‘The Waltons’ and ‘Die Hard 2’ Star Tom Bower Dies at 86
Tom Bower, best known for his roles in The Waltons and Die Hard 2, has died at the age of 86. His death occurred on May 30 while sleeping at Los Angeles’ home. His sister-in-law, Mary Miller, confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.
His representative, Marsha McManus, told ET, “He was an exceptional human being.” His cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
Tom Bower was born in 1938 in Denver, Colorado. He initially dreamed of becoming a baseball player. However, he realized that he wasn’t good enough at that sport, so he turned his attention to acting. During an interview in 2012, he said, “I started acting with more of a purpose while still in high school, and I guess when I chose a senior play over my senior season of baseball, the die was cast.”
He studied acting at the John Cassavetes Shadows workshop, and he worked as a private investigator in Boston for a few years. He founded Boston Repertory Theatre, and his sister-in-law said that he gave acting lessons to Al Pacino.
His first work camera was John Cassavetes’ directorial debut, Shadows (1957). He debuted on the small screens in the early 70s’, where he first appeared in the TV movie ‘Incident at Vichy’ in 1973, where he played the character of a police guard.
After that, he made guest appearances in shows including Kojak, The Rockfords, and The Bionic Woman. Bower’s most important role was in the CB’s hit, The Walton. He first appeared in the series’ fourth season as a guest star, playing the character of pilot Rex Barker. After that, he played the regular role in the following season, where he portrayed Dr. Curtis Willard for seasons 5 to 7.
After that, his character was written off, as he was killed by the attack on Pearl Harbor in the series. However, Curt showed up alive in the 1981 episode but was replaced by Scott Hylands. In 2022, Bower revealed the reason for his departure from the show.
He said, “I asked for a very small raise, so they sent me to Pearl Harbor,” and continued, “Then, when they decided to bring the character back, washed up on a shore somewhere—which I didn’t think was a great idea anyway — I asked for the same small raise … They just cast a different actor.”
In 1990, he played the role of Marvin in ‘Die Hard 2’ opposite Bruce Willis. His other important works include Two Ways Home, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Senior Love Triangle, and Raymond & Ray. He last appeared in the series Lucky Hank as Henry Devereaux Sr.