A screen and stage performer, Thomas appeared on stage in "A Lesson
Before Dying", and on screen in Fosse's "Lenny"(1974) and also in
"Cocoon" (1985). The TV work he did included "Miami Vice" and "American
Playhouse".
Thomas was a schoolteacher until his mid-forties. He gave that up
to pursue acting full-time. He was born in Arkansas but also lived in
Chicago, Knoxville, Tennessee and Florida. He attended Knoxville
College in Tennesee, where he met his wife, Barbara Jones.