Timothy Bottoms(I)
- Actor
- Producer
From a talented acting generation of four brothers, Timothy Bottoms was the closest to achieving out-and-out super-stardom in the 1970s. The eldest of four siblings, he was followed in birth by Joseph Bottoms, Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms.
All four boys were born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, with Timothy James birth date being August 30, 1951. As the children of James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor and high school art teacher, and his wife Betty, artistic expression was certainly
encouraged in this family and Timothy expressed an avid interest, even
during his preschool years, of wanting to perform. He was a local member of the Youth Theater Productions at school and
in 1967 toured Europe along with the Santa Barbara Madrigal Society,
which sealed his aspirations.
Following high school, Timothy was spotted by Universal in a stage
production of "Romeo and Juliet" and chosen (with no prior film
experience) for a lead part in director
Dalton Trumbo's
Johnny Got His Gun (1971). As
Joe, a young American soldier who is shelled and left armless and
legless on the last day of World War I, Timothy received excellent
reviews and earned a Golden Globe nomination as "Most Promising
Newcomer." His next starring role propelled him into the top leagues.
Cast as aimless Texas-boy "Sonny," the sensitive, mournful-eyed,
youthful focus of Peter Bogdanovich's
downbeat Oscar winner
The Last Picture Show (1971),
the film went on to make full-fledged stars not only of Timothy, but of
Jeff Bridges and
Cybill Shepherd. Younger brother Sam,
who frequently visited the set, wound up touchingly cast as simple, naive, ill-fated character.
The early 1970s was a time of great personal accomplishments for
Timothy in film. Engagingly maladroit and looking slightly
uncomfortable in his own skin, he proved that his first reviews were no
flukes. He appeared to great advantage in the touching drama
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)
opposite British acting doyenne
Maggie Smith and as the
tousle-haired college protagonist in the coming-of-age box-office hit
The Paper Chase (1973). In an
effort to break free of his sensitive prototype, he delved into
stranger, darker characters with
The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974)
and Rollercoaster (1977). These
efforts were less successful, however, and he quickly began to discover
his film career slipping away at the early age of 26.
Outgrowing his awkward adorableness, he shifted to the smaller screen
in order to secure challenging roles, such as the biblical lead in
The Story of David (1976);
his ex-convict in
A Small Town in Texas (1976);
his bank teller in
Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (1976);
his fatally-stricken track runner in
A Shining Season (1979),
and the Raymond Massey role (in
which he aged 30 years) in the ambitious mini-series
East of Eden (1981), with
brother Sam recreating the James Dean
part.
Timothy's success certainly encouraged his younger siblings. By this
time Joseph, Sam and Ben were were all experiencing significant lifts
in their own respective careers. As a group, the four brothers hooked
up together for the TV movie
Island Sons (1987), in
which they all played brothers and used their real first names. The
movie was promoted as a pilot for an upcoming weekly series, but it
failed to make the grade. While Timothy continued to work steadily
throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the quality of material he was given
grew more standard. Roles in such films as
Invaders from Mars (1986),
The Drifter (1988) and the
foreign-made Istanbul (1989) did little
to reignite his earlier success. A sequel to his famous "The Last
Picture Show", entitled
Texasville (1990), could have had
heads turning but the movie decided instead to focus instead on
Jeff Bridges (who at this juncture
was a big name star) while Timothy's character was given short shrift
with what was essentially a cameo.
Into the millennium Timothy had a slight taste of his former glory
while showing a keen talent for parody with his uncanny impersonation
of president George W. Bush. Who would
have thought? Bottoms' dead-on spoof on
That's My Bush! (2001),
courtesy of the creators of "South Park", led to a brief Bush cameo in
the family film
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)
and the much more serious TV-movie
DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003).
Interestingly, Timothy needed little in the way of prosthetics. He
simply parted his hair differently, added a bit of a drawl and imitated
his walk!
The still boyish-looking actor with that same trickle of sadness and
discomfort has worked continuously for the past thirty years and
appeared in over 65 films. Of late he has shined in small independent
features such as with his dysfunctional father in writer/director Gus Van Sant's
Elephant (2003), which chronicled a
Columbine High School-like massacre, and his closer-to-home portrayal
as a middle-aged actor in search of his early fame in
Paradise, Texas (2006).
Other millennium films include Shanghai Kiss (2007), Along the Way (2007), the remake of Jack London's Call of the Wild (2009), Pound of Flesh (2010), Realm of the Mole Men (2012) and the quirky romantic comedy 1 Nighter (2012) opposite the producer/writer/director of the film Jill Jaress. In addition, he has been frequently viewed in such comedic and dramatic TV movies as Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't (2005), Vampire Bats (2005), I Married Who? (2012), Sweet Surrender (2014) and How Not to Propose (2015), and made guest appearances on the popular series "The Governor's Wife," "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice" and "The Bridge."
Timothy's marriage to folk singer Alicia Cory from 1975 to 1978,
produced son Bartholomew. He has three other children (Benton, William,
Bridget) with current wife (since 1984) Marcia Morehart. Bottoms
divides his time between his acting work and his other great love of
training wild horses at his two ranches near Big Sur, California. On
the sly he has worked as a surveyor's assistant.
While brothers Joseph and Ben are lesser seen these days and finding satisfying lives outside the Hollywood realm, Sam pursued his own career until his death from brain cancer in 2008 at age 53. Their eldest brother continues to display his talents with more recent prime roles in such films as the dramedy Welcome to the Men's Group (2016), horror opus The Shed (2019) and the adventure thriller Tar (2020).
All four boys were born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, with Timothy James birth date being August 30, 1951. As the children of James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor and high school art teacher, and his wife Betty, artistic expression was certainly
encouraged in this family and Timothy expressed an avid interest, even
during his preschool years, of wanting to perform. He was a local member of the Youth Theater Productions at school and
in 1967 toured Europe along with the Santa Barbara Madrigal Society,
which sealed his aspirations.
Following high school, Timothy was spotted by Universal in a stage
production of "Romeo and Juliet" and chosen (with no prior film
experience) for a lead part in director
Dalton Trumbo's
Johnny Got His Gun (1971). As
Joe, a young American soldier who is shelled and left armless and
legless on the last day of World War I, Timothy received excellent
reviews and earned a Golden Globe nomination as "Most Promising
Newcomer." His next starring role propelled him into the top leagues.
Cast as aimless Texas-boy "Sonny," the sensitive, mournful-eyed,
youthful focus of Peter Bogdanovich's
downbeat Oscar winner
The Last Picture Show (1971),
the film went on to make full-fledged stars not only of Timothy, but of
Jeff Bridges and
Cybill Shepherd. Younger brother Sam,
who frequently visited the set, wound up touchingly cast as simple, naive, ill-fated character.
The early 1970s was a time of great personal accomplishments for
Timothy in film. Engagingly maladroit and looking slightly
uncomfortable in his own skin, he proved that his first reviews were no
flukes. He appeared to great advantage in the touching drama
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)
opposite British acting doyenne
Maggie Smith and as the
tousle-haired college protagonist in the coming-of-age box-office hit
The Paper Chase (1973). In an
effort to break free of his sensitive prototype, he delved into
stranger, darker characters with
The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974)
and Rollercoaster (1977). These
efforts were less successful, however, and he quickly began to discover
his film career slipping away at the early age of 26.
Outgrowing his awkward adorableness, he shifted to the smaller screen
in order to secure challenging roles, such as the biblical lead in
The Story of David (1976);
his ex-convict in
A Small Town in Texas (1976);
his bank teller in
Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (1976);
his fatally-stricken track runner in
A Shining Season (1979),
and the Raymond Massey role (in
which he aged 30 years) in the ambitious mini-series
East of Eden (1981), with
brother Sam recreating the James Dean
part.
Timothy's success certainly encouraged his younger siblings. By this
time Joseph, Sam and Ben were were all experiencing significant lifts
in their own respective careers. As a group, the four brothers hooked
up together for the TV movie
Island Sons (1987), in
which they all played brothers and used their real first names. The
movie was promoted as a pilot for an upcoming weekly series, but it
failed to make the grade. While Timothy continued to work steadily
throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the quality of material he was given
grew more standard. Roles in such films as
Invaders from Mars (1986),
The Drifter (1988) and the
foreign-made Istanbul (1989) did little
to reignite his earlier success. A sequel to his famous "The Last
Picture Show", entitled
Texasville (1990), could have had
heads turning but the movie decided instead to focus instead on
Jeff Bridges (who at this juncture
was a big name star) while Timothy's character was given short shrift
with what was essentially a cameo.
Into the millennium Timothy had a slight taste of his former glory
while showing a keen talent for parody with his uncanny impersonation
of president George W. Bush. Who would
have thought? Bottoms' dead-on spoof on
That's My Bush! (2001),
courtesy of the creators of "South Park", led to a brief Bush cameo in
the family film
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)
and the much more serious TV-movie
DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003).
Interestingly, Timothy needed little in the way of prosthetics. He
simply parted his hair differently, added a bit of a drawl and imitated
his walk!
The still boyish-looking actor with that same trickle of sadness and
discomfort has worked continuously for the past thirty years and
appeared in over 65 films. Of late he has shined in small independent
features such as with his dysfunctional father in writer/director Gus Van Sant's
Elephant (2003), which chronicled a
Columbine High School-like massacre, and his closer-to-home portrayal
as a middle-aged actor in search of his early fame in
Paradise, Texas (2006).
Other millennium films include Shanghai Kiss (2007), Along the Way (2007), the remake of Jack London's Call of the Wild (2009), Pound of Flesh (2010), Realm of the Mole Men (2012) and the quirky romantic comedy 1 Nighter (2012) opposite the producer/writer/director of the film Jill Jaress. In addition, he has been frequently viewed in such comedic and dramatic TV movies as Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't (2005), Vampire Bats (2005), I Married Who? (2012), Sweet Surrender (2014) and How Not to Propose (2015), and made guest appearances on the popular series "The Governor's Wife," "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice" and "The Bridge."
Timothy's marriage to folk singer Alicia Cory from 1975 to 1978,
produced son Bartholomew. He has three other children (Benton, William,
Bridget) with current wife (since 1984) Marcia Morehart. Bottoms
divides his time between his acting work and his other great love of
training wild horses at his two ranches near Big Sur, California. On
the sly he has worked as a surveyor's assistant.
While brothers Joseph and Ben are lesser seen these days and finding satisfying lives outside the Hollywood realm, Sam pursued his own career until his death from brain cancer in 2008 at age 53. Their eldest brother continues to display his talents with more recent prime roles in such films as the dramedy Welcome to the Men's Group (2016), horror opus The Shed (2019) and the adventure thriller Tar (2020).