Sam J. Jones
| Sam J. Jones | |
|---|---|
Jones in April 2016
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| Born |
Samuel Gerald Jones August 12, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Lynn Eriks (m. 1982; div. 1987) Ramona Lynn Jones (m. 1992) |
| Children | 5 |
Samuel Gerald "Sam J." Jones (born August 12, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 1980 film Flash Gordon.
Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Sacramento, California, where he graduated from Mira Loma High School in 1972.
In 1975, prior to his first screen roles, Jones appeared in full frontal nude under the alias Andrew Cooper III as the centerfold for a photo-spread in the June issue of Playgirl magazine.
He made his first film appearance in the 1979 romantic comedy film 10. His appearance in 10 allowed him to beat Kurt Russell and Arnold Schwarzenegger for his most famous role, that of Flash Gordon in the 1980 film of the same name. Jones dyed his hair blonde for this role. The film was moderately successful at the box office grossing $27.1M in North America, and $22m in the UK - double its $20M budget. However, a falling out between Jones and the producers helped to scrap the planned trilogy.
After the release of Flash Gordon, Playgirl magazine reprinted his 1975 photo-spread in their January 1981 issue, this time using his real name. He went on to play Chris Rorchek in the TV series Code Red (1981–1982). He had guest roles in other TV shows including The A-Team, Hunter, and Riptide. In 1987, he played the lead role in an adaptation of Will Eisner's comics character The Spirit. He also played the title character in the short-lived NBC sci-fi series The Highwayman. In the late 1980s and early 1990s he portrayed Johnny Valentine on the HBO series 1st & Ten.
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