Roy Thinnes

Roy Thinnes
Thinnes in 1971.
Born	(1938-04-06) April 6, 1938 (age 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–present
Spouse(s)	Barbara Ainslee (1962-1967) Lynn Loring (m. 1967–84) Katherine Smythe (1987-?) Stephanie Batailler (2005–present)
Children	Christopher Dylan Thinnes (b. 1969) Casey Thinnes (b. 1974)
Website	http://www.roythinnes.com

Roy Thinnes (born April 6, 1938) is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of lonely hero David Vincent in the ABC 1967-68 television series The Invaders.

He also played Alfred Wentworth in the pilot episode of Law & Order. He starred in the 1969 British science fiction film, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (also known as Doppelgänger).

Thinnes was born in Chicago and educated at Los Angeles City College. His first primetime role was as a brother to ex-cop Lee Marvin in a 1964 episode of The Untouchables, called "A Fist of Five". Later he appeared as Ben Quick in the short-lived 1965-66 television series The Long Hot Summer, which ran on ABC. During its run he received around 1,500 letters a week from women and appeared on the cover of TV Guide (April 9–15, 1966 issue) for his one and only time to date. The TV series The Invaders soon followed, with Thinnes playing an architect named David Vincent who accidentally witnesses the arrival of aliens from another planet and wages a seemingly hopeless one-man campaign against them. The series became a cult classic, leading to other 'aliens vs earthlings' films and TV shows. Another short-lived series in which Thinnes starred was in the lead role on The Psychiatrist as Dr. James Whitman. In 1963, Thinnes guest starred as David Dunlear in the episode "Something Crazy's Going On in the Back Room" of The Eleventh Hour. In 1964, he appeared twice in episodes "Murder by Scandal" and the "Lost Lady Blues" of the 13-episode CBS drama The Reporter starring Harry Guardino as journalist Danny Taylor of the fictitious New York Globe newspaper. Thinnes also appeared as a guest star on Twelve O'Clock High, becoming a casualty of war while commanding a B-17 on a dangerous mission. He appeared as intrepid writer and investigator of the supernatural David Norliss in 1973's The Norliss Tapes, a pilot for an unproduced TV series, and played a suspicious schoolmaster in the TV movie Satan's School for Girls with Kate Jackson. He also appeared in the disaster films Airport 1975 as the co-pilot, and The Hindenburg as a sadistic SS captain. Thinnes was cast in Alfred Hitchcock's 1976 film Family Plot in the role of nefarious jeweler Arthur Adamson when Hitchcock's first choice, William Devane, was unavailable. Thinnes had already shot several scenes for the film when Devane suddenly became available. Hitchcock fired Thinnes and re-shot all of his scenes. Thinnes confronted Hitchcock in a restaurant and asked the director why he was fired. Flabbergasted, Hitchcock simply looked at Thinnes until the actor left. Some shots of Thinnes as the character (from behind) remain in the film.