Jay Thomas
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Jay Thomas was an American disc jockey and actor who was best known for his roles in "Mork & Mindy" (ABC, 1978-1982), "Murphy Brown" (CBS, 1988-1998) and "Mr. Holland's Opus" (1995). Born in Kermit, Texas and raised in New Orleans, Thomas was a gifted athlete in high school and excelled in multiple sports, including football, boxing and wrestling. He played football for a brief period in college, but quickly discovered that he joined calling the games as a radio announcer, as opposed to playing in them. From there, Thomas turned all of his focus and attention to radio broadcasting. After college he worked as a disc jockey for a number of smaller stations in the South before receiving his first big break when he was asked to be a DJ for a Top 40 station in New York City. Thomas was a familiar voice to radio listeners all across the Big Apple in the late 1970s. With his radio career in full swing, Thomas received an offer to appear as a recurring character alongside Robin Williams on "Mork & Mindy." It was an offer he couldn't refuse and with that, he packed his bags and moved to Los Angeles. Thomas played Remo DaVinci on the series from 1979 to 1981, all the while continuing to serve as a DJ for Top 40 stations in sunny Southern California. He remained a DJ all throughout the 1980s, and continued to act consistently in both movies and television shows, including a recurring role as Eddie LeBec on "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-1993). Then in 1989 Thomas landed his breakout role as Jerry on "Murphy Brown." He appeared intermittently on the series from 1989 through 1998, and went onto win two Primetime Emmys for his performance. Thomas continued acting throughout the 90s and well into the 2010s, with his more notable roles including "Mr. Holland's Opus," "The Santa Claus 2" (2002), and "Ray Donovan" (Showtime, 2013- ). After leaving radio to focus on his acting in the early 90s, Thomas returned to the mic in 2005 with his own weekly radio program on SiriusXM. After an amazing career in entertainment spanning 40-plus years, Jay Thomas passed away from cancer on August 24, 2017. He was 69.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1979
Played a recurring role on "Mork & Mindy"
1981
Made screen-acting debut on "The Love Boat"
1984
Made feature film debut in "C.H.U.D."
1984
Appeared on first TV miniseries, "Master of the Game"
1987
Played recurring character Eddie LeBec, ex-husband of Carla, for three seasons on the hit NBC sitcom, "Cheers"
1988
Made TV movie debut in "Justin Case"
1989
Played Jerry Gold on "Murphy Brown"
1992
Starred in leading role of Jack Stein on the CBS sitcom, "Love & War", which reteamed him with the Diane English-Joel Shukovsky team
1995
Co-starred in "Mr. Holland's Opus"
1998
Had first leading role in "Dirty Laundry"
1998
Played Ares on cult TV hit "Hercules"
1999
Appeared as Glen Shotz on short-lived series "Katie Joplin"
2006
Appeared as the Easter Bunny in Tim Allen vehicle "The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause"
2013
Nabbed a recurring role on Showtime's "Ray Donovan"
Companions
