Tom Bower (actor)
American actor (1938–2024)
title: "Tom Bower (actor)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1938-births", "2024-deaths", "male-actors-from-denver", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "burials-at-hollywood-forever-cemetery"] description: "American actor (1938–2024)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bower_(actor)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor (1938–2024) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Publicity_Photo_of_Tom_Bower.jpg |
| caption | Bower in 2013 |
| birth_name | Ralph Thomas Bower |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| resting_place_coordinates | |
| occupation | Actor |
| yearsactive | 1973–2024 |
| :: |
| name = | image = Publicity_Photo_of_Tom_Bower.jpg | caption = Bower in 2013 | birth_name = Ralph Thomas Bower | birth_date = | birth_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | occupation = Actor | yearsactive = 1973–2024 | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater =
Ralph Thomas Bower (January 3, 1938 – May 30, 2024) was an American actor. He was best known for playing Marvin, a janitor in the 1990 film Die Hard 2. He appeared in a wide variety of television and film roles, including Nixon (as Francis A. Nixon) and The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. He appeared in Chris Chan Lee's 2006 film Undoing.
Bower died in Los Angeles on May 30, 2024, at the age of 86.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Two-Minute Warning | Decker, S.W.A.T. Team Member | |
| 1978 | The Dain Curse | Sergeant O'Gar | |
| The Winds of Kitty Hawk | William Tate | ||
| 1982 | The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez | Boone Choate | |
| 1984 | Wildrose | Rick Ogaard | |
| Massive Retaliation | Kirk Fredericks | ||
| 1985 | The Lightship | Coop | |
| 1986 | River's Edge | Detective Bennett | |
| 1987 | Beverly Hills Cop II | Russ Fielding | |
| 1988 | Split Decisions | Detective Walsh | |
| Distant Thunder | Louis | ||
| 1989 | True Believer | Cecil Skell | |
| Wired | Detective | ||
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Marvin | |
| 1991 | Talent for the Game | Reverend Bodeen | |
| 1992 | Aces: Iron Eagle III | DEA Agent Warren Crawford | |
| Raising Cain | Sergeant Cally | ||
| 1993 | Relentless 3 | Captain Phelan | |
| 1994 | Against the Wall (TV Movie) | Ed | |
| Clear and Present Danger | Clark's pilot | Uncredited in end credits | |
| 1995 | Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog | John Gale | |
| Georgia | Erwin Flood | ||
| White Man's Burden | Stanley | ||
| Nixon | Frank Nixon | ||
| 1997 | Buffalo Soldiers (TV Movie) | General Pike | |
| The Killing Jar | Jake Pestone | ||
| 1998 | Poodle Springs (TV Movie) | Arnie Burns | |
| 1999 | A Slipping-Down Life | Mr. Decker | |
| 2000 | The Million Dollar Hotel | Hector | |
| Pollock | Dan Miller | ||
| 2001 | Going Greek | Bill | |
| Hearts in Atlantis | Len Files | ||
| 2002 | The Laramie Project (TV Movie) | Father Roger Schmit | |
| High Crimes | FBI Agent Mullins | ||
| The Badge | 'Bull' Hardwick | ||
| 2005 | The Amateurs | Floyd | |
| North Country | Gray Suchett | ||
| 2006 | The Hills Have Eyes | Gas Station Attendant | |
| Undoing | Don | ||
| Three | Uncle Eugene Parson | ||
| 2008 | Familiar Strangers | Frank Worthington | |
| Appaloosa | Abner Raines | ||
| Gospel Hill | Jack Herrod | ||
| 2009 | Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans | Pat McDonagh | |
| For Sale by Owner | Sheriff O'Hare | ||
| Crazy Heart | Bill Wilson | ||
| 2010 | The Killer Inside Me | Sheriff Bob Maples | |
| 2011 | I Melt with You | Captain Bob | |
| 2013 | Out of the Furnace | Dan Dugan | |
| 2014 | 13 Sins | Father | |
| The Ever After | Father O'Meara | ||
| Runoff | Scratch | ||
| 2015 | Lamb | Foster | |
| 2018 | Light of My Life | Tom | |
| 2019 | El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie | Lou | |
| Senior Love Triangle | William Selig | ||
| 2020 | Fully Realized Humans | Richard | |
| 2023 | We Have a Ghost | Ernest Scheller | |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974, 1976 | The Rockford Files | Jeff Cooperman / Officer Hensley | 2 episodes |
| 1975–1978 | The Waltons | Dr. Curtis Willard / Rex Barker | 26 episodes |
| 1976 | The Bionic Woman | Ted Ryan | 1 episode |
| 1979 | Lou Grant | Lind | 1 episode |
| Barnaby Jones | Baxter | 1 episode | |
| 1981–1986 | Hill Street Blues | De Petrus / Narcotics Cop | 3 episodes |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Jonathan Bailey | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Misfits of Science | Jeffries | 1 episode |
| Miami Vice | Detective Carter | 1 episode | |
| 1990 | China Beach | Archie Winslow | Episode: "Thanks of a Grateful Nation" (Season 3 Episode 17) |
| 1991 | Love, Lies and Murder | Leverette | |
| 1999 | The X-Files | Sheriff Harden | 1 episode (Season 7, Episode 5) |
| 1999–2000 | Roswell | Hubble | 1 episode (Season 1, Episode 13) |
| 2000 | The West Wing | General Ed Barrie | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Cold Case | Curtis Collins | |
| 2008 | Monk | Bennie Wentworth | 1 episode |
| 2005, 2012 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Heinrich "Pop-Pop" Landgraf | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Damon Miller | |
| Grey's Anatomy | Mr. Shultz | 1 episode | |
| 2023 | Lucky Hank | Henry Devereaux Sr. | 3 episodes (final appearance) |
| :: |
References
References
- O'Neal, Sean. (August 27, 2012). "Two more people cast in The Office spinoff The Farm, including the wacky Nazi uncle". [[The A.V. Club]].
- Seitz, Matt Zoller. (December 5, 2007). "Undoing (2006) - Forget It, Jake, It’s Koreatown". [[The New York Times]].
- Tapp, Tom. (June 6, 2024). "Tom Bower Dies: Veteran Actor Best Known For ‘The Waltons,’ ‘Die Hard 2’ & ‘Lucky Hank’ Was 86".
- Barnes, Mike. (2024-06-04). "Tom Bower, Actor in ‘The Waltons’ and ‘Die Hard 2,’ Dies at 86".
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