Tom Atkins (actor)
Encyclopedia
Tom Atkins is an American
television and film actor
. He is primarily known for his work in the horror film
genre, having worked with writers and directors such as John Carpenter
, Stephen King
, and George A. Romero
. He is also a familiar face to mainstream viewers, often playing police officers.
, the son of Dorothy E. (née
Williams) and George C. Atkins. During his childhood, Atkins was a fan of horror and science fiction, one of his best loved films being the Howard Hawks
classic The Thing from Another World
. He initially had no desire to be an actor. His father worked in a Steel Mill in Pennsylvania
and Atkins assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps. He then enlisted in the Navy and 'noticed that the officers lived great, but that was only because they had gone to college'
and so, after leaving the Navy, Atkins signed up for college where he met a girl who was involved in a theatre group. Tom attended Duquesne University
in Pittsburgh and was a member of the Gamma Phi
Fraternity
. He says: 'I was in my 20s already when I got interested in acting and I liked it a lot'.
to pursue a career in film and television. His first movie role was in The Detective
, which starred Frank Sinatra
. Talking of his experience working on his first feature film - and with Sinatra - Atkins says: 'It was great! It was intimidating and frightening and scary but Frank was great. He was very easy to work with. He didn't like to do a lot of takes. But then it's not like we were doing Shakespeare'.
After many appearances in TV series and movies - often playing police detectives - Atkins began working within the horror and science fiction genres. He starred in two films directed by John Carpenter
: he appeared as Nick Castle in the 1980
ghost story The Fog
and as Rehme in the 1981 science fiction thriller Escape from New York
. He then took a leading role as Dr. Dan Challis in the sequel Halloween III: Season of the Witch
directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
and produced by John Carpenter
. He did further work with George A. Romero
, appearing in three of the latter's projects: in the Romero-Stephen King
project, Creepshow
(1982), in which he plays the overbearing father of a young Joe Hill
(King's son) in the wraparound segment; then in another anthology, Two Evil Eyes
(1990), based upon tales by Edgar Allan Poe
; and Bruiser
(2000). He portrayed Detective Ray Cameron in the 1986 cult horror film Night of the Creeps
, a role Atkins calls his very favorite. He tells Classic-Horror magazine 'It was the most fun film I've ever worked on. It was a pure giggle from beginning to end. The director Fred Dekker
was very young and very talented and he went on to do The Monster Squad
afterwards. I think he wrote a terrific film that was kind of a big put-on of 50s horror. And I had great lines in that movie!'
He has nevertheless continued to act in both the thriller and police procedural
genre
. He is well known to movie goers for his role as Michael Hunsaker in the Richard Donner
hit film Lethal Weapon
(1987), with Mel Gibson
, Danny Glover
, and Gary Busey
; the film was produced by Donner and Joel Silver
, written by Shane Black
. He also took a role in the action-thriller, Striking Distance
(1993), alongside Bruce Willis
, Sarah Jessica Parker
, and Tom Sizemore
. In television, Atkins played Lt. Alex Diehl in the 1970s television series The Rockford Files
with James Garner
. He reprised his role of Commander Diehl for a series of Rockford Files movies in the 1990s.
Atkins has made numerous guest appearances on many popular television shows, including M*A*S*H, Baretta
, Harry O, The Fall Guy
, Xena: Warrior Princess
, Walker, Texas Ranger
, Oz
, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent
.
He is a frequent player in shows in the Pittsburgh theatre scene
, most famously in the one-man show The Chief
at Pittsburgh Public Theater
, in which he depicted the late founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers
, Art Rooney
. He was also the star of A Musical Christmas Carol at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
, portraying the character of Ebenezer Scrooge
. He appeared on Broadway in David Storey
's The Changing Room
, for which he received the 1973 Drama Desk Award
for Most Promising Performer.
In 2009, he had a supporting role as a retired sheriff in the remake My Bloody Valentine 3D and co-starred with Nicolas Cage
in Todd Farmer
's Drive Angry
, in 2011. Atkins is scheduled to have a lead role in Patrick Lussier
's Halloween 3D.
, and Jacqueline Bisset
, Robert Duvall
, Jack Klugman
and Lee Remick
. He plays Officer Jack Harmon in this Crime film
, which tracks the life and work of a Police detective. It is based on The Detective (novel) by Roderick Thorp
and was one of the highest grossing films of 1968 in film
and one of Sinatra's biggest Box-office hits.
's supernatural revenge story: a fisherman and love interest of Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis
); he is also one of the key characters to battle the fog-zombies. The Fog
(1980) is a cross-genre horror film, a mix of the classic ghost story and the contemporary slasher flick. Atkins stars alongside Adrienne Barbeau
, Hal Holbrook
, John Houseman
, Janet Leigh
, and Nancy Loomis. The name Nick Castle
is that of the actor who plays Michael Myers
in another John Carpenter film.
-thriller is written and directed by novelist William Peter Blatty
(author of The Exorcist
). It is based upon his novel. The Ninth Configuration
(1980) features Atkins as Sergeant Krebs . It is set within a secluded castle, now an insane asylum for US Troops who have gone AWOL. The new commander is there to help rehabilitate
the troops, his method being to let them act out their wildest fantasies. One problem: he too is insane. The films also stars Stacy Keach
and Robert Loggia
.
cast Atkins again for his post apocalyptic science fiction film, Escape from New York
(1981), in which he plays Rehme, one of the military commanders given the task of monitoring the both the President - and later, Snake Plissken - after they are dropped into the heart of Manhattan
, now a maximum security prison. He was cast alongside Adrienne Barbeau
, Ernest Borgnine
, Lee Van Cleef
, Donald Pleasence
, Kurt Russell
, and Harry Dean Stanton
.
and scripted by Stephen King
(based on short tales by the latter), Atkins plays Stan in the wraparound segment that brackets this anthology of five horror tales featuring an arctic monster, vengeaful zombies, giant bugs, and a verdant alien virus. Creepshow
(1982) features Adrienne Barbeau
, Ted Danson
, Ed Harris
, Hal Holbrook
, Viveca Lindfors
, E.G. Marshall, Leslie Nielsen
, and Fritz Weaver
. Stephen King's son (Joe Hill
) plays Billy, the horror-mad son of Atkins in the film. The film marks Atkins's third appearance with Barbeau. On Creepshow, Atkins explains that King was on the set much of the time and was 'concerned' because Atkins had to hit his son, Joe: 'I had to reassure him that I wouldn't hurt his son...but that it'd look good. And it did and it was fine and his son was terrific. And a couple of years ago I was at a convention and this tall kid - dressed in dark clothes, brown hair, glasses, big brown beard - stood over me and I looked up at him and said, "Is there a Joe King behind all that?" and he said, "Yeah, Tom, it's me." He looks just like his dad and I believe he's a writer now too'.
sequel, Halloween III: Season of the Witch
(1982), about a demented Irish toymaker who goes back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, the roots of Halloween
. Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy
) has produced a line of Silver Shamrock masks, each containing pieces of the Blue Stone, which he has stolen from Stonehenge
in the UK. He intends to sacrifice the children of America on Halloween Night. Atkins plays Dr. Daniel 'Dan' Chalis, a surgeon who winds up investigating Cochran and his evil toy factory. The film is produced and scored by John Carpenter
and is the only film of the series not to feature the suburban killer Michael Myers
. Halloween 3 also stars Nancy Loomis, whom Atkins worked with in The Fog
.
, writer of House (1986 film) and director of The Monster Squad
(1987), Night of the Creeps
(1986) is Atkins's best loved film. He stars as Ray Cameron, a hard-boiled cop with a troubled past, investigating sinister events in a small town, most notably at a local sorority house, where a parasitic alien race have entered their human hosts, turning the latter into killer zombies. Comedy Horror.
(1987), with Mel Gibson
, Danny Glover
, and Gary Busey
. The film is directed by Richard Donner
, produced by Joel Silver
, and scripted by Shane Black
. He plays Michael Hunsaker, a Vietnam War veteran who did his tour of duty
with Roger Murtaugh (Glover). Murtaugh is now a Police detective partnered with the unstable Martin Riggs (Gibson), investigating the supposed suicide of Hunsaker's daughter. Their investigations lead to another band of ex-Vietnam Special Ops vets - Shadow Company - who are smuggling heroin into the country. Murtaugh realizes Hunsaker is more involved then Hunsaker cares to admit. Early in the film, the Hunsaker character is killed by the Shadow Company smugglers. Lethal Weapon remained at the #1 spot for three weeks.
and written by Larry Cohen
, Atkins headlined Maniac Cop
(1988), a horror-thriller also starring Bruce Campbell
, Laurene Landon
, Richard Roundtree
, William Smith (actor)
, and Robert Z'Dar
. He plays Frank McCrae, a hardened detective investigating a series of brutal murders by a uniformed cop. Officer Jack Forrest (Campbell) is the first cop under suspicion and is arrested in connection with the murders. But the real Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, is still out there taking his victims. Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa (Landon), and McCrae must stop Cordell before he strikes again. Cameos include Jake LaMotta
, William Lustig
, and Sam Raimi
.
(1990) - aka Due occhi diabolici - is a two-part horror anthology based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe
. Dario Argento
directs segment The Black Cat and George A. Romero
segment The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
. Romero returned to Atkins for this project, as well as Adrienne Barbeau
, making this the fourth Atkins-Barbeau collaboration. Atkins plays the character Detective Grogan. Two Evil Eyes also features E.G. Marshall, whom Atkins worked with in Creepshow
, and Harvey Keitel
.
(1992) is a satirical mockumentary
written and directed by - and starring - Tim Robbins
. The film is a centred around conservative politician and United States Senate
candidate, Bob Roberts. Atkins plays Dr. Caleb Menck, Roberts' personal physician. It was Robbins' directorial debut. The film's other stars include Jack Black
, John Cusack
, Giancarlo Esposito
, Peter Gallagher
, Helen Hunt
, Jeremy Piven
, Alan Rickman
, James Spader
, David Strathairn
, Fred Ward
, Ray Wise
, and Gore Vidal
.
(1993) is an action
-thriller directed by Rowdy Herrington
- of Roadhouse (1989 film) fame - and starring Bruce Willis
. It is focused on Tom Hardy (Willis), a cop who hails from a family of police officers, and who ends up fighting his uncle after his father is murdered. Tom is demoted to River Cop, after going on record that he thinks the killer is another cop within the department, and begins his own investigation after the killer taunts him. Atkins plays Sergeant Fred Hardy. The cast also includes Andre Braugher
, Dennis Farina
, Brion James
, Sarah Jessica Parker
, and Tom Sizemore
for the third time in Bruiser
(2000),a horror film about a man who one day wakes to find that his face is now a smooth white, featureless mask. Freed by this newfound anonymity, he then seeks revenge on all who have wronged him. Atkins plays Detective McCleary. Other cast members include: Jason Flemyng
, Leslie Hope
, and Peter Stormare
.
directed this remake of the 1981 horror film. It features Atkins as character James 'Jim' Burke. My Bloody Valentine 3D tracks the return of Tom Hanniger to his hometown, following the death of his father. It is the tenth anniversary of the Valentine Massacres and the murders have begun once more. Tom finds he is the prime suspect.
, this time starring with Nicolas Cage
, William Fichtner
, Amber Heard
, and David Morse
. The story is of a vengeful father, John Milton (Cage), who has escaped from Hell and is bent on pursuing the men - including Jonah King (Billy Burke
) - who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter. He is assisted by Piper (Heard) and The Accountant (Fichtner). Atkins plays the character Sheriff Cap who, with his troops, pursues the pursuers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television and film actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is primarily known for his work in the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
genre, having worked with writers and directors such as John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
, Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, and George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
. He is also a familiar face to mainstream viewers, often playing police officers.
Early life
Atkins was born in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the son of Dorothy E. (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Williams) and George C. Atkins. During his childhood, Atkins was a fan of horror and science fiction, one of his best loved films being the Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
classic The Thing from Another World
The Thing from Another World
The Thing from Another World , is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell . It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being...
. He initially had no desire to be an actor. His father worked in a Steel Mill in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Atkins assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps. He then enlisted in the Navy and 'noticed that the officers lived great, but that was only because they had gone to college'
and so, after leaving the Navy, Atkins signed up for college where he met a girl who was involved in a theatre group. Tom attended Duquesne University
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
in Pittsburgh and was a member of the Gamma Phi
Gamma Phi
The Gamma Phi Society was a secret society founded in 1903 in Norman, Oklahoma. It ceased to exist as a local society when it became affiliated with Beta Theta Pi in 1907.-Foundation:...
Fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
. He says: 'I was in my 20s already when I got interested in acting and I liked it a lot'.
Career
Atkins began his career in stage plays both on-and-off Broadway, before moving to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to pursue a career in film and television. His first movie role was in The Detective
The Detective (1968 film)
The Detective is a 1968 film directed by Gordon Douglas, produced by Aaron Rosenberg and starring Frank Sinatra, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Roderick Thorp.Co-stars include Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset, Jack Klugman and Robert Duvall....
, which starred Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. Talking of his experience working on his first feature film - and with Sinatra - Atkins says: 'It was great! It was intimidating and frightening and scary but Frank was great. He was very easy to work with. He didn't like to do a lot of takes. But then it's not like we were doing Shakespeare'.
After many appearances in TV series and movies - often playing police detectives - Atkins began working within the horror and science fiction genres. He starred in two films directed by John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
: he appeared as Nick Castle in the 1980
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
ghost story The Fog
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
and as Rehme in the 1981 science fiction thriller Escape from New York
Escape from New York
Escape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. The film is set in the near future in a crime-ridden United States that has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into a maximum security...
. He then took a leading role as Dr. Dan Challis in the sequel Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the only Halloween where the story does not revolve around Michael Myers. Directed and written by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film stars Tom Atkins as Dr. Dan Challis,...
directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
Tommy Lee Wallace
Tommy Lee Wallace is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.He is best known for directing Halloween III: Season of the Witch and It.-Early life:...
and produced by John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
. He did further work with George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
, appearing in three of the latter's projects: in the Romero-Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
project, Creepshow
Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
(1982), in which he plays the overbearing father of a young Joe Hill
Joe Hill
Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle , and also known as Joseph Hillström was a Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World...
(King's son) in the wraparound segment; then in another anthology, Two Evil Eyes
Two Evil Eyes
Two Evil Eyes is a 1990 double feature horror film written and directed by the Italian Dario Argento and the American George A. Romero. The two had previously worked together on the immensely popular Dawn of the Dead in 1978.-Overview:...
(1990), based upon tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
; and Bruiser
Bruiser (film)
Bruiser is a 2000 thriller film, which stars Jason Flemyng, it was written and directed by George A. Romero.-Synopsis:Henry Creedlow, a man who wakes up one morning to discover that his face has been replaced by a white featureless mask.-Plot:...
(2000). He portrayed Detective Ray Cameron in the 1986 cult horror film Night of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps is a 1986 zombie horror film written and directed by Fred Dekker, starring Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow. The film is notable as an earnest attempt at a B movie and a homage to the genre...
, a role Atkins calls his very favorite. He tells Classic-Horror magazine 'It was the most fun film I've ever worked on. It was a pure giggle from beginning to end. The director Fred Dekker
Fred Dekker
Fred Dekker is an American writer and director of the cult classic films Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad . He contributed the story ideas for both House and Ricochet...
was very young and very talented and he went on to do The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
afterwards. I think he wrote a terrific film that was kind of a big put-on of 50s horror. And I had great lines in that movie!'
He has nevertheless continued to act in both the thriller and police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. He is well known to movie goers for his role as Michael Hunsaker in the Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
hit film Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
(1987), with Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
, and Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
; the film was produced by Donner and Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
, written by Shane Black
Shane Black
Shane Black is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He contributed to some of the biggest blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including work on Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout...
. He also took a role in the action-thriller, Striking Distance
Striking Distance
Striking Distance is a 1993 thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore as Pittsburgh Police officers pursuing a serial killer. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan...
(1993), alongside Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, and Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
. In television, Atkins played Lt. Alex Diehl in the 1970s television series The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
with James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
. He reprised his role of Commander Diehl for a series of Rockford Files movies in the 1990s.
Atkins has made numerous guest appearances on many popular television shows, including M*A*S*H, Baretta
Baretta
Baretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
, Harry O, The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
, Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
, Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
, Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
.
He is a frequent player in shows in the Pittsburgh theatre scene
Theatre in Pittsburgh
Theatre in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past 30 years.-History:...
, most famously in the one-man show The Chief
The Chief (play)
The Chief is a 2003 biographical one-man play about the Pittsburgh Steelers' founder and owner Art Rooney . The Pittsburgh Public Theater show has had several revivals since its inauguration, with each production performed by Pittsburgh native Tom Atkins.-Overview:The story takes place in 1976 in...
at Pittsburgh Public Theater
Pittsburgh Public Theater
Pittsburgh Public Theater is a professional theater company based in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Cultural District.Established in 1974, it was housed in the Hazlett Theatre at the Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall on Pittsburgh’s North Side...
, in which he depicted the late founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, Art Rooney
Art Rooney
Arthur Joseph "Art" Rooney, Sr. , often referred to as "The Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise in the National Football League.-Family history:...
. He was also the star of A Musical Christmas Carol at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....
, portraying the character of Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
. He appeared on Broadway in David Storey
David Storey
David Rhames Storey is an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a former professional rugby league player....
's The Changing Room
The Changing Room
The Changing Room is a 1971 play by David Storey, set in a men's changing room before, during and after a rugby game. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on 9 November 1971, directed by Lindsay Anderson...
, for which he received the 1973 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Most Promising Performer.
In 2009, he had a supporting role as a retired sheriff in the remake My Bloody Valentine 3D and co-starred with Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
in Todd Farmer
Todd Farmer
Todd Farmer is an American writer and actor, having written the scripts for Jason X , Messengers 2: The Scarecrow , My Bloody Valentine 3D , and Drive Angry .-Early life:...
's Drive Angry
Drive Angry
Drive Angry is a 2011 American action film starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Patrick Lussier. It was released on February 25, 2011.- Plot :...
, in 2011. Atkins is scheduled to have a lead role in Patrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier is a Canadian horror and thriller genre writer, editor and director.- Career :Lussier has worked as a film editor on most of Wes Craven's latter films, including Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Vampire in Brooklyn, Scream and Red Eye and has directed films including Dracula 2000, The...
's Halloween 3D.
The Detective (1968)
Atkins' first film role with Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, and Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
, Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
, Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
and Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
. He plays Officer Jack Harmon in this Crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
, which tracks the life and work of a Police detective. It is based on The Detective (novel) by Roderick Thorp
Roderick Thorp
Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. was an American novelist specializing mainly in crime novels.As a young college graduate, Thorp worked at a detective agency owned by his father...
and was one of the highest grossing films of 1968 in film
1968 in film
The year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
and one of Sinatra's biggest Box-office hits.
The Fog (1980)
Atkins plays Nick Castle in John CarpenterJohn Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's supernatural revenge story: a fisherman and love interest of Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
); he is also one of the key characters to battle the fog-zombies. The Fog
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
(1980) is a cross-genre horror film, a mix of the classic ghost story and the contemporary slasher flick. Atkins stars alongside Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
, Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
, John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
, Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
, and Nancy Loomis. The name Nick Castle
Nick Castle
Nick Castle is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his role as Michael Myers in Halloween. He also co-wrote Escape from New York with his friend, John Carpenter.-Early life:...
is that of the actor who plays Michael Myers
Michael Myers
Michael Myers may refer to:*Michael Myers , sixth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Zealand*Michael Myers , New York politician...
in another John Carpenter film.
The Ninth Configuration (1980)
This comedyComedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
-thriller is written and directed by novelist William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty is an American writer and filmmaker. The novel The Exorcist, written in 1971, is his magnum opus; he also penned the subsequent screenplay version of the film, for which he won an Academy Award....
(author of The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
). It is based upon his novel. The Ninth Configuration
The Ninth Configuration
The Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty...
(1980) features Atkins as Sergeant Krebs . It is set within a secluded castle, now an insane asylum for US Troops who have gone AWOL. The new commander is there to help rehabilitate
Rehabilitation counseling
Rehabilitation Counseling is focused on helping people who have disabilities achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals through a counseling process...
the troops, his method being to let them act out their wildest fantasies. One problem: he too is insane. The films also stars Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
and Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
.
Escape from New York (1981)
John CarpenterJohn Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
cast Atkins again for his post apocalyptic science fiction film, Escape from New York
Escape from New York
Escape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. The film is set in the near future in a crime-ridden United States that has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into a maximum security...
(1981), in which he plays Rehme, one of the military commanders given the task of monitoring the both the President - and later, Snake Plissken - after they are dropped into the heart of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, now a maximum security prison. He was cast alongside Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
, Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
, Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
, and Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton is an American actor, musician, and singer. Stanton's career has spanned over fifty years, which has seen him star in such films as Paris, Texas, Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Alien, Repo Man, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The Green Mile and The Pledge...
.
Creepshow (1982)
Directed by George A. RomeroGeorge A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
and scripted by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
(based on short tales by the latter), Atkins plays Stan in the wraparound segment that brackets this anthology of five horror tales featuring an arctic monster, vengeaful zombies, giant bugs, and a verdant alien virus. Creepshow
Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
(1982) features Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
, Ted Danson
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
, Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
, Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
, Viveca Lindfors
Viveca Lindfors
Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors , better known under her professional name of Viveca Lindfors, was a Swedish stage and film actress.-Life and career:...
, E.G. Marshall, Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, and Fritz Weaver
Fritz Weaver
Fritz William Weaver is an American actor and voice actor.-Life and career:Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Elsa W. and John Carson Weaver. His mother was of Italian descent and his father was a social worker from Pittsburgh. Weaver attended Peabody High School...
. Stephen King's son (Joe Hill
Joe Hill (writer)
Joseph Hillstrom King , better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American author and comic book writer. He has published two novels—Heart Shaped Box and Horns—and a collection of short stories entitled 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the author of the graphic novel series Locke & Key...
) plays Billy, the horror-mad son of Atkins in the film. The film marks Atkins's third appearance with Barbeau. On Creepshow, Atkins explains that King was on the set much of the time and was 'concerned' because Atkins had to hit his son, Joe: 'I had to reassure him that I wouldn't hurt his son...but that it'd look good. And it did and it was fine and his son was terrific. And a couple of years ago I was at a convention and this tall kid - dressed in dark clothes, brown hair, glasses, big brown beard - stood over me and I looked up at him and said, "Is there a Joe King behind all that?" and he said, "Yeah, Tom, it's me." He looks just like his dad and I believe he's a writer now too'.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Atkins headlined this Halloween (franchise)Halloween (franchise)
Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of ten slasher films, novels, and comic books. The franchise focuses on the fictional character of Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister, Judith Myers...
sequel, Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the only Halloween where the story does not revolve around Michael Myers. Directed and written by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film stars Tom Atkins as Dr. Dan Challis,...
(1982), about a demented Irish toymaker who goes back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, the roots of Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
) has produced a line of Silver Shamrock masks, each containing pieces of the Blue Stone, which he has stolen from Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
in the UK. He intends to sacrifice the children of America on Halloween Night. Atkins plays Dr. Daniel 'Dan' Chalis, a surgeon who winds up investigating Cochran and his evil toy factory. The film is produced and scored by John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
and is the only film of the series not to feature the suburban killer Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
. Halloween 3 also stars Nancy Loomis, whom Atkins worked with in The Fog
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
.
Night of the Creeps (1986)
From Fred DekkerFred Dekker
Fred Dekker is an American writer and director of the cult classic films Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad . He contributed the story ideas for both House and Ricochet...
, writer of House (1986 film) and director of The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
(1987), Night of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps is a 1986 zombie horror film written and directed by Fred Dekker, starring Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow. The film is notable as an earnest attempt at a B movie and a homage to the genre...
(1986) is Atkins's best loved film. He stars as Ray Cameron, a hard-boiled cop with a troubled past, investigating sinister events in a small town, most notably at a local sorority house, where a parasitic alien race have entered their human hosts, turning the latter into killer zombies. Comedy Horror.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Atkins co-starred in the hit buddy cop action thriller, Lethal WeaponLethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
(1987), with Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
, and Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
. The film is directed by Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
, produced by Joel Silver
Joel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
, and scripted by Shane Black
Shane Black
Shane Black is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He contributed to some of the biggest blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including work on Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout...
. He plays Michael Hunsaker, a Vietnam War veteran who did his tour of duty
Tour of duty
In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....
with Roger Murtaugh (Glover). Murtaugh is now a Police detective partnered with the unstable Martin Riggs (Gibson), investigating the supposed suicide of Hunsaker's daughter. Their investigations lead to another band of ex-Vietnam Special Ops vets - Shadow Company - who are smuggling heroin into the country. Murtaugh realizes Hunsaker is more involved then Hunsaker cares to admit. Early in the film, the Hunsaker character is killed by the Shadow Company smugglers. Lethal Weapon remained at the #1 spot for three weeks.
Maniac Cop (1988)
Directed by William LustigWilliam Lustig
William Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre.-Movie career:...
and written by Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
, Atkins headlined Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop
Maniac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
(1988), a horror-thriller also starring Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
, Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon
Laurene Landon is a film and television actress. Laurene first began appearing in movies in the late 1970s. She is best known for playing the role of Molly in ...All the Marbles...
, Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
, William Smith (actor)
William Smith (actor)
William Smith is an American actor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and television productions.Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942...
, and Robert Z'Dar
Robert Z'Dar
Robert J. Zdarsky , better known as Robert Z’Dar, is an American actor and film producer, perhaps best known for his role as Matt Cordell in the cult horror film Maniac Cop and its two sequels. Due to his unusual facial structure, he is often referred to as "The Chin".-Early life:Born in Chicago,...
. He plays Frank McCrae, a hardened detective investigating a series of brutal murders by a uniformed cop. Officer Jack Forrest (Campbell) is the first cop under suspicion and is arrested in connection with the murders. But the real Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, is still out there taking his victims. Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa (Landon), and McCrae must stop Cordell before he strikes again. Cameos include Jake LaMotta
Jake LaMotta
Giacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former American world middleweight champion boxer...
, William Lustig
William Lustig
William Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre.-Movie career:...
, and Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
.
Two Evil Eyes a.k.a. Due Occhi Diabolici (1990)
Two Evil EyesTwo Evil Eyes
Two Evil Eyes is a 1990 double feature horror film written and directed by the Italian Dario Argento and the American George A. Romero. The two had previously worked together on the immensely popular Dawn of the Dead in 1978.-Overview:...
(1990) - aka Due occhi diabolici - is a two-part horror anthology based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
. Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
directs segment The Black Cat and George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
segment The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe about a mesmerist who puts a man in a suspended hypnotic state at the moment of death. An example of a tale of suspense and horror, it is also, to a certain degree, a hoax as it was published without claiming...
. Romero returned to Atkins for this project, as well as Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
, making this the fourth Atkins-Barbeau collaboration. Atkins plays the character Detective Grogan. Two Evil Eyes also features E.G. Marshall, whom Atkins worked with in Creepshow
Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
, and Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
.
Bob Roberts (1992)
Bob RobertsBob Roberts
Bob Roberts is a 1992 film written and directed by Tim Robbins. It is a satirical mockumentary, chronicling the rise of Bob Roberts, a conservative politician who is a candidate for an upcoming United States Senate election...
(1992) is a satirical mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
written and directed by - and starring - Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
. The film is a centred around conservative politician and United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
candidate, Bob Roberts. Atkins plays Dr. Caleb Menck, Roberts' personal physician. It was Robbins' directorial debut. The film's other stars include Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
, John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
, Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-born American film and television actor and director.-Early life:Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same...
, Peter Gallagher
Peter Gallagher
Peter Killian Gallagher is an American actor, musician and writer. Since 1980, Gallagher has played many roles in numerous Hollywood films. He starred as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series The O.C. from 2003 to 2007...
, Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt
Helen Elizabeth Hunt is an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She starred in the sitcom Mad About You for seven years, before being cast in the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets...
, Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
, Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, James Spader
James Spader
James Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
, David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
, Fred Ward
Fred Ward
Freddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
, Ray Wise
Ray Wise
Raymond Nicolas "Ray" Wise is an American actor, known for his roles as Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, as Leon C. Nash, right-hand henchman to villain Clarence Boddicker in the science fiction classic RoboCop, and recently as the Devil in the CW television series Reaper.-Life and career:Wise was...
, and Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
.
Striking Distance (1993)
Striking DistanceStriking Distance
Striking Distance is a 1993 thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore as Pittsburgh Police officers pursuing a serial killer. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan...
(1993) is an action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-thriller directed by Rowdy Herrington
Rowdy Herrington
Rowdy L. Herrington is a Hollywood director and writer currently residing in Malibu, California. He is married and has no children.-Filmography:-Education:...
- of Roadhouse (1989 film) fame - and starring Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
. It is focused on Tom Hardy (Willis), a cop who hails from a family of police officers, and who ends up fighting his uncle after his father is murdered. Tom is demoted to River Cop, after going on record that he thinks the killer is another cop within the department, and begins his own investigation after the killer taunts him. Atkins plays Sergeant Fred Hardy. The cast also includes Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
, Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
, Brion James
Brion James
Brion Howard James was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, Silverado, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element...
, Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, and Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
Bruiser (2000)
Atkins teamed up with George A. RomeroGeorge A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
for the third time in Bruiser
Bruiser (film)
Bruiser is a 2000 thriller film, which stars Jason Flemyng, it was written and directed by George A. Romero.-Synopsis:Henry Creedlow, a man who wakes up one morning to discover that his face has been replaced by a white featureless mask.-Plot:...
(2000),a horror film about a man who one day wakes to find that his face is now a smooth white, featureless mask. Freed by this newfound anonymity, he then seeks revenge on all who have wronged him. Atkins plays Detective McCleary. Other cast members include: Jason Flemyng
Jason Flemyng
Jason Iain Flemyng is an English actor. He is known for his film work, which has included roles in British films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , both for Guy Ritchie, as well as Hollywood productions such as Rob Roy along with the Alan Moore comic book adaptations From...
, Leslie Hope
Leslie Hope
Leslie Ann Hope is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Teri Bauer in the Fox show 24 where she played the wife of the main character Jack Bauer.-Life and career:...
, and Peter Stormare
Peter Stormare
is a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
.
My Bloody Valentine a.k.a. My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)
Patrick LussierPatrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier is a Canadian horror and thriller genre writer, editor and director.- Career :Lussier has worked as a film editor on most of Wes Craven's latter films, including Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Vampire in Brooklyn, Scream and Red Eye and has directed films including Dracula 2000, The...
directed this remake of the 1981 horror film. It features Atkins as character James 'Jim' Burke. My Bloody Valentine 3D tracks the return of Tom Hanniger to his hometown, following the death of his father. It is the tenth anniversary of the Valentine Massacres and the murders have begun once more. Tom finds he is the prime suspect.
Drive Angry a.k.a. Drive Angry 3D (2011)
Atkins' second film with Patrick LussierPatrick Lussier
Patrick Lussier is a Canadian horror and thriller genre writer, editor and director.- Career :Lussier has worked as a film editor on most of Wes Craven's latter films, including Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Vampire in Brooklyn, Scream and Red Eye and has directed films including Dracula 2000, The...
, this time starring with Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
, William Fichtner
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, as William Sharp in Armageddon, and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.- Early life...
, Amber Heard
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...
, and David Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
. The story is of a vengeful father, John Milton (Cage), who has escaped from Hell and is bent on pursuing the men - including Jonah King (Billy Burke
Billy Burke (actor)
William Albert "Billy" Burke is an American actor. He is known for his role as Charlie Swan in Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and the 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. He is also known for his role as Gary Matheson in the second season of 24.-Life and career:Burke was born in...
) - who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter. He is assisted by Piper (Heard) and The Accountant (Fichtner). Atkins plays the character Sheriff Cap who, with his troops, pursues the pursuers.
Film
- The DetectiveThe Detective (1968 film)The Detective is a 1968 film directed by Gordon Douglas, produced by Aaron Rosenberg and starring Frank Sinatra, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Roderick Thorp.Co-stars include Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset, Jack Klugman and Robert Duvall....
(1968) - The Owl and the PussycatThe Owl and the Pussycat (film)The Owl and the Pussycat is a 1970 romantic comedy film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Barbra Streisand and George Segal. Barbra Streisand plays the role of a somewhat uneducated actress, model and part-time prostitute. She temporarily lives with an educated aspiring writer . Their...
(1970) - Where's Poppa?Where's Poppa?Where's Poppa? is a 1970 black comedy film based on the novel by Robert Klane starring George Segal, Ron Leibman and Ruth Gordon. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer son played by Segal and his senile mother played by Gordon...
(1970) - Special DeliverySpecial Delivery (1976 film)Special Delivery is a 1976 film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Bo Svenson and Cybill Shepherd.-Cast:*Bo Svenson as Jack Murdock.*Cybill Shepherd as Mary Jane*Tom Atkins as Zabelski*Sorrell Booke as Hubert Zane*Gerrit Graham as Swivot....
(1976) - The FogThe FogThe Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
(1980) - The Ninth ConfigurationThe Ninth ConfigurationThe Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty...
(1980) - Escape from New YorkEscape from New YorkEscape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. The film is set in the near future in a crime-ridden United States that has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into a maximum security...
(1981) - Desperate LivesDesperate LivesDesperate Lives is a 1982 made-for-TV film about drug use in a high school. The film has a very strong anti-drug message.-Plot summary:The Cameron family seems, on the surface, to be the perfect family, but things are not as they seem...
(1982) - Halloween III: Season of the WitchHalloween III: Season of the WitchHalloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the only Halloween where the story does not revolve around Michael Myers. Directed and written by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film stars Tom Atkins as Dr. Dan Challis,...
(1982) - CreepshowCreepshowCreepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
(1982) - Night of the CreepsNight of the CreepsNight of the Creeps is a 1986 zombie horror film written and directed by Fred Dekker, starring Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow. The film is notable as an earnest attempt at a B movie and a homage to the genre...
(1986) - Lethal WeaponLethal WeaponLethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
(1987) - Lemon SkyLemon SkyLemon Sky is a 1970 play by Lanford Wilson first produced at Cafe La Mama. The story is about a fresh out of high school teen from the midwest moving to San Diego, California in the 1950s to live with his estranged father and new family...
(1988) - Maniac CopManiac CopManiac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
(1988) - Two Evil EyesTwo Evil EyesTwo Evil Eyes is a 1990 double feature horror film written and directed by the Italian Dario Argento and the American George A. Romero. The two had previously worked together on the immensely popular Dawn of the Dead in 1978.-Overview:...
(1990) - Bob RobertsBob RobertsBob Roberts is a 1992 film written and directed by Tim Robbins. It is a satirical mockumentary, chronicling the rise of Bob Roberts, a conservative politician who is a candidate for an upcoming United States Senate election...
(1992) - Striking DistanceStriking DistanceStriking Distance is a 1993 thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore as Pittsburgh Police officers pursuing a serial killer. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan...
(1993) - Bruiser (2001)
- Out of the Black (2001)
- Turn of FaithTurn of FaithTurn of Faith is a 2001 film directed by Charles Jarrott. It stars Ray Mancini and Mia Sara.-Cast:*Ray Mancini as Joey*Mia Sara as Annmarie De Carlo*Costas Mandylor as Bobby Giordano*Alan Gelfant as Father Frank*Tom Atkins as Charlie Ryan...
(2002) - My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)
- Shannon's RainbowShannon's RainbowShannon's Rainbow is a 2009 drama and family film both produced and directed by Frank E. Johnson. It stars Julianne Michelle and Claire Forlani, with a musical score by emmy winner Charles David Denler....
(2009) - Trapped (2009)
- The Chief (2010)
- Drive AngryDrive AngryDrive Angry is a 2011 American action film starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Patrick Lussier. It was released on February 25, 2011.- Plot :...
(2011) - Since I Don't Have You (2011)
- Halloween III (rumored) (2011)
Television
- The Doctors (1963 TV series) - Dylan Levein (1963)
- Look Up and Live - Doctor (1964)
- Get Christie Love!Get Christie Love!Get Christie Love! is a 1974 made-for-television film starring Teresa Graves as an undercover female police detective who is determined to overthrow a drug ring. This film is based on Dorothy Uhnak's crime-thriller novel, The Ledger...
- Peterson (1974) - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
- Vic Rhodes (1974) - Harry O - Sgt. Frank Cole [5 episodes] (1974)
- Miles to Go Before I Sleep - O'Dell TV Movie (1975)
- The RookiesThe RookiesThe Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:...
- Brad Gifford (1975) - Visions - Robert Dayka (1976)
- Serpico (TV series)Serpico (TV series)Serpico is a short-lived American crime drama series that aired on NBC between September 1976 and February 1977. The series was based on the novel by Peter Maas and the 1973 film of the same name that starred Al Pacino in the title role...
- Lt. Tom Sullivan [16 episodes] (1976-77) - The Rockford FilesThe Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
- Alex Diel [8 episodes] (1974-77) - BarettaBarettaBaretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
- Vic (1977) - Tarantulas: The Deadly CargoTarantulas: The Deadly CargoTarantulas: The Deadly Cargo is a 1977 television horror film directed by Stuart Hagmann. The production stars Claude Akins, Charles Frank and Deborah Winters. Matthew Laborteaux and Pat Hingle costar...
- Buddy TV Movie (1977) - A Death in CanaanA Death in CanaanA Death in Canaan is a 1978 American drama television film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Stefanie Powers, Paul Clemens and Brian Dennehy. Its plot concerns a teenager who is put on trial for the murder of his mother in a small Connecticut town....
- Lt. Bragdon TV Movie (1978) - Skag - Dr. Moscone Pilot (1980)
- Power - Buck Buchanan TV Movie (1980)
- Sherlock Holmes - Craigin TV Movie (1981)
- Lou Grant (TV series)Lou Grant (TV series)Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
- Dr. Sorenson; Jim Bronsky; Frank Durning [3 episodes] (1979–81) - M*A*S*H (TV series) - Major Lawrence Weems (1982)
- Desperate LivesDesperate LivesDesperate Lives is a 1982 made-for-TV film about drug use in a high school. The film has a very strong anti-drug message.-Plot summary:The Cameron family seems, on the surface, to be the perfect family, but things are not as they seem...
- John Cameron TV Movie (1982) - Quincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...
- Commander Gene Butler; John Todd [2 episodes] (1982) - Skeezer - Dr. Chanless TV Movie (1982)
- St. ElsewhereSt. ElsewhereSt. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
- Bob Lonnicker (1983) - Murder Me, Murder YouMurder Me, Murder YouMurder Me, Murder You is a made-for-TV movie starring Stacy Keach as Mickey Spillane's iconic hard-boiled private detective, Mike Hammer. The movie marks the first time the fictitious gumshoe would be portrayed on the small-screen since Darren McGavin played the part in the black-and-white version...
- Jack Vance TV Movie (1983) - T.J. Hooker - Phil Parker/Tommy D'Amico (1984)
- The Fall GuyThe Fall GuyThe Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
- George Spiros (1985) - Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
- Police Lieutenant (1986) - Blind Justice - Kramer TV Movie (1986)
- Stingray (NBC TV series)Stingray (NBC TV series)Stingray is an NBC television series produced by Stephen J. Cannell that ran from 1985 to 1987. It stars Nick Mancuso, who plays the mysterious character known only as Ray, whose trademark is a black 1965 Corvette Sting Ray.-Plot:...
- Donald Dixon (1986) - Spenser: For HireSpenser: For HireSpenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
- Hatch (1986) - A Stranger Waits - Sheriff Collier TV Movie (1987)
- The EqualizerThe EqualizerThe Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
- Detective Frank Standish [3 episodes] (1986–87) - Lemon SkyLemon SkyLemon Sky is a 1970 play by Lanford Wilson first produced at Cafe La Mama. The story is about a fresh out of high school teen from the midwest moving to San Diego, California in the 1950s to live with his estranged father and new family...
- Douglas TV Series (1988) - Dead Man Out - Burger TV Movie (1989)
- The Heist - Det. Leland TV Movie (1989)
- Against the Law (TV series) - Walter Littlefield (1990)
- Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann - Jamieson TV Movie (1991)
- What She Doesn't Know - Roy TV Movie (1992)
- Sworn to Vengeance - Ed Barry TV Movie (1993)
- Walker, Texas RangerWalker, Texas RangerWalker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...
- Wade Cantrell (1993) - Fortune Hunter (TV series)Fortune Hunter (TV series)Fortune Hunter was a weekly series show on Fox Network in 1994, starring Mark Frankel as the super-spy Carlton Dial.In the US, Fortune Hunter aired on Fox from 4 Sep 1994 to 2 Oct 1994. Of the 13 episodes produced, only five were presented to the North American audience...
- Richard Bennett (1994) - The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits - Cmdr. Alex Diehl TV Movie (1996)
- Xena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
- Atrius (1996) - Dying to be Perfect: The Ellen Hart PenaEllen Hart PeñaEllen Hart Peña is a former world-class runner and lawyer. She is notable for going public about her bulimia. She competed in the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000 meter run and the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials marathon. She earned her A.B. from Harvard University in 1980 and graduated from the...
Story - Henry Hart TV Movie (1996) - Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
- Grenville Rawlins (1998) - The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds ... It Leads - Cmdr. Alex Diehl TV Movie (1999)
- Oz (TV series)Oz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
- Mayor Wilson Lowen [2 episodes] (2003) - Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
- Mr Monahan (2003) - The Jury (TV series)The Jury (TV series)The Jury is an American legal drama television series that was broadcast by the Fox Network in 2004. Each week, in the same New York City courtroom, a new 12-person jury deliberates over a criminal case...
- Boyd Kingman (2004)
Self
- Halloween (franchise)Halloween (franchise)Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of ten slasher films, novels, and comic books. The franchise focuses on the fictional character of Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister, Judith Myers...
: 25 years of Terror - Video Documentary (2006) - Just Desserts: The Making of CreepshowCreepshowCreepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
- Video Documentary (2007) - Thrill Me!: The Making of Night of the CreepsNight of the CreepsNight of the Creeps is a 1986 zombie horror film written and directed by Fred Dekker, starring Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow. The film is notable as an earnest attempt at a B movie and a homage to the genre...
- Video Documentary (2009)
Interviews
- Classic-Horror Online Magazine, Tom Atkins Night of the CreepsNight of the CreepsNight of the Creeps is a 1986 zombie horror film written and directed by Fred Dekker, starring Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow. The film is notable as an earnest attempt at a B movie and a homage to the genre...
Interview: http://classic-horror.com/newsreel/tom_atkins_night_of_the_creeps_interview (2009) with Tom Fallows - Aint It Cool Online Magazine, An Interview with Tom Atkins: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39791 (2009) with Quint
- ATNZONE Online Magazine, Interview: Tom Atkins, My Bloody Valentine 3D: http://www.atnzone.com/nz/2009/01/22/interview-tom-atkins-my-bloody-valentine-3d/ (2009) with Lee Shoquist
- FangoriaFangoriaFangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
Magazine #302, Tom Atkins Talks Drive AngryDrive AngryDrive Angry is a 2011 American action film starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Patrick Lussier. It was released on February 25, 2011.- Plot :...
3D ...And Halloween III!: http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=234:tom-atkins-talks-drive-angryand-halloween-iii&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=167 (2010) with Michael Gingold - Horror Hound Video interview with Tom Atkins: http://www.frequency.com/video/horror-hound-2011-interview-with-tom/4044633 (2011) with Uncle Death 1
- An Interview with Tom Atkins: http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue07/features/tomatkins/ (Date: Unknown) with Paul M. Riordan
- EFilm Critic Online Film Magazine, Interview: Tom Atkins Thrills Us: http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=2652 (Date Unknown) with Peter Sobczynski
- Fear Net Video interview, Texas Frightmare - Tom Atkins Interview: http://www.fearnet.com/videos/b11511_texas_frightmare_tom_atkins_interview.html (Date: Unknown)