I raised my kids up in Santa Barbara and got away from the city of Los Angeles so that wasn't so crazy for them to grow up in.

Also, I've tried to have a home life and a family. So I've always sought out new challenges. Then you've got to put it on its head, reinvent it, find a new approach, otherwise you're just stuck being that guy who did that thing back then. But I think one has a shelf life of about five to seven years where you're in a series, or you play a character, or you hit in a movie - and that sort of wears out its welcome after a certain point. I look at my career, and I was a kid actor who did cartoons, then I was a Western actor as a young man, then I was a comedy actor in movies, then a TV-movie actor, then a TV director. I also think one has to reinvent oneself as a performer every five to seven years. My point is that you have to have a real life. He made a lot of money as a kid, then sort of went to be a baseball player. Basically, Kurt left the business for about five years. He has three wonderful children with former wife Megan Murphy Matheson. Tim was born Timothy Lewis Matthieson in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, the son of Sally and Clifford Matthieson, a training pilot. Matheson was seen opposite Ryan Reynolds in the feature comedy National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002) in 2002, playing the father of the title character, who was inspired by his own character in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), as a nod to the original film. In 1996, Matheson took on the role of a con man who claims to be Carol Brady's thought-to-be-dead husband in A Very Brady Sequel (1996). They took the stock from two dollars to over six dollars, and sold it in 1991.

Matheson, along with business partner 'Dan Grodnik', bought National Lampoon in 1989, when the magazine was facing financial decline. He then appeared in the 1983 To Be or Not to Be (1983), starring Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft and went on to star in the 1984 comedy, Up the Creek (1984) and 1985's Fletch (1985). Matheson and Catherine Hicks played 'Rick Tucker' and 'Amanda Tucker', who operate a detective agency in Laurel Canyon in CBS' Tucker's Witch (1982), which aired during the 1982-1983 season. In 1978, he co-starred in the acclaimed National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), opposite John Belushi the following year, he appeared alongside Belushi again in Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979). In the fall of 1976, Matheson was seen opposite Kurt Russell in the NBC series, The Quest (1976), the story of two young men in the American West seeking the whereabouts of their sister, a captive of the Cheyenne. Following that, he portrayed young motorcycle cop 'Phil Sweet', in the 1973 film, Magnum Force (1973). During the final season of the television western Bonanza (1959) in 1972-1973, Matheson played 'Griff King', a parolee who tries to reform his life as a worker at the Ponderosa Ranch under Ben Cartwright's watch. In 1969, Matheson joined the cast of NBC's western series, The Virginian (1962), in its eighth season, as 'Jim Horn'. Additionally, he played the role of the oldest son, 'Mike Beardsley', in the film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), which starred Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. In 1964, he provided the voice of the lead character in the cartoon program Jonny Quest (1964), as well as the voice of 'Jace' in the original animated series, Space Ghost (1966). Not limited to 'Hart of Dixie', Matheson has made a career of directing an array of episodic projects on some of television's most prominent shows, including 'The Last Ship,' 'Burn Notice,' 'Criminal Minds,' 'Without a Trace,' 'Cold Case,' 'Numbers,' 'Drop Dead Diva,' 'Suits,' 'Eureka' and 'White Collar,' as well as pilots for Fox's 'The Good Guys' and the USA Network successful original series 'Covert Affairs.'īeginning his career at the age of 13, Matheson appeared in Robert Young's CBS nostalgia comedy series, Window on Main Street (1961), during the 1961-1962 television season. He has and continues to direct several episodes each season throughout the series. Brick Breeland' in The CW series, Hart of Dixie (2011), opposite Rachel Bilson. Tim Matheson is an American actor, director and producer perhaps best known for his portrayal of the smooth talking 'Eric 'Otter' Stratton' in the 1978 comedy, National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), but has had a variety of other well-known roles both before and since, including critical accolades for his playing 'Vice President John Hoynes' on the television series, The West Wing (1999), which garnered him two Primetime Emmy award nominations for Best Guest Star in a Drama Series.įrom 2011 to 2015, Matheson starred as 'Dr.

Tim matheson young