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Tim Matheson ~ Bio

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2015 11:48 pm
by Gillie
Tim Matheson
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Tim Matheson is an American actor, producer, and director. He is well known for his portrayal of the smooth-talking Eric "Otter" Stratton in National Lampoon's Animal House, and Vice President John Hoynes in the NBC drama, The West Wing.

Timothy Lewis Matthieson, the son of Clifford and Sally Matthieson, was born on December 31, 1947 in Glendale, California. He landed his first acting job at the age of thirteen playing Roddy Miller in Robert Young's CBS series, Window on Main Street, (1961).

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While still in high school, Tim appeared in many well-known TV series, including My Three Sons and Leave it to Beaver. He also worked as a voice artist, providing the voice of Jonny for the cartoon series The Adventures of Jonny Quest. When Tim finished high school he went to California State University to study psychology. He got many offers of work from TV Studios, and Tim soon realized that acting was the only career he really wanted. He left college to study at the Actors and Directors Lab in Los Angeles for two years.

Tim's first movie was Divorce American Style (1967), starring Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. A year later he appeared in the movie Yours Mine and Ours starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda.
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That's Tim standing next to Henry Fonda.
Recognize the younger red-headed boy waving at the bottom of the pic?

:whisper It's Mitch Vogel!

In 1969, he joined the NBC's "The Virginian" in its eighth season as Jim Horn.

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In 1972, Tim signed on to "Bonanza" to play young cowhand Griff King, a role created by the network to lure younger viewers to the show which was slipping in the ratings. He appeared in 15 episodes before Bonanza went off the air.

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Tim made many guest appearances on hit TV shows including Hawaii Five-0, The Magician, and Ironside. In 1976, he appeared with Kurt Russell in the 15 episode NBC series The Quest. Tim was also on stage in San Francisco and New York in producctions of True West and Bus Stop.

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In 1978, Tim auditioned for a role in a comedy movie called National Lampoon's Animal House. The producers wanted him to play one of the no-nonsense, straight-laced Omegas. He adamantly refused, saying, "I'm tired of playing it straight," and sought a role as one of the hard-partying, fun-loving"Deltas. Tim succeeded, and became Otter, one of the most fun-loving Deltas of the whole film. For years after playing this role, Tim had to explain to disappointed fans that, no, that was only a character he played, and he couldn't really offer them advice on their love life!

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By the mid 80's, Tim was making several movies a year covering the gamut from comedies to thrillers, science fiction, and romance. In 1985, he made his debut as a director with an episode of NBC's St. Elsewhere. Tim also directed episodes of White Collar, Third Watch, The Twilight Zone, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds, and several other TV shows.

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In 1999, Tim was cast in the role of Vice President John Hoynes in the NBC's drama The West Wing. He appeared in the first four and final seasons, and directed the episode, "The Last Hurrah". This role earned Tim two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2002 and 2003.

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In 2009, Tim directed the pilot episode of"Covert Affairs, which premiered on USA Networks in 2010. He also directed the pilot eps of The Good Guys, Criminal Behavior, and Wild Card. In 2011, Tim joined the cast of The CW Network series, Hart of Dixie playing Dr Brick Breeland in 70 episodes. (2011 - 2015).

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Tim has been married twice, first to Jennifer Leak who co-stared with him in Yours, Mine, and Ours. The marriage lasted from 1968 to 1971. He remarried Megan Murphy Matheson in 1985 and divorced in 2010. The couple has three children: Molly Lewis Matheson, (b 1987), Emma Katherine Matheson, (b 1988) and Cooper Timothy Matheson, (b 1994).

Although Tim is a vegetarian, he is an avid deer hunter. He also served in the USMC Reserves, in 1969. Tim currently lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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He's aged rather well, don't you think?
Tim Mathison Bio by Gillie