Jay Thomas obit

Jay Thomas, Sitcom Actor on 'Murphy Brown' and 'Cheers,' Dies at 69

He was not on the list.

The two-time Emmy winner most recently appeared on 'Ray Donovan' and spent many a Christmas season with David Letterman.
Jay Thomas, the good-natured comic actor who starred on the sitcoms Murphy Brown and Cheers, died Thursday. He was 69.

Don Buchwald, his longtime agent and friend, said Thomas died at his home in Santa Barbara after a battle with cancer.

Thomas played the obnoxious TV talk-show host Jerry Gold (and Candice Bergen's on-again, off-again boyfriend) on CBS' Murphy Brown from 1989-98 — winning a pair of Emmys — after his stint as Rhea Perlman’s husband Eddie LeBec, a French-Canadian goalie with the Boston Bruins, on NBC's Cheers. On the latter, his character winds up appearing in an ice show and gets killed by a Zamboni.

Thomas also starred on his own sitcom, playing an egotistical sportswriter opposite Susan Dey and then Annie Potts on CBS' Love and War, a 1992-95 series created by Murphy Brown's Diane English.

Thomas often played loud, sleazy types: He recurred on Showtime's Ray Donovan as Marty Grossman, the operator of a salacious TMZ-like website.

For years, Thomas appeared on David Letterman's late-night talk show during Christmas season and told an entertaining, never-gets-old story centered on Clayton Moore, star of TV's The Lone Ranger. He and Letterman also took turns throwing a football, trying to dislodge a meatball from the top of a Christmas tree.

On the big screen, Thomas played the Easter Bunny in the Santa Clause movies released in 2002 and 2006 and appeared in such films as Legal Eagles (1986), Straight Talk (1992), A Smile Like Yours (1997), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) — as football coach Bill Meister — Dragonfly (2002) and Labor Pains (2009).

A native of Kermit, Texas, who was raised in New Orleans, Thomas got his start in radio as a high school football announcer for the Rutherford High Rams in Panama City, Fla.

He worked at stations in Panama City; Pensacola, Fla.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Nashville; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C., where he earned nicknames like "The Mouth of the South," "The Scorpion" and "The Prince of Darkness."

Thomas moved to New York for a job at the FM station 99X and then did stand-up comedy at the Improv and acted in off-Broadway plays. He got his start on television in 1979 as Remo DaVinci, the co-owner of a New York deli, on ABC's Mork & Mindy. He also hosted a radio show in Los Angeles and, most recently, had a daily gig with SiriusXM.

Appearing as an annual Christmas guest alongside Letterman "has been fun," he said in 2014. "I've always wanted to be one of those guys on late-night talk shows who everybody wants to see. Like on Carson, when [Don] Rickles would come out. I became that guy. And I love football, so my two big dreams were totally realized."

Thomas first picked off the meatball in 1998 when then-New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde tried the stunt but failed.

About that Lone Ranger story: Thomas was a radio host with big hair in Charlotte in the early '70s, and he and his producer offered to give Moore — wearing his crime-fighter costume and mask for an appearance at a car dealership — a ride to the airport. Thomas and the producer had just gotten stoned, he said.

On the way, a car backed into their Volvo during a traffic jam and fled. Thomas chased the vehicle, then confronted the other driver — who denied anything had happened — and told him he was going to call the cops.



The guy took one look at Thomas and his producer and said, "Oh really, who do you think they are going to believe, you two hippie freaks or me?" At this point, Moore emerged from the backseat and said, "They'll believe me, citizen."



Survivors include his wife Sally and sons Sam, Max and J.T.



Filmography

Year Title Role Notes

1979–1981 Mork & Mindy Remo DaVinci 20 episodes

1981 The Love Boat Paul Harris Episode: "First Voyage, Last Voyage"

1984 Master of the Game Levy Television miniseries

1984 C.H.U.D. Cop in diner

1985 Spenser: For Hire Tony Broz Episode: "Discord in a Minor"

1985 The Gig Rick Valentine

1986 Legal Eagles Waiter

1987 Family Ties Jerry DiNello Episode: "Super Mom"

1987 A Year in the Life Scott Spenser Episode: "What Do People Do All Day?"

1987–1989 Cheers Eddie LeBec 9 episodes

1988 Monkey Business Tedesco

1988 The Adventures of Ragtime Lester Waylin

1988 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Delivery Man Episode: "Justin Case"

1989 Almost Grown Unknown Episode: "Take It Slow"

1989 The Golden Girls Sy Ferber Episode: "High Anxiety"

1989 Freddy's Nightmares Stan Brooks Episode: "Dream Come True"

1989–1998 Murphy Brown Jerry Gold 9 episodes

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (1990–91)

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series(1989)

1990 Miracle Landing Ed Meyer Television movie

1990 Open House Evan Gimbel 2 episodes

1990 Where's Rodney? Lou Barnes Television movie

1990 Little Vegas Bobby

1990–1991 Married People Russell Meyers 18 episodes

1992 Straight Talk Zim Zimmerman

1992 Batman: The Animated Series Guard 1 Episode: "The Forgotten"

1992–1995 Love & War Jack Stein 67 episodes

1995 Cybill Jay Episode: "Zing!"

1995 Bless This House Ted Episode: "If It Ain't Broken, Break It"

1995 Mr. Holland's Opus Coach Bill Meister

1996 A Strange Affair Eric McKeever

1996 Dirty Laundry Joey Greene

1996–1997 Ink Jack Stein 3 episodes

1997 Killing Mr. Griffin John Griffin Television movie

1997 A Smile Like Yours Steve Harris

1997 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Disembodied Voice Episode: "Spy vs. Monster"

1997 Working Mr. Peyser Episode: "Lost Weekend"

1998 My Date with the President's Daughter Charles Fletcher Television movie

1998 The Simple Life Joel Campbell Episode: "Sara's Ex"

1998 The Adventures of Ragtime Lester Waylin

1998 Monkey Business Tedesco

1998 Last Chance Artie

1998–1999 Hercules Ares 6 episodes

1999 Stranger in My House Ray Young

1999 Fantasy Island Carl Harbin Episode: "The Real Thing"

1999 Dead Man's Gun Emil Kosar Episode: "The Good Chef"

1999 The Wild Thornberrys Bull Seal Episode: "Tamper Proof Seal"

1999 The Big Tease Tony Bolero Uncredited

2000 An American Daughter Timber Tucker Television movie

2001 Surfacing: AKA A Letter from My Father Tom

2001–2002 The Education of Max Bickford Jerry Zibowski 2 episodes

2002 Ed Gary Siringo Episode: "Small Town Guys"

2002 Monday Night Mayhem Pete Rozelle Television movie

2002 Dragonfly Hal

2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Joe Sherman Episode: "Vulnerable"

2002 The Santa Clause 2 Easter Bunny

2003 Run of the House Bob Melman Episode: "Twas the Night Before Homecoming"

2004 Teacher's Pet Barry Anger Voice

2004 Joan of Arcadia Obnoxious Investor at Spa Episode: "Recreation"

2006 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause Easter Bunny

2007, 2010 American Dad! Brett Morris 2 episodes

2008 Boston Legal Ian Hoberman Episode: "Happy Trails"

2009 The Pool Boys Marty

2009 Labor Pains Garth

2010 Cold Case Lance Katrola Episode: "One Fall"

2010 Sex Tax: Based on a True Story Charles Taylor

2010 Mysteries at the Museum Narrator 4 episodes

2011 Snatched Roger Byamm

2011 Horrorween Two Headed Monster

2011 Retired at 35 Mr. Jenkins Episode: "Workin' Man"

2011 Hung Sandee's father Episode: "The Whole Beefalo"

2012 Shake It Up Dan Gold Episode: "Copy Kat It Up"

2013 Life Tracker Attorney General

2013 Underdogs Mike Mayhew

2013 The Trials of Cate McCall Loncraine

2013–2017 Ray Donovan Marty Grossman Episode: "Road Trip"

Episode: "Mister Lucky" (his final role)

2015 NCIS: New Orleans Marc Maslow Episode: "Confluence"

2015 Bones Lenny Jay Episode: "The Promise in the Palace"