Heather Anne Thomas is an American actress, screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and political activist, best known for her co-starring role as Jody Banks on the TV series The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...

.

Early life

Thomas was born in Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

, to Gladdy Lou Ryder, who was a special education teacher in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is a school district headquartered in Santa Monica, California, United States. The district serves the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu...

. She graduated from Santa Monica High School

Santa Monica High School

Santa Monica High School, informally known as SAMOHI, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1884, it is one of the oldest high schools in the state....

 in 1975 and went on to attend UCLA Film School, graduating in 1980. While at UCLA, she was a member of the Chi Omega

Chi Omega

Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....

 sorority.

Career

Thomas started acting at age 14, when she was one of the hosts of a series on NBC called "Talking with a Giant," where she interviewed celebrities. In 1978 she began acting in small television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 roles; she appeared in the series Co-Ed Fever, of which she later said "It was cancelled after the third commercial." She got her biggest part as "Jody Banks" in 1981 in Lee Majors

Lee Majors

Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....

' The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...

television series and held that role until 1986, when the show was canceled. She appeared in several movies and quit acting in 1998. Thomas was a popular pin-up girl during the 1980s, appearing on numerous posters.

Following her acting career, Thomas tried her hand at screenwriting, and after writing some 40 screenplays finally sold a script called School Slut to Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...

 for a "mid-six-figure sum." Touchstone didn't make the film, however, and Thomas acquired the rights to produce it herself.

In April 2008, Thomas' first novel, Trophies, was published by William Morrow

William Morrow and Company

William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, and sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981. It was sold along to the News Corporation in 1999...

.

Personal life

She married Allen Rosenthal, one of the co-founders of Cocaine Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who seek recovery from drug addiction. CA is patterned very closely after Alcoholics Anonymous, although the two groups are unaffiliated...

, in August 1985; they divorced around September 1986. Thomas then married entertainment attorney Skip Brittenham in October 1992. Their daughter India Rose was born on June 19, 2000. Thomas and her husband host a monthly breakfast gathering at their home in Santa Monica to act as a fundraiser for liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 causes, which has become known in Washington as the "L.A. Cafe". According to newsmeat.com, Thomas has contributed over $280,000 to political candidates since 1992, with all but $2,400 going to Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 or special-interest groups (the $2,400 exception went towards supporting Mary Bono

Mary Bono

Mary Bono Mack is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 44th, serving since 1998. She is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Palm Springs and includes most of central and eastern Riverside County. Bono Mack sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and is...

).

In 1986 she was hit by a car while crossing San Vincente Boulevard and suffered fractures to both legs; she was hospitalized for nearly a month recuperating.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1982	Zapped! Zapped! Zapped! is a 1982 teen sex comedy starring Scott Baio as a teen who acquires telekinetic powers. The film is regarded as a parody of Carrie but also includes spoofs of The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, Star Trek and the 1969 Kurt Russell film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.-Cast:Baio stars as Barney...	Jane Mitchell
1987	Cyclone Cyclone (1987 film) Cyclone is a 1987 science fiction action film about a woman who must keep the ultimate motorcycle from falling into the wrong hands. The film was directed by Fred Olen Ray, and stars Heather Thomas, Jeffrey Combs, and Martin Landau.-Plot:...	Teri Marshall
	Kiss of the Cobra	Merryl Davis	Alternative titles: Death Stone Der Stein des Todes
1990	Red Blooded American Girl	Paula Bukowsky
1993	Hidden Obsession	Ellen Carlyle
1997	Against the Law Against the Law (1997 film) Against the Law is a 1997 American action crime drama directed by Jim Wynorski and starring Nick Mancuso, Nancy Allen and Richard Grieco.-Plot:...	Felicity
1998	My Giant My Giant My Giant is a 1998 comedy drama film starring Billy Crystal, and NBA player Gheorghe Muresan in his only film appearance. Crystal also co-wrote the story.-Synopsis:A huckster named Sammy travels to Romania on business...	Showgirl
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	David Cassidy: Man Under Cover David Cassidy: Man Under Cover David Cassidy: Man Under Cover is an American police drama starring David Cassidy, four years after his run starring in the The Partridge Family. The series pilot first aired as a two-hour episode of another show, Police Story, which featured Cassidy playing an undercover police officer...	Caryl Manning	1 episode
1979	Co-ed Fever Co-Ed Fever Co-Ed Fever is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1979. The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture National Lampoon's Animal House. It was the third of three "frat house" comedy series to air in early 1979...	Sandi	1 episode
	California Fever California Fever California Fever is an American teen drama series that ran on CBS in 1979. The show featured a group of Los Angeles teenagers living an exotic life of disco, the beach, the opposite sex and music. The series was short-lived, lasting only 10 episodes....	Joanne	1 episode
1980	B. J. and the Bear	Caroline Capote	1 episode
	The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo is an American action/adventure sitcom that ran on NBC from 1979 to 1981. For its second season the show was renamed Lobo. The program aired Tuesday nights, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The lead character, Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo, played by Claude Akins, was a spin-off...	Caroline Capote	1 episode
1981–1986	The Fall Guy The Fall Guy The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...	Jody Banks	111 episodes
1983	The Love Boat The Love Boat The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...	Sheila	2 episodes
1984	T.J. Hooker	Sandy	1 episode
	Cover Up	Amber	1 episode
1987	The New Mike Hammer The New Mike Hammer The New Mike Hammer is an American television series based on the exploits of the fictitious New York-based private detective Mike Hammer. The show starred Stacy Keach and was essentially a continuation of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, an earlier television program featuring an identical core cast...	Andrea	1 episode
	Ford: The Man and the Machine	Evangeline Cote	Television movie Nominated: Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress Gemini Award The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
	Hoover vs. The Kennedys Hoover vs. The Kennedys Hoover vs. The Kennedys: The Second Civil War is a four-hour 1987 made-for-television mini-series depicting the political struggles between FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and President John F. Kennedy and Attorney-General Robert F. Kennedy. The film takes place between the 1960 Democratic National...  : The Second Civil War	Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....	Television movie
1988	The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission is 1988 made-for-TV film and is the third sequel to the original The Dirty Dozen. It features an all-new 'dirty dozen,' with the exception of the returning Joe Stern, under the leadership of Major Wright .-Plot:Twelve top Nazis are ordered to the Middle East,...	Lt. Carol Campbell	Television movie
1989	Rodney Dangerfield: Opening Night at Rodney's Place	Joan Emery	Television movie
1990	Flair	Tessa Clarke	Miniseries
1991	P.S. I Luv U P.S. I Luv U P.S. I Luv U is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS as a part of its 1991-92 schedule. The title derived from the phone number of fictitious Palm Security and Investigations, which was 774-5888, which can be reached by dialing "PSI-LUVU" on a standard North American...	Mary Markham	1 episode
1992	Swamp Thing Swamp Thing (TV series) Swamp Thing, also known as Swamp Thing: The Series, is a science fiction, action/adventure television series based on the DC Comics character Swamp Thing. It debuted on USA Network on July 27, 1990 and lasted three seasons for a total of 72 episodes...	Tatania	1 episode
1995	Pointman Pointman Pointman is a TV movie pilot and TV series on the Prime Time Entertainment Network in 1994 to 1995. The premise is the main character is framed and convicted of fraud while he was an investment banker...	Lynn Forbes	1 episode

External links

• Heather Thomas at Harper Collins