Thomas Ligon (born September 10, 1940) is an actor of

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

ancestry. He appeared in the films '' Paint Your Wagon'', ''

Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

'', and ''

Bang the Drum Slowly ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' is a novel by Mark Harris, first published in 1956 by Knopf. The novel is the second in a series of four novels written by Harris that chronicles the career of baseball player Henry W. Wiggen. ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' ...

'' (in which he also sang the title song) as well as the television series ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

'', and '' Oz''.

Life and career

Mentored by folksinger and actor

Gordon Heath Gordon Heath (September 20, 1918 – August 27, 1991) was an American actor and musician who narrated the animated feature film ''Animal Farm'' (1954) and appeared in the title role of ''The Emperor Jones'' (1953) and ''Othello'' (1955), both l ...

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 Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

and graduated as an English major (1962), he was discovered by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

, who saw his performance as Kilroy in Williams' play, '' Camino Real'' at the

Yale Dramatic Association The Yale Dramatic Association, also known as the "Yale Dramat," is the third oldest college theater company in the United States. Founded in 1901 by undergraduates at Yale University, the Dramat has been producing student theatre in the United ...

. 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 Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

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 ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...

'' at the age of eight, and subsequently appeared with her parents in the National Tour of '' The Visit'' with

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

. 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. Tom Ligon created the role of Orson in the prize-winning Off-Broadway musical ''

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'' (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 ''

''. Concerning Ligon's third film, ''

'' (1971):

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

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 Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play ''Descri ...

's ''

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans ...

'' 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 ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...

'', 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 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 Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. 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 The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, recordi ...

's Chair, National Seniors Committee. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors, New York Screen Actors Guild (2005–07).

Filmography

Film

* '' Nothing But a Man'' (1964) - Teenager #1 * '' Paint Your Wagon'' (1969) - Horton Fenty * ''

'' (1971) - Chester Jump * '' The Last American Hero'' (1973) - Lamar * ''

'' (1973) - Piney Woods * '' Joyride'' (1977) - Sanders * ''

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'' (1982) - Soap Cameos * '' Cutting Class'' (1989) - Mr. Ingalls * ''I Believe in America'' (2007) - Oliver * ''Serial'' (2007) - Chief Joseph Spataford * ''Lost Revolution'' (2007) - Oliver * ''Front Cover'' (2015) - Gus LaMar

Television

* '' Hawk'' (1966) * ''The 39th Witness'' (TV film) (1968) * ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...

'' "Operation Protest" (1970) * '' A World Apart'' (original cast, 1969-1971) * '' Medical Center'' (1971) * ''

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'' (TV film) (1974) * ''F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood'' (TV film (1975) * ''The Black Box Murders'' (TV film) (1975) * ''Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys'' (TV film) (1976) * ''

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'' (1976) * ''

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'' (1977) * '' Rosetti and Ryan'' (1977) * '' Charlie's Angels'' (1977) * '' Police Woman'' (1977) * '' Starsky and Hutch'' (1977) * ''

'' (1978-1982) * '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1978) * '' Loving'' (original cast, 1983-1984) * ''The Demon Murder Case'' (TV film) (1983) * '' Santa Barbara'' (1987) * ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' (1987) * '' The American Experience'' – "Simple Justice" (TV Film) (1993) * '' All My Children'' (1994) * '' Another World'' (1990, 1995) * '' Oz'' (2001–2003) * '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2001) * '' Law & Order'' (1995–2003) * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007) * ''

The Heart, She Holler ''The Heart, She Holler'' is an American horror comedy television series created by Vernon Chatman and John Lee for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series premiered on November 6, 2011 and ended on December 11, 201 ...

'' (original cast, 2011–2013)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ligon, Tom 1940 births Living people Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Orleans American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male Shakespearean actors American male stage actors Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship Yale University alumni American expatriates in France St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni