Paris Themmen
| Paris Themmen | |
|---|---|
 Themmen at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 1, 2010. | |
| Born |
June 25, 1959 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, casting director, entrepreneur |
| Spouse(s) | Nikki Grillos (m. 2014) |
Paris Themmen (born June 25, 1959) is an American actor, commercial casting director and entrepreneur.
Early career
Born in Boston to classical musician parents, Themmen appeared in radio and TV commercials, voice-overs and theater before playing the role of Mike Teevee in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, when he was 11 years old. He performed on Broadway in Mame with Ann Miller in 1967 and in The Rothschilds in 1970.
Adult career
Declaring a hiatus from acting at age 14 to "just be a kid," Themmen went on to receive a B.F.A. in theatre from New York University. Smitten with the urge to travel, he founded Access International, a travel service that arranged Europe-bound charter flights for backpackers, during which he traveled to 36 countries on six continents. Following brief stints in real estate, film production, commercial casting, business representation at Walt Disney Imagineering and a few other ventures, he now signs autographs at movie conventions, runs a photography business, and makes sporadic appearances in commercials, plays and TV shows.[1]
Themmen's adult acting appearances include "Virtuoso", a 2000, sixth-season episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager,[2] as a fawning fan. He also played a contestant billed as a "former child star" in two 2008 episodes of the American game show Duel.[3][4]
On May 4, 2011, Themmen appeared on the ITV Breakfast programme, Daybreak, alongside the other child actors from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory: Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde) and Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop). They made an additional 40th reunion appearance on NBC's Today Show eleven days later.[5]
On January 23, 2015 Themmen appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast. The episode was recorded live in Wilmington, Massachusetts during North East ComicCon.
On October 28–30, 2015, his wife appeared on Jeopardy! as a contestant, returning twice as a champion before being defeated on her third appearance.[6]
References
- ↑ "The Official Paris Themmen Website". paristhemmen.com.
- ↑ "Paris Themmen: From Willy Wonka To Voyager". Star Trek.com. June 8, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
- ↑ Duel April 18, 2008
- ↑ Duel, July 4, 2008 broadcast
- ↑ Wonka kids on today show. YouTube. 15 May 2011.
- ↑ Jeopardy! broadcast of October 28, 29, and 30, 2015