Sam pursued his own career until his death from brain cancer in 2008 at age 53. Their eldest brother continues to display his talents with more recent prime roles in such films as the dramedy _Welcome to the Men's Group (2016)_ (qv), horror opus _The Shed (2019)_ (qv) and the adventure thriller _Tar (2020)_ (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net