Richard Thomas

American stage and screen actor best known for his leading role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS TV drama The Waltons (1972-1977), for which he won an Emmy Award, received a nomination for another and two Golden Globe Awards. He also starred in the 1990 miniseries adaption of Stephen King's It and played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series The Americans (2013-2016).

An actor from the time he was seven years old, he grew into one of the most accomplished and busy juvenile actors on Broadway. By his teens he was playing lead roles on many TV productions and popular series, and he made a film debut at 16 in Winning (1969). In December 1971, the pilot-debut of The Waltons aired with Thomas in the role of John-Boy. It was a long-lasting hit series.

He was a student at Columbia College, the undergraduate college of Columbia University, where he majored in Chinese before switching to the English department. Projecting a natural boyishness and innate decency, Thomas speaks six languages.

On 14 February 1975, he married Alma Gonzales; their son Richard was born 8 August 1976, and triplet daughters were born on 26 August 1981. After 17 years of marriage, they separated in May 1992, and Alma filed for divorce on 18 June 1993 in Los Angeles. In 1992 Richard met Georgiana Bischoff, 34, a Santa Fe art dealer, both newly separated. They married on 20 November 1994 with Thomas's son Richard as best man and the girls, now 13, as bridesmaids along with Georgiana's two daughters from her prior marriage. In July 1996, they added a baby son to the family mix.