Handsome, rugged, versatile and charismatic character actor Tom Atkins was born on November 13, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Atkins initially became an avid horror film fan in his childhood days; Howard Hawks' immortal classic The Thing from Another World (1951) made an especially strong impression on him as a kid. Tom attended Duquesne ...
Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Night of the Creeps, The Fog, Maniac Cop, Lethal Weapon, My Bloody Valentine 3D, Escape from New York, Drive Angry, Two Evil Eyes, Striking Distance, Bruiser, Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo, The Ninth Configuration, Bob Roberts, Lemon Sky, The New Kids, Cry in the W...
TV Shows
The Rockford Files, Serpico
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Trademark
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Often plays police officers
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Quote
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I made a few other films in New York in the late 60's, early 70's. But I think The Fog (1980) was my first film in Los Angeles. I could be wrong. And it was a "horror" film. And then I made a bunch of horror films for a while. And I loved them. I had always admired Vincent Price, and though I never worked with him, it was one of the treats of my life to meet him in Los Angeles, and we were mutual fans. I would like to have had a career like his.
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Well, I grew up in Pittsburgh. My father worked for J&L Steel. We were a blue collar family. And that's the kind of actor I am. What you see is what you get. I've played a lot of cops and a few bad guys. No one has ever hired me to play a brain surgeon, though I have played a couple of docs.
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Mel Gibson was lovely. He was on the edge of both scenes that I had with Danny Glover.
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You know, they just don't make big movie stars the way they used to, maybe because the system has changed, the studio system, but it's sad to see people like Jimmy Stewart go, all the giants of the past.
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Jimmy Garner is a very gracious guy, as he was then and he is still today.
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Richard Donner was a particular delight. He's a wonderful kind of old-fashioned director, from what I would have thought the golden days of Hollywood must have been from the '30s and '40s. He was just a big, handsome, strapping, strong, delightful, cigar-smoking, very open, gregarious guy. He would talk to anybody. He never closed off the set.
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Fact
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His longtime partner David Lewell died in 2004.
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Currently lives in Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. [2004]
His son E. Taylor Atkins graduated from Peters Township High School in Pennsylvania.
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Is a frequent player in shows at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, most famously in the one-man show "The Chief", in which he depicts the late founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Art Rooney.
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Has a Golden Retriever named Gus.
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His favorite of all the movies he has worked on is Night of the Creeps (1986).
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During his childhood, he was a huge fan of science fiction and horror films.
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Member of Gamma Phi Fraternity.
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Graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Judy's Dead
2014
Roy
Apocalypse Kiss
2014
Cpt. John Vogle
Arriving at Night
2011
Short
Phil Redman
Drive Angry
2011
Cap
The Chief
2010
Video
Art Rooney Sr.
Trapped
2009/II
Detective Abbott
Shannon's Rainbow
2009
Captain Martin
My Bloody Valentine
2009
Burke
The Jury
2004
TV Series
Boyd Kingman
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2003
TV Series
Mr. Monahan
Oz
2003
TV Series
Mayor Wilson Lowen
Turn of Faith
2002
Charlie Ryan
Out of the Black
2001
Eugene Carter
Bruiser
2000
Detective McCleary
The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads
1999
TV Movie
Cmdr. Alex Diehl
Homicide: Life on the Street
1998
TV Series
Grenville Rawlins
Dying to Be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story
1996
TV Movie
Henry Hart
Xena: Warrior Princess
1996
TV Series
Atrius
The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits...
1996
TV Movie
Cmdr. Alex Diehl
Fortune Hunter
1994
TV Series
Richard Bennett
Walker, Texas Ranger
1993
TV Series
Wade Cantrell
Striking Distance
1993
Sgt. Fred Hardy
Sworn to Vengeance
1993
TV Movie
Ed Barry
Bob Roberts
1992
Dr. Caleb Menck
What She Doesn't Know
1992
TV Movie
Roy
Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann
1991
TV Movie
Jamieson
Kojak: Flowers for Matty
1990
TV Movie
Lt. Ian Conner
Against the Law
1990
TV Series
Walter Littlefield
Two Evil Eyes
1990
Det. Grogan (segment "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar")
The Heist
1989
TV Movie
Det. Leland
Dead Man Out
1989
TV Movie
Berger
Maniac Cop
1988
Frank McCrae
Lemon Sky
1988
Douglas
The Equalizer
1986-1987
TV Series
Detective Frank Standish / Demonstrator
A Stranger Waits
1987
TV Movie
Sheriff Collier
Lethal Weapon
1987
Michael Hunsaker
Spenser: For Hire
1986
TV Series
Hatch
Night of the Creeps
1986
Ray Cameron
Stingray
1986
TV Series
Donald Dixon
Blind Justice
1986/I
TV Movie
Kramer
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1986
TV Series
Police Lieutenant
The Fall Guy
1985
TV Series
George Spiros
The New Kids
1985
'Mac' MacWilliams
T.J. Hooker
1984
TV Series
Phil Parker / Tommy D'Amico
The Mississippi
1983
TV Series
Kenyon
Murder Me, Murder You
1983
TV Movie
Jack Vance
St. Elsewhere
1983
TV Series
Bob Lonnicker
Skeezer
1982
TV Movie
Dr. Chanless
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
1982
Daniel Challis
Creepshow
1982
Stan (segments "Prologue" / "Epilogue") (uncredited)
Quincy M.E.
1982
TV Series
Cmdr. Gene Butler / John Todd
Desperate Lives
1982
TV Movie
John Cameron
M*A*S*H
1982
TV Series
Major Lawrence Weems
Lou Grant
1979-1981
TV Series
Dr. Sorenson / Jim Bronsky / Frank Durning
Standing Room Only
1981
TV Series
Craigin
Escape from New York
1981
Rehme
The Ninth Configuration
1980
Sgt. Krebs
Power
1980
TV Movie
Buck Buchanan
Skag
1980
TV Series
Dr. Moscone
The Fog
1980
Nick Castle
A Death in Canaan
1978
TV Movie
Lt. Bragdon
Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo
1977
TV Movie
Buddy
Baretta
1977
TV Series
Vic
The Rockford Files
1974-1977
TV Series
Alex Diel
Lt. Thomas Diehl
Serpico
1976-1977
TV Series
Lt. Tom Sullivan
Visions
1976
TV Series
Robert Dayka
Special Delivery
1976
Cop on Beat
Hawaii Five-O
1975
TV Series
Koko Apelika
The Rookies
1975
TV Series
Brad Gifford
Miles to Go Before I Sleep
1975
TV Movie
O'Dell
Harry O
1974
TV Series
Sgt. Frank Cole
Rhoda
1974
TV Series
Vic Rhodes
Get Christie Love!
1974
TV Series
Peterson
The Owl and the Pussycat
1970
Kid in Car (uncredited)
Where's Poppa?
1970
Policeman in Apartment
The Detective
1968
Harmon
Look Up and Live
1964
TV Series
Doctor
The Doctors
1963
TV Series
Dylan Levein
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Lunatic, Maniac and the Psycho's Parking Lot: Hitchcock Presents Anti-Pervert Manual
2008
Short grateful acknowledgment
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
'Creepshow' Days with Michael Gornick
2016
Video short
Himself
Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini
2015
Documentary
Himself
Fantasm
2013
Documentary
Himself
Stand Alone: The Making of Halloween III
2012
Video
Himself
Doomed Detective: Tom Atkins on Maniac Cop
2011
Video documentary short
Night of the Creeps: Tom Atkins, Man of Action
2009
Video documentary short
Himself
Thrill Me!: The Making of Night of the Creeps
2009
Video documentary
Himself
Just Desserts: The Making of 'Creepshow'
2007
Video documentary
Himself
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
2006
Video documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness
2011-2014
TV Series documentary
Ray Cameron / Daniel Challis
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2010
Fangoria Horror Hall of Fame
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
2010
Horror Icon of the Year
Louisville Fright Night Film Fest
Known for movies
Lethal Weapon (1987) as Michael Hunsaker
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) as Daniel Challis
Under Review
