![]() I was Abe Lincoln in a lot of productions. "One of the things I did, I got an Abe Lincoln beard and hat and everything. So I made him 15 years behind the times." When it came to auditions, Willett said, "You’re not supposed to crash auditions, but I crashed auditions." Standing 6-foot 5 inches tall, Willett invested small amounts of money in audition attire. "They told me the guy should be well-dressed," Willett said, "and he should be immaculate, but there’s got to be something wrong about him. For the auditions, Willett recalls that he beat out the other applicants by wearing a suit with wide lapels and a "behind-the-times" tie. On the series Dear John, Willett played a character that never spoke. More notable roles include playing opposite Mary Steenburgen in the film Melvin and Howard, along with television spots in shows such as Happy Days, The Drew Carey Show and Dear John. One of his first gigs was as an extra in the 1975 American comedy-drama film Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins. "I’ve been in some dreadful movies," Willett once said. In addition to writing comedic routines, he also wrote country tunes for various rising stars, including Roy Clark.Īfter a short stint as a disc jockey at KENO radio, Willett began landing bit parts in films and television shows. By 1962, Willett moved to Las Vegas where he took up writing material for second rate comedy acts. "The country singles market is somewhat limited," he once said in an interview, "and that's going to hurt us because we're putting out country singles." Following his recording career, Willett toured for a short period of time, performing in piano bars and honky-tonks throughout the south. For several years, Willett produced numerous records under his pseudonym, mostly covers and original tunes until the market for country music singles began to dwindle. One of his songs, a rockabilly tune called "Mona Lisa", received significant airplay and allowed Willett the opportunity to perform on such shows as The Gong Show. ![]() His label was called Freeway Records and boasted releases by musicians such as Greg Penny as well as Willett's own piano-playing alter-ego, "Herman Schmerdley". He produced country music records in the evenings, while working at a furniture warehouse during the day. In April 1956 at age 17, Willett moved to Los Angeles. ![]() Called the "modern-day silent screen star", Willett is best known for playing non-speaking roles, such as the character Tom on the sitcom television series Dear John which ran on NBC from 1988 to 1992. Thomas Willett (born 1938) is an American television and film actor, record producer, singer-songwriter, and YouTuber. ![]()
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