T. K. Carter

Thomas Kent Carter (December 18, 1956 – January 9, 2026) was an American actor best known for his roles in the films Corvette Summer (1978), Southern Comfort (1981), The Thing (1982), Doctor Detroit (1983), Runaway Train (1985), Space Jam (1996) and The Corner (2000), as well as for the TV series Just Our Luck (as the series' lead), Punky Brewster, The Sinbad Show, Dave, and Good Morning, Miss Bliss, also known as Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years. He was also the voice of the animated character Anthony Julian from 1985 to 1988 on the series Jem.

Early life

Thomas Kent Carter was born in New York City on December 18, 1956. He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley area of Southern California.

Career

In films, he was mostly known for his many comedic performances, such as the street-smart Chester in Seems Like Old Times and the karaoke-singing Iceman in Ski Patrol. He is also known for playing slightly nervous characters, such as the rollerskating chef Nauls in John Carpenter's The Thing, as well as the unfortunate National Guardsman, Cribbs, in Walter Hill's Southern Comfort.

On television, he was known for playing Michael "Mike" Fulton, an elementary schoolteacher, on the NBC series Punky Brewster and Mylo Williams on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Carter is also well known for playing the role of drug addicted Gary McCullough in the HBO miniseries The Corner, a performance that The Boston Globe said "perfectly captures the gentleness and passivity that can be addiction's easiest conquest". Carter's first starring role on television was on Just Our Luck.

His acting debut was on an episode of Police Woman. Carter also made appearances on Good Times, The Sinbad Show, The Steve Harvey Show, A Different World, and in the television films Polly and its 1990 sequel.

Personal life

Carter was married to Sandra Collier for 15 years before she passed away from colon cancer around 2025.

Carter died at his home in Duarte, California, on January 9, 2026, at the age of 69.

Filmography

• 1977–1978 — Good Times — Head — 2 episodes
• 1978 — The Waltons — Jody Foster — 1 episode
• 1978 — Corvette Summer — Car Wash Employee
• 1978 — Youngblood — Bubba Cosell
• 1978 — The Jeffersons — Richard — 1 episode
• 1980 — Seems Like Old Times — Chester
• 1980 — The Hollywood Knights — Doo Wop Street Singer
• 1980 — Seed of Innocence — Captain
• 1981 — Underground Aces — Dee Jay
• 1981 — Southern Comfort — Cribbs
• 1982 — The Thing — Nauls
• 1983 — Just Our Luck — Shabu — 13 episodes, main role
• 1983 — Carpool — Otis
• 1983 — Doctor Detroit — Diavolo Washington
• 1984 — Turbo Teen — Alex (voice) — 13 episodes, main role
• 1985–1986 — Punky Brewster — Mike Fulton — 24 episodes
• 1985 — Runaway Train — Dave Prince
• 1985 — Jem — Anthony Julian (voice)
• 1985 — The Transformers — Rocksteady (voice) — 1 episode
• 1987 — He's My Girl — Reggie/Regina
• 1987 — Amazon Women on the Moon — Host (segment "Silly Pate")
• 1988 — Good Morning, Miss Bliss — Mylo Williams — 13 episodes
• 1989 — Polly — George Dodds — TV movie
• 1989 — 227 — Gary Hunt — 1 episode
• 1990 — Ski Patrol — Iceman
• 1990 — Polly: Comin' Home — George Dodds — TV movie
• 1991 — A Rage in Harlem — Smitty
• 1992 — Family Matters — Ty, Laura's Guardian Angel — 1 episode
• 1993 — A Different World — Darnell Gaines — 1 episode
• 1993 — The Sinbad Show — Clarence Hull — 24 episodes, main role
• 1993 — A Cool Like That Christmas — Dead Boy — TV movie
• 1995 — What a Cartoon! — Sledgehammer O'Possum, Santa Claus, Steve, Lion (voice) — 3 episodes
• 1996 — Space Jam — Monstar Nawt (voice)
• 1996–1998 — The Steve Harvey Show — T-Bone — 4 episodes
• 1997 — Moesha — T.K. Smooth — 1 episode
• 1998 — The Gregory Hines Show — Roger Baron — 1 episode
• 1998 — Oh Yeah! Cartoons — Various voices
• 1998 — The Nanny — Ty — 1 episode
• 1999 — My Favorite Martian — Lenny
• 1999 — NYPD Blue — Derrick — 1 episode
• 2000 — The Corner — Gary McCullough — 6 episodes
• 2003 — Baadasssss! — Bill Cosby
• 2005 — Domino — Lester Kincaid
• 2007 — Everybody Hates Chris — Councilman Johnson — 1 episode
• 2013 — Love That Girl! — Immunique's father — 1 episode
• 2016 — How to Get Away with Murder — Thelonious Harkness — 1 episode
• 2018 — The Bobby Brown Story — Herbert Brown — TV film
• 2020 — Stumptown — Lataurus Price — 1 episode
• 2020 — The Way Back — Russ Durrett
• 2023 — Dave — Cliff — 5 episodes, recurring role
• 2023 — The Company You Keep — Pike — 3 episodes