Sam J. Jones
 |
Sam J. Jones (born August 12, 1954) is an American actor, often credited as Sam Jones. Often cast as a hero in action films, he has also played several villains since the early 1990s. He was born in Chicago, Illinois.
Jones made his first film appearance opposite Bo Derek in the 1979 romance comedy film 10. Today he is largely remembered for his portrayal of the comic book hero Flash Gordon in the 1980 film of the same name.
The critical failure (at the time) of Flash Gordon effectively stalled his career in American film. Since then his work has largely been in television and in low-budget action films, notably in the role of Chris Rorchek in the TV series Code Red (1981-1982), and more recently in action films such as Obsession Kills (1995), Fists of Iron (1995), American Strays (1996), American Tigers (1996), Gangland and Psychotic (2002). Among his better films are the romantic comedy My Chauffeur (1986) and Jane and the Lost City, a 1987 film based on a popular British comic strip.
Jones played the lead in a 1987 U.S. adaptation of Will Eisner's comics character The Spirit. Also in 1987, he starred as the title character in the NBC pilot film of The Highwayman, which led to a short series in 1988.
In 2001, he starred in the Animal Planet's family series Hollywood Safari as a park ranger. He also made a memorable appearance in an episode of Stargate SG-1 entitled "Deadman Switch".
Jones appeared in Playgirl magazine's June 1975 issue in a photo layout featuring full frontal nudity. He used the name Andrew Cooper III which he has since admitted was an alias created by the editors to suggest he was a person of wealth. He is one of the very few former Playgirl models to carve a successful? career for himself in Hollywood.
Sam Jones has been married twice and is the father of five children. Jones began using the screen name of Sam J. Jones at the start of his film career to avoid confusion with other actors named Sam Jones. The "J" is bogus: his full name is Samuel Gerald Jones.
Jones is a former United States Marine and recipient of numerous Entertainment; Civic and Humanitarian Awards, including Citizen of The Year, presented by California State Senate; County of Los Angeles; City of Los Angeles; and North Hollywood Police Department, as well as The Outstanding Achievement Award in The Entertainment Industry, presented by The Southern California Motion Picture Council.
External links
- Sam J. Jones at IMDb