# Timothy Bottoms
**Timothy Bottoms** (Timothy James Bottoms; born 1951) is an American actor and producer best known for two 1971 lead roles, Joe Bonham in [Dalton Trumbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/dalton-trumbo)'s *Johnny Got His Gun* and Sonny Crawford in [Peter Bogdanovich](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-bogdanovich)'s *The Last Picture Show*, and for a later comic turn as President George W. Bush on *[That's My Bush!](https://www.edgepedia.org/thats-my-bush)*
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / birth | Timothy James Bottoms, born 1951 in Santa Barbara, California (some sources say 1950)[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951) |
| Film debut | Joe Bonham in *Johnny Got His Gun* (1971), directed by Dalton Trumbo[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/207287) |
| Signature role | Sonny Crawford in *The Last Picture Show* (1971), reprised in *Texasville* (1990)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/207287) |
| Awards | Golden Globe nomination, most promising newcomer (1972, for *Johnny Got His Gun*); CableACE Award, best actor (1987, for *The Hitchhiker*)[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951) • [8](https://goldenglobes.com/film/johnny-got-his-gun/) |
| Family | Eldest of four acting brothers: Joseph, Sam, and Ben Bottoms[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/) |
| Bush roles | President George W. Bush in *That's My Bush!* (2001), *The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course* (2002), and *DC 9/11: Time of Crisis* (2003)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/) |
| Later work | Gus Van Sant's *Elephant* (2003), *Paradise, Texas* (2006), and the debut novel *The Pier* (2023)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/) • [4](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms) |
## Early life
Bottoms was born in [Santa Barbara, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-barbara-california), the eldest of four sons of James "Bud" Bottoms, a sculptor and high school art teacher, and his wife Betty[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). All four brothers, Timothy, Joseph, Sam, and Ben, became actors[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951). He performed in local youth theater and in 1967 toured Europe with the Santa Barbara Madrigal Society[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/).
In a 2024 interview he said he had wanted to be a cowboy, not an actor, and that the move to Hollywood came after a scout named Robert Raison saw him in a 1970 stage play and told him he could earn enough money in film to pay for college[4](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms).
## The 1971 breakthrough
After high school, Universal spotted Bottoms in a stage production of *Romeo and Juliet* and cast him, with no prior film experience, as the lead in Dalton Trumbo's *Johnny Got His Gun* (1971), playing Joe, a young American soldier shelled and left armless and legless on the last day of World War I[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). Bottoms recalled that Trumbo told him, "Don't act. Just react to the situations," and that [Peter Fonda](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-fonda), Anthony Geary, and [David Soul](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-soul) were among the other actors auditioning[4](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms).
The same year he played Sonny Crawford in *The Last Picture Show*, Peter Bogdanovich's black-and-white adaptation of [Larry McMurtry](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-mcmurtry)'s novel about teenage friends in a dying Texas town in 1951[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/207287) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-nov-14-la-et-classic-hollywood-20111114-story.html). The film made full-fledged stars of Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, and [Cybill Shepherd](https://www.edgepedia.org/cybill-shepherd), and his younger brother Sam, visiting the set, was cast as Billy[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). Bottoms earned a 1972 Golden Globe nomination as New Star Of The Year - Actor for *Johnny Got His Gun*[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951) • [8](https://goldenglobes.com/film/johnny-got-his-gun/).
## 1970s film career
Through the early 1970s Bottoms starred in *Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing* (1973) opposite [Maggie Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/maggie-smith), *The Paper Chase* (1973) as law student James T. Hart, *The White Dawn* (1974), and *The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder* (1974)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/207287) • [4](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms). Later credits include *A Small Town in Texas* (1976), *Rollercoaster* (1977), *The Other Side of the Mountain, Part II* (1978), and the remake of *Hurricane* (1979)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/207287).
The career did not keep its early momentum. A 1989 *Los Angeles Times* profile reported that his career "nose-dived during the 1970s and never quite recovered," and that most of his films after *The Paper Chase* were not memorable; by then he was spending most of his acting time in European productions and living on a cattle ranch in Santa Barbara[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-15-ca-478-story.html). He moved toward television for challenging roles, including the biblical lead in *The Story of David* (1976), Miles Eastin in *Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers* (1976), and Adam Trask in the miniseries *East of Eden* (1981), in which he aged 30 years in the [Raymond Massey](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-massey) role[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951).
## Texasville and the Bush years
In 1990 Bottoms reprised Sonny Crawford in *Texasville*, Bogdanovich's sequel to *The Last Picture Show*. He was paid $175,000 for what the *Los Angeles Times* described as a relatively small part compared with co-stars Bridges and Cybill Shepherd[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-15-ca-478-story.html). He said he took the part reluctantly, for the money, on a nine-day contract, and agreed to it partly because the producer permitted him to make a $100,000 behind-the-scenes documentary about both films[4](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-15-ca-476-story.html).
A different kind of recognition came with parody. Bottoms played President George W. Bush on the [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) series *That's My Bush!* (2001), from the creators of *South Park*, then repeated the impression in a cameo in *The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course* (2002) and the television movie *DC 9/11: Time of Crisis* (2003)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). According to his IMDb biography, he needed little prosthetic work, changing only his hairstyle, adding a drawl, and imitating Bush's walk[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/).
## Later career
Bottoms has worked continuously since 1971, appearing in more than 65 films by one IMDb count[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). Notable later roles include the father in [Gus Van Sant](https://www.edgepedia.org/gus-van-sant)'s *[Elephant](https://www.edgepedia.org/elephant-2003-film)* (2003), a drama about a Columbine-style school shooting, and a middle-aged actor chasing early fame in *Paradise, Texas* (2006)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). Television work includes *Land of the Lost* (1991 to 1993) as Tom Porter and guest appearances on *Grey's Anatomy* and *NCIS*[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). In 2023 he published a debut novel, *The Pier*, a roughly 120-page story of a young boy fishing on a pier[4](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms).
## Personal life
Bottoms married folk singer Alicia Cory in 1975; the marriage ended in divorce in 1978, and he married Marcia Morehart in 1984[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951). His brother Sam, who played Billy in *The Last Picture Show* and appeared in *Apocalypse Now*, died of brain cancer in 2008 at age 53[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/). Bottoms divides his time between acting and training wild horses at ranches near [Big Sur](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-sur), California[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/).
## References
1. [Bottoms, Timothy 1951(?)–, Encyclopedia.com (Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bottoms-timothy-1951)
2. [Timothy Bottoms filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/207287)
3. [Timothy Bottoms biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000961/)
4. [An interview with actor Timothy Bottoms, Closely Observed Frames (April 2024)](https://www.closelyobservedframes.com/post/an-interview-with-actor-timothy-bottoms)
5. [Classic Hollywood: 'The Last Picture Show', Los Angeles Times (2011)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-nov-14-la-et-classic-hollywood-20111114-story.html)
6. [Three Stars Are Still Shining Over Texas, Los Angeles Times (1989)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-15-ca-478-story.html)
7. [The Next Picture Show, Los Angeles Times (1989)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-15-ca-476-story.html)
8. [Johnny Got His Gun - Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/film/johnny-got-his-gun/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Be to Bo*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license