# Tom Ligon > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Ligon > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tom_Ligon.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ligon > Source revision: 1293807152 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American actor (born 1940)}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2015}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom Ligon | image = Ligon 73kb.jpg | caption = Ligon in 1993 | alt = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|09|10}} | birth_place = [New Orleans, Louisiana](/source/New_Orleans%2C_Louisiana), U.S. | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1960{{spaced ndash}} present | spouse = Katharine Dunfee Clarke (K.C. Ligon) (1976–2009, her death) | children = }} '''Thomas Ligon''' (born September 10, 1940) is an American actor of [Cajun](/source/Cajun) ancestry. He appeared in the films ''[Paint Your Wagon](/source/Paint_Your_Wagon_(film))'', ''[Jump](/source/Fury_on_Wheels)'', and ''[Bang the Drum Slowly](/source/Bang_the_Drum_Slowly_(film))'' (in which he also sang the title song) as well as the television series ''[The Young and the Restless](/source/The_Young_and_the_Restless)'', and ''[Oz](/source/OZ_(TV_series))''. == Life and career== Mentored by folksinger and actor [Gordon Heath](/source/Gordon_Heath) in Paris, beginning in the mid 1950s, Ligon then attended [St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)](/source/St._Albans_School_(Washington%2C_D.C.)), where he suffered a broken leg while playing football, and, sans sports, his interests turned solidly toward theater. At [Yale](/source/Yale), where he was a member of [Skull and Bones](/source/Skull_and_Bones) and graduated as an English major (1962), he was discovered by [Tennessee Williams](/source/Tennessee_Williams), who saw his performance as Kilroy in Williams' play, ''[Camino Real](/source/Camino_Real_(play))'' at the [Yale Dramatic Association](/source/Yale_Dramatic_Association). 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](/source/Arena_Stage) where he played the title role in ''Billy Budd'' and in ''Hard Travelin' '' by [Millard Lampell](/source/Millard_Lampell) in 1964, and [Actors Theatre of Louisville](/source/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. Tom Ligon created the role of Orson in the prize-winning Off-Broadway musical ''[Your Own Thing](/source/Your_Own_Thing)'' (1968), and starred on Broadway opposite [Geraldine Page](/source/Geraldine_Page) in ''Angela'', by Sumner Arthur Long, and with [Sandy Duncan](/source/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](/source/Paint_Your_Wagon_(film))'' and ''[Bang the Drum Slowly](/source/Bang_the_Drum_Slowly)''. Concerning Ligon's third film, ''[Jump](/source/Fury_on_Wheels)'' (1971): [Quentin Tarantino](/source/Quentin_Tarantino) 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](/source/Rajiv_Joseph)'s ''[Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo](/source/Bengal_Tiger_at_the_Baghdad_Zoo)'' in its original iteration, directed by Giovanna Sardelli at the [Lark Play Development Center](/source/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''. In 2000, Ligon appeared in a critically acclaimed New York production of ''[Our Town](/source/Our_Town)'', directed by Jack Cummings III, where he played George Gibbs. Also, for [Transport Group](/source/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](/source/The_New_York_Times)''{{citation | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/nyregion/he-used-to-be-on-police-dramas-then-he-met-a-bad-guy-in-real-life.html?_r=0 |work=[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) |title=He Used to Be on Police Dramas, Then He Met a Bad Guy in Real Life |author=Michael Wilson|date=Aug 16, 2013 |accessdate=July 31, 2016}} 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](/source/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](/source/SAG-AFTRA)'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](/source/Nothing_But_a_Man)'' (1964) - Teenager #1 * ''[Paint Your Wagon](/source/Paint_Your_Wagon_(film))'' (1969) - Horton Fenty * ''[Jump](/source/Fury_on_Wheels)'' (1971) - Chester Jump * ''[The Last American Hero](/source/The_Last_American_Hero)'' (1973) - Lamar * ''[Bang the Drum Slowly](/source/Bang_the_Drum_Slowly_(film))'' (1973) - Piney Woods * ''[Joyride](/source/Joyride_(1977_film))'' (1977) - Sanders * ''[Young Doctors in Love](/source/Young_Doctors_in_Love)'' (1982) - Soap Cameos * ''[Cutting Class](/source/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](/source/Hawk_(TV_series))'' (1966) * ''The 39th Witness'' (TV film) (1968) * ''[The Jackie Gleason Show](/source/The_Jackie_Gleason_Show)'' "Operation Protest" (1970) * ''[A World Apart](/source/A_World_Apart_(TV_series))'' (original cast, 1969-1971) * ''[Medical Center](/source/Medical_Center_(TV_series))'' (1971) * ''[The Execution of Private Slovik](/source/The_Execution_of_Private_Slovik)'' (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) * ''[The Adams Chronicles](/source/The_Adams_Chronicles)'' (1976) * ''[Baretta](/source/Baretta)'' (1977) * ''[Rosetti and Ryan](/source/Rosetti_and_Ryan)'' (1977) * ''[Charlie's Angels](/source/Charlie's_Angels)'' (1977) * ''[Police Woman](/source/Police_Woman_(TV_series))'' (1977) * ''[Starsky and Hutch](/source/Starsky_and_Hutch)'' (1977) * ''[The Young and the Restless](/source/The_Young_and_the_Restless)'' (1978-1982) * ''[Baa Baa Black Sheep](/source/Baa_Baa_Black_Sheep_(TV_series))'' (1978) * ''[Loving](/source/Loving_(TV_series))'' (original cast, 1983-1984) * ''The Demon Murder Case'' (TV film) (1983) * ''[Santa Barbara](/source/Santa_Barbara_(TV_series))'' (1987) * ''[Dallas](/source/Dallas_(TV_series))'' (1987) * ''[The American Experience](/source/The_American_Experience)'' – "Simple Justice" (TV Film) (1993) * ''[All My Children](/source/All_My_Children)'' (1994) * ''[Another World](/source/Another_World_(TV_series))'' (1990, 1995) * ''[Oz](/source/Oz_(TV_series))'' (2001–2003) * ''[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit](/source/Law_%26_Order%3A_Special_Victims_Unit)'' (2001) * ''[Law & Order](/source/Law_%26_Order)'' (1995–2003) * ''[Law & Order: Criminal Intent](/source/Law_%26_Order%3A_Criminal_Intent)'' (2007) * ''[The Heart, She Holler](/source/The_Heart%2C_She_Holler)'' (original cast, 2011–2013) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name|0510069}} *{{IBDB name}} *{{iobdb name|1119}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ligon, Tom}} Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Male actors from New York City Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Male actors from New Orleans Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American male Shakespearean actors Category:American male stage actors Category:Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship Category:Yale University alumni Category:American expatriates in France Category:St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Ligon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ligon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ligon?action=history)). 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