TK Carter died Friday at his home in Duarte, California. This was announced by the actor’s spokesman, Tony Freeman, in a statement to Variety. The cause of death was not disclosed, but third party involvement is not suspected.
“TK Carter was a professional with a big heart and a true artist whose talent transcended genre boundaries,” Freeman said. – “He brought laughter, truth and humanity to every role he played. His legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.”
Thomas Kent Carter was born on December 18, 1956 in New York City, but grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in southern California. He started performing as a comedian at a young age.
He made his acting debut in 1976 on the NBC series “Police Woman,” and later guest-starred on “Quincy, M.E.” and “Good Times.”
The breakthrough in his career was the role of Naul, a roller-skating chef, in the now cult horror film “The Thing” (1982) by John Carpenter.
The artist’s next famous role was the character of Mike Fulton in the sitcom “Punky Brewster” (1985-1986).
In 1993-1994, Carter played the role of Clarence Hull in the series “The Sinbad Show”. In 1986, he voiced one of the monsters in “Space Jam” (1996).
His other film and television credits include “Just Our Luck”, “Turbo Teen”, “Runaway Train”, “The Steve Harvey Show”, “Jem”, “He’s My Girl”, “Good Morning, Miss Bliss”, “Ski Patrol”, “A Rage in Harlem”, “Family Matters”, “A Different World”, “What a Cartoon!”, “Rush Hour”, “The Corner”, “Domino”, “Everybody Hates Chris”, “How to Get Away with Murder”, “The LA Riot Spectacular” or “Saints & Sinners”.
Carter’s most recent roles include Russ in 2020’s “The Way Back” starring Ben Affleck, Uncle Jimmy in 2022’s “Fake Friends,” Cliff in the comedy series “Dave” and Pike in the crime drama series “The Company You Keep.”