Betty Thomas

Infobox Actor
name = Betty Thomas


caption = The Emmy Awards Governers Ball, 1994
birthname = Betty Thomas Nienhauser
birthdate = birth date and age|1948|7|27
birthplace = St. Louis, Missouri, USA
emmyawards = Supporting Actress - Drama Series
1985 "Hill Street Blues"
Outstanding Directing - Comedy Series
1993 "Dream On"

Betty Thomas (born July 27, 1948) is an American actress and director in television and motion pictures.

Biography

Born Betty Thomas Nienhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, Thomas graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She worked as an artist and taught school in Chicago before deciding to pursue a career in show business.

Thomas joined The Second City comedy group and appeared in the films "Tunnel Vision" (1975), "Chesty Anderson, USN" (1976), "Used Cars" (1980) and "Loose Shoes" (1980) and on the TV series "The Fun Factory" (1976).

While Thomas had been building her career in comedy, her breakthrough role as an actress came when she was cast in the dramatic role of police officer (later Sergeant) Lucille Bates on the TV series "Hill Street Blues" (1981-1987). She was nominated for six Emmy Awards for this role and won one for Best Supporting Actress in 1985. Thomas' character was paired with Officer Joe Coffey, portrayed by Ed Marinaro. Following the end of the series, Thomas moved into directing. She first worked in TV, directing episodes of series such as "Doogie Howser, M.D.", "Dream On", "Hooperman", "Mancuso, FBI", "Midnight Caller", "On the Air", "Parenthood", "Shannon's Deal" and "Sons and Daughters", and TV movies such as "Couples" (1994), "My Breast" (1994), and "The Late Shift" (1996). She won Emmys for her direction of "Dream On" in 1990 and "My Breast" in 1994.

Thomas made her feature film directorial debut in 1992 with "Only You". She went on to direct several films, including "The Brady Bunch Movie" (1995), "Private Parts" (1997), "Dr. Dolittle" (1998), "28 Days" (2000), and "I Spy" (2002). She has also produced several films, including "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998), "Charlie's Angels" (2000), and "Surviving Christmas" (2004).

References

External links

*imdb|0858525