July 5 - Where are They Now? Wednesday - The Other Guy

It worked for the Brady Bunch, Starsky & Hutch, and Charlie’s Angels. Why not for Miami Vice? These vintage TV shows moved to the big screen and made millions as movies. Miami Vice, the Movie is set for release on July 28.

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx are reprising the roles of Don Johnson and that OTHER GUY. Which brings us to this week’s WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WEDNESDAY.

What ever happened to the OTHER GUY, Philip Michael Thomas? And why does he have three names? Only serial killers are supposed to have three names

He is a famous OTHER GUY. Other, OTHER GUYS include:

Larry Wilcox (Jon Baker-second fiddle to Erik Estrada’s Ponch (now pronounced paunch).

Andrew Ridgeley – the sober and working stiff side of Wham and George Michael (see April 18 Blog).

Miami Vice lasted 114 episodes on NBC from 1984-1989. Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) was a rough-edged Miami vice detective who lived on a sailboat called "St. Vitus' Dance", that was guarded by his dyspeptic pet alligator, Elvis, named after the singer Elvis Presley. Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Micheal-Thomas) was a black ex-New York street cop who had to come South to find the drug dealer who murdered his brother. They were an unlikely but effective team, working undercover in Miami.

Don Johnson was a rough looking but cool as a cucumber with his expensive pastel sports jacket worn over a T-shirt, with stubbly beard and no socks. I actually still have a “Miami Vice outfit” that I like to wear on the cool summer nights on the Ohio River. On the right is a picture of me on a night out on the town.

His partner, Ricardo Tubbs was the opposite, a clean cut individual who was always armed with weapons for any situation that came up and usually sometimes to bail Crockett out of a tight problem with some vicious murderer or ruthless drug lord.

We all know that Don Johnson went on to bigger and better things like Nash Bridges on the USA Network. But what happened to the OTHER GUY?
Here is what I was able to find out about Phil.

He was born in Columbus OH in 1949. (off to a good start)

He has at least eight children with 3 different live in girlfriends.

A bank foreclosed on his house in 1998. This is not surprising given the cost of childcare these days.

Worked for many years doing psychic phone commercials for Traffix, Inc. He sued them for over $12M in unpaid royalties. You would have thought he would have seen that coming. Traffix should counter-sue him for being a poor psychic.

Here is a personal quote from a 1985 Playboy. As they say, I buy it for the articles.

"I've become greened, like money. I respect the position. I'm enthusiastic, as opposed to excited. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek entheos, which means "God-inspired"...I recommend fame, but with fortune. Otherwise, it's a bitch."

I’m not entirely sure what he meant, but he had me at “greened”.

I believe all will end well for Phillip Michael Thomas. He is rumored to be playing a pivotal role at the opening night gala for the release of Miami Vice, the Movie. He’ll be parking the cars.