Tim Matheson Biography

Tim Matheson was born in the Glendale suburb of Los Angeles. He is an actor/director who has been active in the industry since 1961, playing a variety of roles in film and on television.

Tim began his career at the age of 13 in the comedy series Window on Main Street (1961-1962). Following his television debut, he played Michael Harmon in two episodes of Leave it to Beaver (1962-1963) and played several different roles on three episodes of My Three Sons (1962-1963). He also voiced a main role on the animated series Jonny Quest (1964-1965). Tim played the role of Joe Hardy opposite Richard Gates in a hour-long pilot titled The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk (1967), but the show wasn't picked up to be a regular series.

Tim first appeared in feature films in Divorce American Style (1967) playing the son of Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. The following year, he played the son of Henry Fonda's character in Yours, Mine and Ours (1968).

In the seventies, Tim appeared in Magnum Force (1973) alongside Clint Eastwood, the short-lived NBC western series The Quest (1976) opposite Kurt Russell, and the comedy film National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) opposite John Belushi. He also starred in Stephen Spielberg’s 1941 (1979) before appearing in To Be or Not to Be (198) and Fletch (1985).

Tim appeared in A Very Brady Sequel in 1996 and Van Wilder opposite Ryan Reynolds in 2002. He also starred as Vice President John Hoynes on the television series The West Wing (1999-2006). For his performance, Tim earned two Primetime Emmy award nominations for Best Guest Star in a Drama Series.

In the last decade, Tim has appeared on popular television shows such as Hart of Dixie (2011-2015), The Good Fight (2018), and This is Us (2019-2021). Most recently, he played Doc Mullins on the popular Netflix drama series Virgin River (2019-2021).

In addition to acting, Tim made a career in directing, through taking on a variety of episodic projects. Some of his directorial work includes episodes of Without a Trace (2003-2004), Cold Case (2004-2005), Criminal Minds (2006-2009), Burn Notice (2007-2010), Suits (2011), and Virgin River (2019-2020).

Tim has married three times. His first marriage to actress Jennifer Leak lasted from 1968 to 1971 and produced no children. His second to Megan Murphy Matheson lasted 27 years and produced three children. He married third wiffe Elizabeth Marighetto in 2018. They make their home in Los Angeles.

Photo by David Zaugh.

Filmography:

Virgin River (2019-2021)
Chasing Whiskey – The Untold Story of Jack Daniels (2020)
Child’s Play (2019)
The Etruscan Smile (2018)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
No Strings Attached (2011)
Redline (2007)
National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002)
The Story of Us (1999)
She's All That (1999)
A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
Black Sheep (1996)
Drop Dead Fred (1991)
Solar Crisis (1990)
Fletch (1985)
Impulse (1984)
Up the Creek (1984)
To Be or Not to Be (1983)
A Little Sex (1982)
1941 (1979)
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979)
Dreamer (1979)
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Magnum Force (1973)
Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)
Divorce American Style (1967)