Joseph Timothy Thomerson is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancersfilm series and for his work in numerous low-budget features and his comedic television roles.
When Thomerson moved into comedy, he found himself in a boom alongside the likes of David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Freddie Prinze. In L.A., he became a regular at the Comedy Store and the Improv, as well as making numerous appearances on television variety shows and in Las Vegas. Thomerson has had a very long career in television and appeared in scores of films since the 1970s; he had a memorable minor role in Car Wash and played criminal psychologist Jerry Moriarity in the slasher film Fade to Black. In 1985, Thomerson starred as the time-traveling future cop Jack Deth in the low-budget science fiction filmTrancers, produced by Charles Band and Empire Pictures. The role made him an icon of the B-movie genre, and led to Thomerson building a working relationship with the Bands. He was supposed to appear in the feature Pulse Pounders, but it was ultimately never completed. In 1986, Thomerson reunited with a few of his Trancers co-stars for the World War II science fiction filmZone Troopers; he also appeared in the vampire film Near Dark. He played a villain opposite Melanie Griffith's heroine in the science fiction film Cherry 2000. He also Major Dan Hackett in the Disney made-for-TV movie, The B.R.A.T. Patrol, starring opposite Sean Astin, Nia Long, and Brian Keith. When Charles Band started Full Moon Features in the late 1980s, one of his first projects was the sequel Trancers II, in which he reunited Thomerson with much of the cast from the first film. Thomerson would later appear in the next three sequels, with the exception of Trancers 6. It starred Zette Sullivan in her only lead role and used archive footage of Thomerson to enhance the storyline. He appeared in NBC's television filmThe Incredible Hulk Returns as The Hulk's opponent, Jack LeBeau. Another film role making Thomerson popular with science fiction fans was that of Brick Bardo in Dollman, a Dirty Harry-like alien cop who is only 13 inches tall; he uses his blaster to take on gangsters and devil-possessed toys. The character also appeared briefly in Bad Channels. Thomerson has had many memorable roles in feature films, including Uncommon Valor, Air America, Volunteers, Who's Harry Crumb?, Iron Eagle, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as well as numerous television roles, including the series Tour of Duty and 21 Jump Street. He also played Colonel Savage of the Missouri Militia in The Young Riders. In the 1990s, he was a series regular on the TV police drama Sirens, followed by a regular, co-starring role on the series Land's End starring Fred Dryer. Thomerson has worked with some of his favorite actors, which include Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, Wilford Brimley, and Richard Farnsworth. His personal comic hero is Richard Pryor.
Initial success
One of Thomerson's early acting breaks came from director Robert Altman who, after seeing Thomerson's stand-up act, cast him in the film A Wedding. At this early stage of Thomerson's film career, he found himself surrounded by Vittorio Gassman, Carol Burnett, Geraldine Chaplin, and a very young Dennis Franz. Thomerson first came to prominence in the short-lived comedy science-fiction TV series Quark in 1977–78, as Gene/Jean, a character of dual gender who randomly switched from a macho to a feminine personality.
Thomerson's most famous film role is that of Jack Deth, the hero of Charles Band's Trancers science fiction series. Playing against his comedic roots, Thomerson played Deth as a hard-nosed epitome of machismo, like Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry cop films. The Jack Deth character continued in four more sequels throughout the 1990s. A fifth sequel, Trancers 6, was made and released in 2002 without Thomerson. Other career highlights include Babo in the adventure film Air America with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey, Jr., grimy mercenary Rhodes in ', demented cult leader Lester in Cherry 2000, Loy in the horror classic Near Dark, diminutive lawman Brick Bardo in Dollman and Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, and a scruffy motorcyclist in Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Thomerson is a stock player in the films of actor/director Michael Worth and a favorite of director Albert Pyun. In addition, Thomerson has made guest appearances on TV shows The Golden Girls, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Young Riders, ', Xena, Warrior Princess, Viper, The District, and Silk Stalkings. He also was the Voice of Freedom for the John Milius-written video game Homefront and Cyrus Temple in .
