Gordon Thomson
Encyclopedia
Gordon Thomson is a Canadian
actor
. His most prominent role was in the American
prime-time soap opera
Dynasty
playing the villainous Adam Carrington
, son of Blake Carrington
(John Forsythe
) and Alexis Colby
(Joan Collins
).
He began acting while studying English at McGill University
in Montreal
. http://reocities.com/sbsen/bios/thomson.html
Thomson's earlier roles were in daytime soap operas. His first main role was as young Michael Stewart, Jr. on the Canadian television serial High Hopes
in 1978. He then appeared in the now defunct ABC
daytime soap opera
Ryan's Hope
from 1981-82.
Having received acclaim for stage performances in productions as diverse as Love's Labours Lost, Godspell
and Joe Orton
's Loot
, Thomson gained a place on ABC's Talent Development Program, which led to Dynastys producer Aaron Spelling
personally casting the Canadian as Adam Carrington in the show. http://reocities.com/sbsen/bios/thomson.html Thomson debuted in Dynasty in 1982 and remained with the series until its cancellation in 1989. During the 1985-1986 season, Thomson also appeared in three episodes of the Dynasty spin-off, The Colbys
.
After Dynasty ended, Thomson returned to daytime soaps. In 1990, he joined the now defunct series Santa Barbara
(as the third actor to portray the character Mason Capwell). However, his commitment to Santa Barbara left him unable to reprise his role as Adam Carrington in the TV mini-series Dynasty: The Reunion
in 1991 (he was subsequently replaced by British actor Robin Sachs
). Thomson has also had roles on The Young and the Restless
, Passions
, the now defunct Sunset Beach
, and in 2009 he appeared on Days of our Lives
.
Thomson has appeared in eight different series produced by Aaron Spelling
; Dynasty
, Fantasy Island
, Finder of Lost Loves
, Glitter
, The Love Boat
, The Colbys
, Beverly Hills, 90210
and Sunset Beach
. He has also guest-starred in a variety of other series such as Murder She Wrote, Spider-Man
, The Nanny
, and Silk Stalkings
.
In recent years, Thomson has reunited with his Dynasty co-stars in two non-fiction television specials; After Dynasty (part of the UK's After They Were Famous series) in 2002, and Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar in 2006.
Also in 2006, Thomson had small roles in the feature films Poseidon
(a remake of The Poseidon Adventure), and the Academy Award nominated Little Miss Sunshine
.
Aside from acting, Gordon Thomson's television work also includes a spell as guest host for Britain's ITV
network on their then breakfast show Good Morning Britain
http://gtthomson.tripod.com/id8.html, for which he also covered celebrity events such as Wimbledon
and Royal Ascot http://reocities.com/sbsen/bios/thomson.html.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His most prominent role was in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prime-time soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
playing the villainous Adam Carrington
Adam Carrington
Adam Alexander Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty.The role was originated by Gordon Thomson in the first episode of the show's third season ; he played the character until the series finale in 1989...
, son of Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was portrayed by John Forsythe from the first episode of the series in 1981 until the finale in 1989. Forsythe returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion...
(John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
) and Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby is a fictional character and the primary antagonist on the American TV series Dynasty....
(Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
).
He began acting while studying English at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. http://reocities.com/sbsen/bios/thomson.html
Thomson's earlier roles were in daytime soap operas. His first main role was as young Michael Stewart, Jr. on the Canadian television serial High Hopes
High Hopes (1978 TV Series)
High Hopes was a Canadian television soap opera that was shown on both Canadian and United States television, starring actor Bruce Gray.The series was produced by Y&R Associates, Ltd, in conjunction with DCA Productions, Incorporated, and was filmed in Toronto. It was shown on CBC Television, in...
in 1978. He then appeared in the now defunct ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
from 1981-82.
Having received acclaim for stage performances in productions as diverse as Love's Labours Lost, Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
and Joe Orton
Joe Orton
John Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
's Loot
Loot (play)
Loot is a two-act play by the English playwright Joe Orton. The play is a dark farce that satirises the Roman Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and the integrity of the police force....
, Thomson gained a place on ABC's Talent Development Program, which led to Dynastys producer Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
personally casting the Canadian as Adam Carrington in the show. http://reocities.com/sbsen/bios/thomson.html Thomson debuted in Dynasty in 1982 and remained with the series until its cancellation in 1989. During the 1985-1986 season, Thomson also appeared in three episodes of the Dynasty spin-off, The Colbys
The Colbys
The Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985 to March 26, 1987. The Aaron Spelling-produced series was a spin-off of Dynasty, which had been the highest rated series for the 1984-1985 U.S. television season...
.
After Dynasty ended, Thomson returned to daytime soaps. In 1990, he joined the now defunct series Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
(as the third actor to portray the character Mason Capwell). However, his commitment to Santa Barbara left him unable to reprise his role as Adam Carrington in the TV mini-series Dynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion is a 1991 miniseries reuniting the characters from the American prime time television soap opera Dynasty, a series which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1989 and was the highest-rated U.S. series in 1985. The miniseries, like the series, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil...
in 1991 (he was subsequently replaced by British actor Robin Sachs
Robin Sachs
Robin David Sachs is an English actor.Sachs was born in London, the son of actors Leonard Sachs and Eleanor Summerfield...
). Thomson has also had roles on The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
, Passions
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
, the now defunct Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...
, and in 2009 he appeared on Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
.
Thomson has appeared in eight different series produced by Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
; Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, Finder of Lost Loves
Finder of Lost Loves
Finder of Lost Loves is an American drama series aired by the ABC network during the 1984-1985 season.-Synopsis:After Cary Maxwell's wife Kate dies, he decides to set up a private detective agency specializing in reuniting clients with a former loved one...
, Glitter
Glitter (TV series)
Glitter was an American television drama series screened on the ABC network during the 1984-1985 season.The series was produced by Aaron Spelling and was set behind the scenes of a top entertainment magazine titled "Glitter" and attempted to combine the urgency of journalism and business politics...
, 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...
, The Colbys
The Colbys
The Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985 to March 26, 1987. The Aaron Spelling-produced series was a spin-off of Dynasty, which had been the highest rated series for the 1984-1985 U.S. television season...
, Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
and Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...
. He has also guest-starred in a variety of other series such as Murder She Wrote, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, The Nanny
The Nanny (TV series)
The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
, and Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
.
In recent years, Thomson has reunited with his Dynasty co-stars in two non-fiction television specials; After Dynasty (part of the UK's After They Were Famous series) in 2002, and Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar in 2006.
Also in 2006, Thomson had small roles in the feature films Poseidon
Poseidon (film)
Poseidon is a 2006 disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the third film adaptation of the novel The Poseidon Adventure written by Paul Gallico, and a loose remake of the 1972 film of the same name. It stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen...
(a remake of The Poseidon Adventure), and the Academy Award nominated Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American comedy-drama film. The road movie's plot follows a family's trip to a children's beauty pageant.Little Miss Sunshine was the directorial film debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer...
.
Aside from acting, Gordon Thomson's television work also includes a spell as guest host for Britain's ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network on their then breakfast show Good Morning Britain
Good Morning Britain
Good Morning Britain was TV-am's flagship breakfast television show throughout TV-am's time on air, broadcasting five days a week, initially from 7am until 9am. By 1985 the programme started at the earlier time of 6.15am and by 1988 the programme started at 6am. It had many different presenters...
http://gtthomson.tripod.com/id8.html, for which he also covered celebrity events such as Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
and Royal Ascot http://reocities.com/sbsen/bios/thomson.html.