Biography for
Philip Michael Thomas More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

26 May 1949, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Nickname

Phil
PMT

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Philip Michael Thomas - the multi-talented performer best known as Detective Rico Tubbs in the iconic 1980s TV series "Miami Vice" (1984) - made his Broadway debut in 1971 in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play No Place to Be Somebody...and hasn't looked back since.

In a remarkable career that spans nearly four decades, PMT has worked with some of the top stage, screen, and recording personalities in the world.

He first guest starred on TV in 1973 in the pilot for the series Toma (1973) (TV), followed by parts in "Good Times" (1974), "Police Woman" (1974), "Medical Center" (1969), Wonder Woman (1978)_, _Starsky and Hutch (1978)_, and "Trapper John, M.D." (1979) before landing the role on "Miami Vice" (1984) in 1984 that made him a household name - and took him on a whirlwind tour of the globe and into the presence of heads of state (including President Ronald Reagan and Nelson Mandela), fellow celebrities, and countless adoring fans.

Despite world-wide stardom as an actor of both stage and screen, it is music that is PMT's biggest passion. He wrote his first song at the age of 11 and, over the next 40 years, wrote, composed, and sung everything from Gospel to R&B to pop standards to rock. One long-time friend recently referred to the musical side of PMT as "an undiscovered diamond."

During the stratospheric years of Miami Vice (1984-1989), PMT released two highly regarded albums: Livin' the Book of My Life (1985) and Somebody (1988), both on his own Starship Records label, with distribution by industry giant Atlantic Records. Although much loved by fans to this day, his albums didn't sell as well as expected (perhaps due to a wide range of musical styles that defied pigeonhole) and remain out of print, although they often fetch a tidy sum on eBay. PMT is considering reissuing his solo albums with bonus tracks sometime in 2007 or 2008.

The power of imagination and love to overcome circumstances is a theme that runs through the fabric of his life. He cites singing "The Impossible Dream" (from Man of La Mancha) while at Oakwood College in 1967 as a turning point for him.

Considered by long-time friends and family members alike to be one of the most compassionate, spiritual, and generous men they've ever known, PMT credits his uplifting, positive outlook on life to a vegetarian diet, regular exercise, life-long learning, friends he's made through the years, and books such as The Holy Bible, Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, and Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, among many others.

PMT loves Florida and has chosen to make his home there instead of L.A. or New York as do most of his colleagues. Naturally, this keeps him out of the limelight, but it's a mistake to assume that just because his name isn't regularly splashed across the tabloids that he's not keeping himself busy. In fact, he is working (2007) on his autobiography, his official web site, reading scripts, performing, writing music, and helping young performers reach the heights he has reached - and doing it all with characteristic charm, grace, vitality...and with his trademark banner, "Treasure beyond measure!" flying proudly overhead.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Bill Murphy

Trivia

Has five daughters with 3 different live in girlfriends.

Lived with Dhaima Matthews from 1982-86. They had 2 children.

Lived with Kassandra Thomas from 1986-98. They have 5 children.

A bank foreclosed on his house in 1998.

Was awarded an undisclosed amount by an arbitrator for his work in psychic phone commercials, ending an eight-year dispute in which Thomas claimed Traffix, Inc. owed him $12 million. [June 2002]

Attended the University of California at Riverside, California.

Of Native-American, Irish, & African-American ancestry.

In addition to being highly creative, even bookish, PMT is gifted mechanically and can rebuild a car engine from the ground up or diagnose it merely by hearing someone describe its symptoms.

Before transferring to the University of California-Riverside, PMT attended Oakwood College, a small liberal arts institution in Huntsville, Alabama (started by the Seventh-day Adventist church), intending to become a pastor.

Was an ordained Pentecostal preacher at the age of 16.

Personal Quotes

"I've become greened, like money. I respect the position. I'm enthusiastic, as opposed to excited. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek entheos, which means "God-inspired"...I recommend fame, but with fortune. Otherwise, it's a bitch." (Playboy 1985)

Look deep into the mirror of your soul and discover a wonderful truth, the greatest book you'll ever know is written and lived by you.

Good life is like good music. There are rests and pauses and melody and rhythm and lyric and reason and rhyme and love that last for all time. Music and all that it possesses is a multi-dimensional life itself. Not just a trip, but a round trip.

Once you get to the mountain top that's where you really begin to climb.

Some people never live a day in a lifetime. I live a lifetime in a day.

I love encouraging people to read great books. You can travel the world and the universe if you just go to your local library and choose a book to read. I tell my children you must read to lead.

I have been recommending Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich to almost everybody I have met since I first read it in 1967. It is the master key to anyone who wants to succeed.

Where Are They Now

(August 2007) PMT has always loved Florida and has chosen to call The Sunshine State his home. He is hard at work on his autobiography, official web site, and writing songs for an album he may release in 2008.

(August 2007) Co-producer and co-creator of the smash-hit musical Sacha on Broadway, which is staged periodically in Florida and is being groomed for a national tour.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z