Name	Richard Thomas
Height
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	June 13, 1951
Place of Birth	New York City, New York,
Famous for

Richard Thomas was seven years old when he made his first Broadway appearance in Sunrise at Campobello (1958). The wide-eyed, mole-cheeked, sensitive-looking Thomas soon found himself very much in demand for television roles. He was seen in the distinguished company of Julie Harris, Christopher_Plummer and Hume_Cronyn in a 1959 TV presentation of Ibsen's A Doll's House, worked as a regular on the daytime soap operas As the World Turns and Flame in the Wind, and co-starred with Today Show announcer Jack Lescoulie in the captivating 1961 Sunday-afternoon "edutainment" series 1-2-3 Go. While attending Columbia University, Thomas made his theatrical-film debut in Downhill Racer, then settled into a series of unpleasant, psychologically disturbed characters in films like You'll_Like_My_Mother (1971) and such TV series as Bracken's World. In 1971, Thomas was cast as John-Boy Walton in the Earl Hamner-scripted TV movie The Homecoming. Though there would be a number of cast changes before The Homecoming metamorphosed into the weekly series The_Waltons in 1972, Thomas was retained as John-Boy, earning a 1973 Emmy for his performance and remaining in the role until only a few months before the series' cancellation in 1981. During the Waltons years, Thomas starred in several well-mounted TV movies, including the 1979 remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. Ever seeking opportunities to expand his range, Thomas has sunk his teeth into such roles as the self-destructive title character in Living_Proof:_The_Hank_Williams_Jr._Story (1983) and the amusingly sanctimonious Rev. Bobby Joe in the satirical Glory!_Glory!. In 1980, Thomas made his first Broadway appearance in over two decades as the paralyzed protagonist of Whose Life is It Anyway. Working through his own Melpomene Productions, Thomas has continued seeking out creative challenges into the 1990s. Richard Thomas has also served as national chairman of the Better Hearing Institute. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide