ROY THINNES
Roy was born April 6, 1938 in Chicago, IL. During his formative years, Roy 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.
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 Sun Times columnist Irv Kupcinet.
His first regular TV work was as Phil Brewer on the daytime soap opera General Hospital; during this period, the young actor became the television equivalent of a matinee 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 1965 weekly-TV version of the 1958 film Long Hot Summer, 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 Fugitive-like sci-fi series The Invaders (1967-68).
Success with The Invaders in 1967 also led to marriage to his first wife Lynn Loring, who acted with him in The Invaders as well as in the movie "Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun" and is now a CBS film executive. They parted in 1984.
Though he'd occasionally show up in such theatrical features as Hindenburg (1975), Airport 75 (1975) and Blue Bayou (1990), Thinnes would remain essentially a TV star for the rest of his career. Among Roy Thinnes' post-Invaders TV-series roles was Dr. James Whitman on The Psychiatrist (1971), Capt (and later Major) Holms on From Here to Eternity (1979-80), Nick Hogan on Falcon Crest (who, in 1983, married Victoria Gioberti [Jamie Rose] in a highly-rated ceremony) and the dual role of Roger Collins and Reverend Trask in the 1991 prime-time revival of Dark Shadows.
Roy's most recent appearance on the X-Files has put him back in the forefront. Chris Carter revived the enigmatic alien Jeremiah Smith, a turnabout role Chris Carter, who is a fan of THE INVADERS, renewed for Roy in the February 25, 2001 episode of The X-Files, called "This Is Not Happening." As this episode was a two-parter, Roy may reappear as Jeremiah Smith--most likely later in 2002. Roy is scheduled to star in two more films, "Behind the Badge," filming late March 2002 and "The Cogency," filming June 1, 2002.
COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY
You can find some of these on video via Ebay or Amazon.com or check out when programs are on television. This data is collated from IMDB.
Note: the year in parantheses is when the movie or series was first released. Check the actual episode release date further in the description.
Behind The Badge (2003) .... Police Chief Andrew Lindley
Cogency, The (2003) .... General Bradley Purcell
Beautiful Mind, A (2001) .... Governor
Bar Hopping (2000) .... Man With Cassandra
Terminal (1996) (TV)
... aka Robin Cook's Terminal (1996) (TV)
"Invaders, The" (1995) (mini) TV Series .... David Vincent
Stormy Weathers (1992) (TV) .... Andrew Chase
Lady Against the Odds (1992) (TV)
"One Life to Live" (1968) TV Series .... Alex Crown (1984-1985, 1987)/Sloan Carpenter (1992-1995)
"Dark Shadows" (1991) TV Series .... Roger Collins/Reverend Trask
Inconvenient Woman, An (1991) (TV) .... Sims Lord
Blue Bayou (1990) (TV) .... Barry Fontenot
Dark Shadows (1990) (TV) .... Roger Collins
Dark Holiday (1989) (TV)
... aka Passport to Terror (1989) (TV)
Rush Week (1989) .... Dean Grail
"Falcon Crest" (1981) TV Series .... Nick Hogan (1982-1983)
Sizzle (1981) (TV) .... Wheeler
Scruples (1981) (TV) .... Hall
Freedom (1981) (TV) .... Michael
"From Here to Eternity" (1980) TV Series .... Major Dana Holmes
"From Here to Eternity" (1979) (mini) TV Series .... Captain Dana Holmes
Stone (1979) (TV)
Code Name: Diamond Head (1977) (TV) .... Johnny Paul
Secrets (1977) (TV) .... Herb Fleming
Manhunter, The (1976) (TV) .... David Farrow
Hindenburg, The (1975) .... Martin Vogel
Airport 1975 (1974) .... Urias
Death Race (1973) (TV) .... Arnold McMillan
Satan's School for Girls (1973) (TV) .... Joseph Clampett
Norliss Tapes, The (1973) (TV) .... David Norliss
Charley One-Eye (1972) .... The Indian
Horror at 37,000 Feet (1972) (TV) .... Alan O'Neill
Black Noon (1971) (TV) .... Reverend John Keyes
"Psychiatrist, The" (1971) TV Series .... Doctor James Whitman
Psychiatrist: God Bless the Children, The (1970) (TV) .... Doctor James Whitman
... aka Children of the Lotus Eater (1970) (TV)
Other Man, The (1970) (TV) .... Johnny Bryant
Doppelganger (1969) .... Colonel Glenn Ross
... aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969) (USA)
Man Hunter, The (1969) .... David Farrow
"Invaders, The" (1967) TV Series .... David Vincent
Airdates
Season 1 January-June 1967
Episode/Title
1 Beachead
2 The Experiment
3 The Mutation
4 The Leeches
5 Genesis
6 Vikor
7 Nightmare
8 Doomsday Minus One
9 Quantity Unknown
10 The Innocent
11 The Ivy Curtain
12 The Betrayed
13 Storm
14 Panic
15 Moonshot
16 Wall Of Crystal
17 The Condemned
Season 2 September 1967-June 1968
18 Condition Red
19 The Saucer
20 The Watchers
21 Valley Of The Shadow
22 The Enemy
23 The Trial
24 The Spores
25 Dark Outpost
26 Summit Meeting Part 1
27 Summit Meeting Part 2
28 The Prophet
29 Labyrinth
30 The Captive
31 The Believers
32 The Ransom
33 Task Force
34 The Possessed
35 Counterattack
36 The Pit
37 The Organization
38 The Peacemaker
39 The Vice
40 The Miracle
41 The Life Seekers
42 The Pursued
43 Inquisition
"Long, Hot Summer, The" (1965) TV Series .... Ben Quick (1965-66)
"General Hospital" (1963) TV Series .... Dr. Phil Brewer (#1) (1963-1966)
Notable TV guest appearances
"Law and Order: Criminal Intent" (2001) playing "Attorney Sheridan Beckworth" in episode: "Faithful, The" (episode # 1.4) 10/17/2001
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "Jeremiah Smith" in episode "This Is Not Happening!" (episode #8.14) 2/25/01
"Sopranos, The" (1999) playing "Dr. Baumgartner" in episode "House Arrest" (episode # 2.11) 3/26/2000
"D.C." (2000) playing "Fred Hamilton" in episode: "Guns and Roses" (episode # 1.7) 3/24/2000
"Law and Order" (1990) playing "Mr. Kushner" in episode "Ramparts" (episode # 9.11) 1/13/1999
"Players" (1997) in episode "Con Job" (episode # 1.1) 10/17/1997
"Law and Order" (1990) playing "Victor Panatti" in episode "Terminal" (episode # 7.23) 5/21/1997
"Touched by an Angel" (1994) playing "Senator Guy Hammond" in episode: "Secret Service" (episode # 3.6) 10/13/1996
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "Jeremiah Smith" in episode "Herrenvolk" (episode # 4.1) 10/4/1996
"Poltergeist: The Legacy" (1996) playing "Clayton Wallace" in episode: "Crystal Scarab, The" (episode # 1.11) 6/28/1996
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "Jeremiah Smith" in episode "Talitha, Cumi" (episode # 3.24) 5/17/1996
"Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993) playing "Col. Dayton" in episode "Case Closed"(episode # 3.19) 4/29/1995
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) playing "J. K. Davern" in episode "Taxman Cometh, The" (episode # 7.15) 2/17/1991
"FBI: The Untold Stories" (1991) in episode: "D.B. Cooper/McCoy"
"Law and Order" (1990) playing "D.A. Alfred Wentworth" in episode: "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" (episode # 1.6) 10/30/1990
"War of the Worlds" (1988) playing "Van Order" in episode "Video Messiah"(episode # 2.16) 4/16/1990
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) playing "Sheriff Landry" in episode: "Trouble In Eden" (episode # 4.9) 11/22/1987
"Highway to Heaven" (1984) in episode: "Oh Lucky Man" (episode # 3.12) 12/10/1986
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) playing "Lt. Ted Misko" in episode: "Dead Heat" (episode # 2.8) 11/24/1985
"Love Boat, The" (1977) in episode: "Country Blues/A Matter of Taste/Frat Brothers Forever" 12/6/1984
"Battlestar Galactica" (1978) playing "Croft" in episode "Gun On Ice Planet Zero, The: Part 2" (episode # 1.9) 10/29/1978
"Battlestar Galactica" (1978) playing "Croft" in episode "Gun On Ice Planet Zero, The: Part 1" (episode # 1.8) 10/22/1978
"Fugitive, The" (1963) playing "Carl Crandall" in episode "Wine is a Traitor" (episode # 4.8) 11/1/1966
"Twelve O'Clock High" (1964) playing "Capt Pridie" in episode: "Distant Cry, A" (episode # 3.5) 10/7/1966
"F.B.I., The" (1965) in episode "Escape, The" (episode # 2.33) 10/2/1966
"Twelve O'Clock High" (1964) in episode "In Search of My Enemy (episode #16) 1/8/1965
"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Ab Singleton" in episode "Jeb" (episode # 8.37) 5/25/1963
"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Harry" in episode "False Front" (episode # 8.15) 12/22/1962
"Untouchables, The" (1959) playing "Denny Brannon" in episode "Fist of Five, A" (episode # 4.10) 12/4/1962
I've known Roy personally since 1987, when I contacted him for an interview for my radio station. I had been a fan of his since 1967, when The Invaders debuted. Talking to him, I learned that Roy had seen only the pilot episode of his legendary TV series. When he was filming, it was a six day a week, 14-16 hour a day workload and VCRs weren't around then, so he never got a chance to just watch the show. Los Angeles never aired any re-runs after it was cancelled, either. So, I sent him out all 43 episodes on tape that I had gotten from a friend. Since that time, we've shared a number of anecdotes and stories about his long and successful career. I will publish that very soon. Until then, thanks for visiting this authorized site. If you would like to send any comments or photos or info, please
email Cogency1@aol.com. If you would like to write to Roy, I would be glad to forward your hard copies of your letters to him(he doesn't mess around with computers).
Cosmic Films, 4754 E. Flamingo, #538, Las Vegas, NV 89121
