Tim Matheson (born Timothy Lewis Matthieson on December 31, 1947) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in the 1978 comedy Animal House, but has had a variety of other well-known roles both before and since.

Biography

Career

At the age of thirteen, Matheson appeared as Roddy Miller in Robert Young's CBS nostalgia comedy series Window on Main Street during the 1961-1962 season. In 1969, he joined in the eighth season the cast of NBC's The Virginian western series as Jim Horn.

He provided the voice of Jonny Quest in the original animated series of the same name as well as the voice of Jace in the original animated series of Space Ghost. In addition, he played the role of the oldest son, Mike Beardsley, in the movie "Yours, Mine and Ours," which also starred Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. During the final season of the TV western Bonanza in 1973, Matheson played Griff King, a parolee who tries to reform his life as a ranch hand at the Ponderosa Ranch under Ben Cartwright's watch. He played a memorable role as a young motorcycle cop, Sweet, in the 1973 film Magnum Force. Matheson appeared in the TV series My Three Sons and Leave It to Beaver (as "Michael") and played the role of Rick Tucker, a detective married to a witch, in Tucker's Witch for the one season it was aired (1982-83). Following his high-profile role in the ensemble cast of Animal House, he starred in the 1984 comedy movie Up the Creek and the comedy Fletch.

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 decline and sold it in 1991. He went on to act in over a hundred film and television projects. Matheson had a recurring role as Vice President John Hoynes on The West Wing. His work on The West Wing earned Matheson two Primetime Emmy award nominations for Best Guest Star in a Drama Series. In addition to playing Sheriff Matthew Donner in the shortlived Wolf Lake, he has directed episodes of Third Watch, Ed, The Twilight Zone, Cold Case, Without a Trace, The West Wing, Burn Notice, Psych, and Shark.

Matheson appeared in the movie Van Wilder in 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 on the Volkswagen commercial in 2008.

Personal life

Matheson was born in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. He is married to Megan Murphy Matheson, with whom he has three children. He was previously married to actress Jennifer Leak.

External links

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