 |
Tom Ligon | |
|---|---|
 Ligon in 1993 | |
| Born | September 10, 1940 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960 – present |
| Spouse | Katharine Dunfee Clarke (K.C. Ligon) (1976–2009, her death) |
Thomas Ligon (born September 10, 1940) is an actor of Cajun ancestry. He appeared in the films Paint Your Wagon , Jump , and Bang the Drum Slowly (in which he also sang the title song) as well as the television series The Young and the Restless , and Oz .
Mentored by folksinger and actor Gordon Heath in Paris, beginning in the mid 1950s, Ligon then attended St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.), where he suffered a broken leg while playing football, and, sans sports, his interests turned solidly toward theater. At Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and graduated as an English major (1962), he was discovered by Tennessee Williams, who saw his performance as Kilroy in Williams' play, Camino Real at the Yale Dramatic Association. Ligon became one of the most sought after young actors in New York in the 1960s.
Ligon has appeared on many prominent regional stages in the U.S., notably the Arena Stage where he played the title role in Billy Budd and in Hard Travelin' by Millard Lampell in 1964, and Actors Theatre of Louisville, where he played Hank Czerniak, the polka king, in Evelyn and the Polka King.
Tom Ligon and Katharine Dunfee Clarke (K.C. Ligon - 1948-2009) were married on New Year's Eve in 1976. K.C. was born into a theatrical family (her mother was actress and dialect coach Nora Dunfee and her father was veteran Broadway and noir film actor, David Clarke). She made her Broadway debut in Under Milk Wood at the age of eight, and subsequently appeared with her parents in the National Tour of The Visit with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. K.C. taught speech at Circle in the Square Theatre School and was a dialect coach on Broadway and did extensive private coaching of prominent performers for theater and film. A writer and leader of the modern Oxfordian movement, K.C. was deeply involved in the effort to establish Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford as Shakespeare. [1]
Tom Ligon created the role of Orson in the prize-winning Off-Broadway musical Your Own Thing (1968), and starred on Broadway opposite Geraldine Page in Angela, by Sumner Arthur Long, and with Sandy Duncan in John Patrick's Love is a Time of Day. This work on stage led to appearing in two films, Paint Your Wagon and Bang the Drum Slowly . Concerning Ligon's third film, Jump (1971): Quentin Tarantino called it "this amazing film that no one’s ever seen – I’ve only seen it once and I’d love to see it again – this really good Seventies backtrack exploitation movie... It’s hilarious and very satirical. I remember really liking that."
Ligon played the Tiger in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in its original iteration, directed by Giovanna Sardelli at the Lark Play Development Center in New York City. Other noteworthy appearances on the New York stage include Geniuses, BAFO (Best and Final Offer), Den of Thieves, The Golf Ball, Tartuffe: Born Again, A Backer's Audition, Another Paradise, and Have I Got A Girl for You.
At the age of 60, Ligon appeared in a critically acclaimed New York production of Our Town , directed by Jack Cummings III, where he played George Gibbs, with an actress of the same age playing Emily Webb. Also, for Transport Group, he subsequently played in Requiem For William, All the Way Home, and The Audience, all directed by Jack Cummings III.
In August 2013, when Ligon was age 72, The New York Times [2] reported that he sent an intruder tumbling to the pavement below with a fist to the forehead and a ninja shout after the man had entered his Greenwich Village apartment through a window. Responding to later news that it was a "career burglar" he had chased away, and who was now in jail, Ligon told The Times: "Well, I guess he's not having much of a 'career' right now. It's like acting – you’ve got your ups and downs."
Ligon served many years as SAG-AFTRA's Chair, National Seniors Committee. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors, New York Screen Actors Guild (2005–07).
George Campbell Scott was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his portrayal of stern, but complex, authority figures such as prosecutor Claude Dancer in Anatomy of a Murder, General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, Herbert Bock in The Hospital, Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Lt. Kinderman in The Exorcist III, and General George S. Patton in the biopic Patton, which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Described by The Guardian as "a battler and an actor of rare courage", his performances won him widespread recognition and numerous other accolades, including a Golden Globe, a Genie Award, and two Primetime Emmys.
John Arthur Kennedy was an American actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway. He won the 1949 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Miller's Death of a Salesman. He also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for the 1955 film Trial, and was a five-time Academy Award nominee.
Richard Earl Thomas is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama series The Waltons for which he won an Emmy Award from two nominations and received two Golden Globe Award nominations. He also starred in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It and played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series The Americans. Most recently, he appeared in Netflix's Ozark and is touring with To Kill a Mockingbird as Atticus Finch.
Keir Atwood Dullea is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and its 1984 sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact. His other film roles include David and Lisa (1962), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) and Black Christmas (1974). Dullea studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He has also performed on stage in New York City and in regional theaters; he has said that, despite being more recognized for his film work, he prefers the stage.
Oliver Burgess Meredith was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television.
Thomas Edward Bosley was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the 1970s ABC sitcom Happy Days, and the title character on the NBC/ABC series Father Dowling Mysteries. He also was featured in a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote. He originated the title role of the Broadway musical Fiorello!, earning the 1960 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical.
Dean Jagger was an American film, stage, and television actor who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Henry King's Twelve O'Clock High (1949).
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in most of his film and television roles.
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter in the United States best known for his screenplay adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.
Sally Ann Howes was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1963, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance in Brigadoon.
Thomas Lester Tryon was an American actor and novelist. He is best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal (1963), featured roles in the war films The Longest Day (1962) and In Harm's Way (1965) with John Wayne, and especially the Walt Disney television character Texas John Slaughter (1958–1961).
Edward Paul Flanders was an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Donald Westphall in the medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–1988). Flanders was nominated for eight Primetime Emmys and won three times in 1976, 1977, and 1983.
Murray Hamilton was an American stage, screen, and television character actor who appeared in such films as Anatomy of a Murder, The Hustler, The Graduate, The Amityville Horror and Jaws.
Albert Salmi was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions.
Keith Prentice was an American TV, film and stage actor, whose most famous role was the part of Larry in both the original stage and film versions of The Boys in the Band. Prentice also appeared on the TV soap Dark Shadows during the series' final months in 1971. For a number of years, his picture was displayed on the Tasters Choice coffee label.
Simon Oakland was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.
Stewart Moss was an American actor, writer, and director.
Greg Mullavey is an American film and television actor who has had roles as Tom Hartman in the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Carly's grandfather in iCarly. He has appeared on and off Broadway, and continues to act on stage, having appeared in over a hundred theatre productions across North America.
Ben Cooper was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns.
Marjorie Dean Dunfee was an American Broadway and film actress and acting coach.
