Sam J. Jones
Sam J. Jones | |
|---|---|
 Jones in April 2016 | |
| Born | Samuel Gerald Jones August 12, 1954 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Lynn Eriks
(m. 1982; div. 1987)Ramona Lynn Jones (m. 1992) |
| Children | 5 |
Samuel Gerald "Sam J." Jones (born August 12, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 1980 film Flash Gordon.
Early life
Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Sacramento, California, where he graduated from Mira Loma High School in 1972.[citation needed]
Career
In 1975, prior to his first screen roles, Jones appeared in full frontal nude under the alias Andrew Cooper III as the centerfold for a photo-spread in the June issue of Playgirl magazine.[1]
He made his first film appearance in the 1979 romantic comedy film 10.[2] His appearance in 10 allowed him to beat Kurt Russell and Arnold Schwarzenegger for his most famous role, that of Flash Gordon in the 1980 film of the same name.[3] Jones dyed his hair blonde for this role. The film was moderately successful at the box office grossing $27.1M in North America, and $22m in the UK - double its $20M budget. However, a falling out between Jones and the producers helped to scrap the planned trilogy.[4]
After the release of Flash Gordon, Playgirl magazine reprinted his 1975 photo-spread in their January 1981 issue, this time using his real name. He went on to play Chris Rorchek in the TV series Code Red (1981–1982). He had guest roles in other TV shows including The A-Team, Hunter, and Riptide. In 1987, he played the lead role in an adaptation of Will Eisner's comics character The Spirit.[5] He also played the title character in the short-lived NBC sci-fi series The Highwayman.[5] In the late 1980s and early 1990s he portrayed Johnny Valentine on the HBO series 1st & Ten.
Jones starred in the 1986 theatrical release My Chauffeur[6] and the straight-to-video movies Jungle Heat (1985), Jane and the Lost City (1987), Under the Gun (1988), Silent Assassins (1988), Whiteforce (1988), Driving Force (1989), and One Man Force (1989). In the 1990s, Jones had roles in films including In Gold We Trust (1990), Maximum Force (1992), Fist of Honor (1993), Hard Vice (1994), Enter the Shootfighter (1995), Texas Payback (1995), The Killer Inside (1996), Earth Minus Zero (1996), Baja Run (1996) and American Tigers (1996), and guest roles in the TV shows Baywatch, Diagnosis Murder and Walker: Texas Ranger.
In 2001, Jones was cast in Animal Planet's family series Hollywood Safari as a park ranger. He appeared in "Deadman Switch", an episode of the television series Stargate SG-1. In 2007, he played the prisoner Krebb in the Sci Fi Channel original television series Flash Gordon. He also had extended cameos (as himself, with his blond Flash Gordon hairstyle) in both the 2012 comedy film Ted and its 2015 sequel, Ted 2.
Personal life
Jones married Lynn Eriks in 1982; they had two children and divorced in 1987. He married Ramona Lynn Jones on June 26, 1992; they have three children.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Lodge, Jack (1992). Hollywood: Sixty Great Years. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 572. ISBN 1853750743. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ^ Roger Ebert (1987). Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion. Andrews, McMeel & Parker. ISBN 978-0-8362-6212-4. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^ "Mike Hodges: "Flash Gordon was a bumpy ride… "". Total Sci-fi Online. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ "Sequel Baiting Endings That Didn't Work". Empire. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
- ^ a b Sam J Jones interview: Flash Gordon , Ted 2, Flash remake denofgeek.com
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-23985583
External links
- Sam J. Jones at IMDb
- Sam J. Jones at AllMovie
