T.Okay. Carter, the character actor who appeared on reveals like Punky Brewster and in motion pictures like The Thing, has died.

He died at 69 in his residence in Duarte, Calif., on Friday, a consultant for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Division instructed Leisure Weekly. The Los Angeles County Hearth personnel responded to a name about an unresponsive male at Carter's home and pronounced him lifeless on the scene. Foul play isn’t suspected.

"It’s with profound disappointment and deep respect that we announce the passing of Thomas Kent 'T.Okay.' Carter, the acclaimed actor and comic whose work spanned almost 5 many years and left an indelible mark on American movie and tv," Carter's publicist, Tony Freeman, mentioned in a press release to EW.

"T.Okay. Carter was a consummate skilled and a real soul whose expertise transcended genres," Freeman added. "He introduced laughter, fact, and humanity to each position he touched. His legacy will proceed to encourage generations of artists and followers alike."

Born in New York Metropolis on Dec. 18, 1956, Carter grew up within the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. He made his display screen debut in a 1976 episode of Police Lady and appeared in episodes of Good Occasions, The Jeffersons, and The Waltons over the following few years. He made his film debut in 1978's Corvette Summer time, which was Mark Hamill's first movie after Star Wars' smash success.

After showing in motion pictures just like the Walter Hill thriller Southern Consolation and comedies like Underground Aces (starring Melanie Griffith) and The Hollywood Knights (starring Tony Danza), Carter landed one in all his most memorable roles within the 1982 sci-fi basic The Factor. John Carpenter solid the actor as Nauls, the roller-skating prepare dinner for the scientists within the Antarctic analysis station. Nauls survives till the finale of the film, when he disappears to set explosives and by no means returns, leaving Kurt Russell's MacReady and Keith David's Childs because the final two figures standing.

Carter supplied the voice of Alex within the cartoon Turbo Teen in 1984. The next yr, he made his debut on the NBC sitcom Punky Brewster as Mike Fulton, one in all Soleil Moon Frye's title character's academics.

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Carter popped up as a daily on Good Morning, Miss Bliss — which was later retooled into Saved by the Bell — and The Sinbad Present. He had recurring roles on Dave and The Steve Harvey Present and appeared in episodes of A Completely different World, Household Issues, NYPD Blue, All people Hates Chris, and Easy methods to Get Away with Homicide. In 2000, he starred as drug addict Gary McCullough within the acclaimed, Emmy-winning HBO miniseries The Nook, a few household combating poverty in an inner-city neighborhood in West Baltimore.

On the massive display screen, Carter voiced the villainous Monstar Nawt in Area Jam, acted reverse Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Daniels in My Favourite Martian, and performed a supporting position in Tony Scott's Domino. He additionally had components in Appears Like Outdated Occasions, Physician Detroit, Runaway Practice, and Ski Patrol.

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Carter's ultimate movie position got here in 2020's The Manner Again, which starred Ben Affleck as a highschool basketball coach battling with alcoholism. His final venture was the short-lived ABC drama The Firm You Maintain, wherein he performed the character Pike in three of the collection' 10 episodes.

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