Actor T.K. Carter, known for roles in Punky Brewster and John Carpenter’s The Thing, has died at the age of 69.
According to TMZ, Carter was discovered deceased at his home in Duarte, California, on Friday. Authorities said a call for service was received at about 5:42 p.m., and a death report was filed. Investigators do not suspect foul play, though an official cause of death has not yet been announced. Born Thomas Kent Carter on December 18, 1956, he grew up just east of Los Angeles and began performing stand-up comedy when he was only 12 years old. While still in high school, he appeared in a production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.
IMDb notes that Carter went on to pursue stand-up professionally at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and he also practiced improvisational work at venues such as Café and Ye Little Club. His first television appearance came in 1977 on an episode of Police Woman. Over the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, he collected credits in projects including Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid, Good Times, Youngblood, Corvette Summer, The Jeffersons, The Hollywood Knights, Seed of Innocence, and Southern Comfort.
One of Carter’s best-remembered film parts was as Nauls, the cook, in John Carpenter’s 1982 science-fiction horror film The Thing. He shared the screen with a cast that included Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, and others. Although The Thing only grossed about $20 million against a $15 million production budget and faced largely negative reviews upon release, it has since achieved cult status.
On television, Carter is widely recognized for his recurring role as Mike Fulton on the 1980s sitcom Punky Brewster, appearing in 24 episodes. His other voice and acting work spans animated series and sitcoms—credits include Alex on Turbo Teen, Anthony Julian and additional voices on Jem, Mylo Williams on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and Shabu on the short-lived ABC sitcom Just Our Luck. He also appeared in films and series such as Southern Comfort, Runaway Train, Space Jam, The Corner, and The Sinbad Show.
Carter continued working into recent years. In 2023 he appeared in five episodes of Lil Dicky’s series Dave and had a three-episode run on the ABC crime drama The Company You Keep, which starred Milo Ventimiglia and Catherine Haena Kim.
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