Character actor T.K. Carter, born Thomas Kent Carter, was found deceased in his Los Angeles area home on Friday, January 9. He was 69.
Deputies responded to a call regarding an unresponsive male in Duarte, California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
No foul play is suspected in his death.
The comedic actor was best known for his roles in Good Times, The Thing, Punky Brewster, The Corner, Space Jam, The Sinbad Show, and Ski Patrol.
He started performing a stand-up comedy routine when he was 12. By high school, he appeared on stage in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. He also performed at Los Angeles comedy clubs including the Comedy Store and the Improvisation Cafe.
T.K. got his start on television in an episode of Police Woman in 1974. His big break came when he was cast in the lead as the wise-cracking genie Shabu in the ABC TV sitcom Just Our Luck.
T.K. also played “Head”, a member of JJ’s rapping crew “The Awesome Foursome” on Good Times.
He also appeared in films like He’s My Girl, Seems Like Old Times (with Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn), Southern Comfort, and Dr. Detroit. And on the TV series NYPD Blue, The Nanny, The Steve Harvey Show, Moesha, The Bobby Brown Story, and many more.
His comedy inspiration was the legendary Richard Pryor.
T.K. said in an earlier interview, “I have had the privilege of working with some of the top names in the business such as Goldie Hawn, Robert Guillaume and Neil Simon. But I admire Richard Pryor the most.”
T.K. said acting came naturally to him. “It’s all natural. I went to one year of acting. But it is natural. It was a gift. I have been blessed in getting parts because I don’t think of myself. I think of that person who has to go to work and come home and be entertained.”
T.K is survived by his wife, Janet Carter, and his son Thomas, 41. Janet and T.K. posed for photos at the BET premiere of The Bobby Brown Story, in Hollywood, CA. on August 29, 2018.
T.K. does impressions of the late comedian Bernie Mac and former President Barack Obama below.
