Tom Bower, Actor in “The Waltons” & “Die Hard 2,” Dies at 86

Vet­er­an char­ac­ter actor Tom Bow­er passed away peace­ful­ly in his sleep on May 30th, 2024, at his Los Ange­les home. He was 86 years old.

Bow­er boast­ed an impres­sive career span­ning six decades, with appear­ances in count­less films and tele­vi­sion shows. He is per­haps best rec­og­nized for his roles as Dr. Cur­tis Willard on “The Wal­tons” and the unfor­get­table jan­i­tor Mar­vin in “Die Hard 2.”

His broth­er, Robert Bow­er, con­firmed the news to The Hol­ly­wood Reporter.

A Career Filled with Mem­o­rable Characters

Bow­er’s fil­mog­ra­phy show­cased his ver­sa­til­i­ty. He por­trayed Boone Choate in “The Bal­lad of Gre­go­rio Cortez,” Pres­i­dent Nixon’s father in “Nixon,” and Jeff Bridges’ char­ac­ter’s agent in “Crazy Heart.”

His screen debut came in 1957’s “Shad­ows,” direct­ed by John Cas­savetes. After ini­tial­ly work­ing as a pri­vate inves­ti­ga­tor, Bow­er tran­si­tioned to full-time act­ing in the 1970s. He land­ed guest appear­ances on pop­u­lar shows like “Get Christie Love!” and “The Rock­ford Files.”

Find­ing Fame on “The Waltons”

A guest role on “The Wal­tons” in 1975 proved to be a turn­ing point. He became a series reg­u­lar the fol­low­ing sea­son, play­ing Dr. Cur­tis Willard until the show’s finale in 1981.

Bow­er’s film cred­its include “Two-Minute Warn­ing,” “Bev­er­ly Hills Cop II,” and “Clear and Present Dan­ger.” He con­tin­ued to work active­ly in his lat­er years, appear­ing in “El Camino: A Break­ing Bad Movie” and shows like “Lucky Hank.”

Remem­ber­ing Tom Bow­er’s Legacy

Pre­de­ceased by his wife Ursu­la in 2023, Tom Bow­er is sur­vived by his chil­dren, Vive­ca and Rob, and his sis­ter, Shirley. The indus­try mourns the loss of a respect­ed and ver­sa­tile per­former who left a last­ing impression.