Tim Matheson

Career

At age 13, Matheson appeared as Roddy Miller in Robert Young's CBS nostalgia comedy series Window on Main Street during the 1961–1962 television season. In 1964, he provided the voice of the lead character in the animated series Jonny Quest. He also supplied the voices of Sinbad Jr. the Sailor in the 1960s Hanna-Barbera animated series Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt and Jace in the original animated series Space Ghost. In addition, he played the role of the oldest son, Mike Beardsley, in the film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), which starred Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda.

In 1969, Matheson joined the cast of NBC's television western The Virginian in the eighth season as Jim Horn. He had a guest role in the 14th episode of the second season of Night Gallery, in the story "Logoda's Heads". In the final season of the television western Bonanza in 1972–1973, Matheson played Griff King, a parolee who tries to reform his life as a worker at the Ponderosa Ranch under Ben Cartwright's tutelage. He portrayed a young motorcycle cop, Phil Sweet, in the film Magnum Force (1973). Matheson also appeared earlier in the CBS situation comedies My Three Sons and Leave It to Beaver. In 1975, he guest starred in CBS's short-lived family drama Three for the Road.

In 1976, Matheson appeared with Kurt Russell in the 15-episode NBC series The Quest, the story of two young men in the American West seeking the whereabouts of their sister, a captive of the Cheyenne. In 1978, he co-starred in National Lampoon's Animal House opposite John Belushi; the following year, he appeared opposite Belushi again in Steven Spielberg's 1941. Matheson starred in the comedy films Up the Creek (1984) and Fletch (1985).

Matheson appeared in the film To Be or Not to Be (1983) starring Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. He and Catherine Hicks played Rick and Amanda Tucker, who operate a detective agency in Laurel Canyon in CBS' Tucker's Witch, which aired during the 1982–1983 season. In 1989, he starred in the short-lived sitcom Nikki and Alexander produced by Reinhold Weege.

Matheson, along with business partner Dan Grodnik, bought National Lampoon in 1989 when the magazine was facing financial decline. They were unable to reverse the magazine fortunes, however, and sold it in 1991. He also had a recurring role as Vice President John Hoynes on The West Wing. His work on The West Wing earned him two Primetime Emmy award nominations.

In addition to playing Sheriff Matthew Donner in the short-lived Wolf Lake, he has directed episodes of Third Watch, Ed, The Twilight Zone, Cold Case, Without a Trace, The West Wing, Psych, The Good Guys, Shark, White Collar, Criminal Minds, Suits and Burn Notice (on which he also performed in a recurring role).

In 1996, Matheson took on the role of a con man who claims to be Carol Brady's thought-to-be-dead husband in A Very Brady Sequel. he appeared in the movie Van Wilder (2002), playing the father of the title character, who was inspired by his own character in Animal House; Matheson's character even makes a veiled reference to the fun times he had had at Dartmouth, where the fraternity upon which Animal House is based is rumored to have "had a strong tradition of existence". He appeared in the auto-racing film Redline. He also appeared in a Volkswagen commercial in 2008.

In 2009, Matheson directed the pilot episode of Covert Affairs, premiered on USA Network in 2010. Matheson also directed the pilot episodes of The Good Guys (2010) for the Fox Network, Criminal Behavior (2011) for Lifetime, and "Wild Card" (2011) for USA Network. He played Dr. Brick Breeland on Hart of Dixie from 2011 to 2015.

Personal life

Matheson was born in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. In 2010, he was divorced from Megan Murphy Matheson after a 25-year marriage and three children. He was previously married to actress Jennifer Leak, whom he met on the set of Yours, Mine, and Ours. Matheson served a tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.