Biography
Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor. Thomas' most famous role is that of detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series Miami Vice. His first notable roles were in Coonskin and opposite Irene Cara in the 1976 film Sparkle. Following his success in Miami Vice, Thomas appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies and advertisements for telephone psychic services. He served as a spokesperson for cell phone entertainment company Nextones, and he supplied the voice for the character Lance Vance on the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
He is mixed race, being of German, Native American, African American and Irish ancestry.
In 1985, Thomas recorded a music album entitled Living the Book of My Life. It sold poorly and failed to produce a hit single. Thomas performed the title song of his album during the 1985 episode of Miami Vice entitled The Maze. The episode "Trust Fund Pirates" featured another of his songs by the name of "La Mirada." Thomas' Miami Vice co-star Don Johnson recorded an album shortly afterward entitled Heartbeat. Although Johnson's album was more successful (producing a top 5 single), both albums are considered prime examples of the hubris of successful performers.
Thomas followed up in 1988 with a second album, Somebody. It also failed to produce a hit and sold poorly. In 1993, Thomas teamed with Kathy Rahill to compose My, My, Miam…i, which was chosen as the city of Miami's theme song. That same year, Thomas teamed with Jamaican fitness instructor Sandi Morais to compose songs for a family-friendly musical entitled Sacha, which enjoyed runs in south Florida and New York. The two formed the Magic Cookie Production Company. Thomas also produced the music for Morais' fitness videos in 2001 and 2006.
Thomas also created a music video called "Just the Way I Planned It". He was in the original San Francisco cast of Hair, and played the alto saxophone in several episodes of Miami Vice.
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