Thomas Louis Villard (November 19, 1953 â€" November 14, 1994) was an
American actor. He is known for his leading role in the 1980s series
We Got It Made, as well as roles in feature films Grease 2, One Crazy
Summer, Heartbreak Ridge, My Girl, and Popcorn.Villard was born in
Waipahu, Hawaii and grew up in Spencerport, New York, the son of Diane
Ruth (MacNaughton), a teacher of the emotionally handicapped, and
Ronald Louis Villard, a photochemical engineer. He attended Allegheny
College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, before moving to New York City to
attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the American
Musical and Dramatic Academy in the early 1970s. In 1980 Villard moved
to Los Angeles and soon started landing roles on television and in
movies. He also continued performing on stage until the end of his
career.Villard appeared throughout his career on television, in
feature films, and on stage around the country. He was featured in
situation comedies, episodic TV series, and had leading roles in lower
and mid-range budgeted features. At the peak of his career Villard was
given featured supporting roles in big-budget studio fare, such as
Clint Eastwood's Heartbreak Ridge, and My Girl (with Dan Aykroyd and
Jamie Lee Curtis). One of his final roles was playing a Bajoran monk
on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.Toward the end of his life, Villard
became one of the few actors in Hollywood in the early 1990s who chose
to be open about his homosexuality, and the challenge of living with
HIV and AIDS. In February 1994, Villard made an unprecedented
appearance on Entertainment Tonight, acknowledging to "...more than 13
million viewers that he was gay, that he had AIDS, and that he needed
some help."
American actor. He is known for his leading role in the 1980s series
We Got It Made, as well as roles in feature films Grease 2, One Crazy
Summer, Heartbreak Ridge, My Girl, and Popcorn.Villard was born in
Waipahu, Hawaii and grew up in Spencerport, New York, the son of Diane
Ruth (MacNaughton), a teacher of the emotionally handicapped, and
Ronald Louis Villard, a photochemical engineer. He attended Allegheny
College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, before moving to New York City to
attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the American
Musical and Dramatic Academy in the early 1970s. In 1980 Villard moved
to Los Angeles and soon started landing roles on television and in
movies. He also continued performing on stage until the end of his
career.Villard appeared throughout his career on television, in
feature films, and on stage around the country. He was featured in
situation comedies, episodic TV series, and had leading roles in lower
and mid-range budgeted features. At the peak of his career Villard was
given featured supporting roles in big-budget studio fare, such as
Clint Eastwood's Heartbreak Ridge, and My Girl (with Dan Aykroyd and
Jamie Lee Curtis). One of his final roles was playing a Bajoran monk
on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.Toward the end of his life, Villard
became one of the few actors in Hollywood in the early 1990s who chose
to be open about his homosexuality, and the challenge of living with
HIV and AIDS. In February 1994, Villard made an unprecedented
appearance on Entertainment Tonight, acknowledging to "...more than 13
million viewers that he was gay, that he had AIDS, and that he needed
some help."
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