A screen and stage performer, Thomas appeared on stage in "A Lesson Before Dying", and on screen in Fosse's "Lenny"(1974) and also in "Cocoon" (1985). The TV work he did included "Miami Vice" and "American Playhouse".Thomas was a schoolteacher until his mid-forties. He gave that up to pursue acting full-time. He was born in Arkansas but also lived in Chicago, Knoxville, Tennessee and Florida. He attended Knoxville College in Tennesee, where he met his wife, Barbara Jones.