Tom Bower was a character actor best known for his roles in “The Waltons” and “Die Hard 2.”
- Died: May 30, 2024 (Who else died on May 30?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Los Angeles in his sleep at the age of 86.
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Tom Bower’s legacy
Bower’s acting career spanned 50 years, and he worked steadily throughout those years. Playing Dr. Curtis Willard on the Depression-era TV drama “The Waltons” was his big break. He joined the show in its fifth season as the new town doctor who courted and married Mary Ellen. He was a regular on the show until his character was killed off in season seven as he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Pearl Harbor. Bower later noted that the Pearl Harbor plotline followed his request for a raise, and when the character was later written back into the show, another actor played him.
Another prominent role for Bower came in the 1990 action film “Die Hard 2.” He played Marvin, a janitor at Dulles International Airport who helped Bruce Willis’ John McClane defeat terrorists by showing him back ways around the airport and driving him in a luggage cart.
Bower’s other movies included “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Nixon,” “Pollock,” “Crazy Heart,” and “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.” On TV, he had a recurring role on the recent “Lucky Hank,” yet made dozens of guest appearances over his long career, including on shows like “The Rockford Files,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Miami Vice,” “Hill Street Blues,” “China Beach,” “The X-Files,” “The West Wing,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and “Ray Donovan.”
Tributes to Tom Bower
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
