Heather Thomas

Heather Anne Thomas (born September 8, 1957[1]) is an American actress, screenwriter, author and political activist, who co-starred as Jody Banks on the TV seriesThe Fall Guy.

Contents
[hide]
 * 1 Early life
 * 2 Career
 * 3 Personal life
 * 4 Filmography
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links

Early life[edit]
Thomas was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Gladdy Lou Ryder, a special education teacher in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. She graduated fromSanta Monica High School in 1975 and went on to attend UCLA Film School, graduating in 1980. While at UCLA, she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority.

Career[edit]
Thomas started acting at age 14, when she was one of the hosts of a series on NBC called Talking with a Giant, where she interviewed celebrities.[2] In 1978 she began acting in small television roles; she appeared in the series Co-Ed Fever, of which she later said "It was canceled after the third commercial."[3] She played the role of "Jody Banks" in Lee Majors' The Fall Guy television series from 1981 to 1986, when the show was canceled. She entered rehabilitation for cocaine addiction in 1984.[2]She appeared in several movies but quit acting in 1998. Thomas appeared on numerous pin-up posters during the 1980s.

Following her acting career, Thomas wrote a screenplay called School Slut and sold it to Touchstone Pictures for a figure reported as "mid-six-figure".[4] Touchstone did not make the film, however, and Thomas acquired the rights to produce it herself.[2]

In April 2008, Thomas' first novel, Trophies, was published by William Morrow.

Personal life[edit]
She married Allen Rosenthal, one of the founders of Cocaine Anonymous, in August 1985;[5] they divorced in September 1986.[6] Thomas then married entertainment attorney Skip Brittenham in October 1992. Their daughter India Rose was born on June 19, 2000. Thomas and her husband host a monthly fund-raising breakfast gathering at their home in Santa Monica, California for progressive causes, which has become known in Washington as the "L.A. Cafe".[7][8] According to newsmeat.com, Thomas contributed over US$280,000 to political candidates since 1992, mostly to Democratic and special-interest groups, with $2,400 towards supporting Republican Mary Bono.[citation needed]

In 1986, she was hit by a car while crossing San Vincente Boulevard and suffered fractures to both legs.[9]