Theodore Raimi (born December 14, 1965)[1] is an American character actor, director and writer. He is known for his roles in the works of his brother Sam Raimi, including a fake Shemp in The Evil Dead, possessed Henrietta in Evil Dead II, and Ted Hoffman in the Spider-Man trilogy.[2] He later reprised his role as Henrietta in the television series Ash vs. Evil Dead, in which he also played the character Chet Kaminski. He is also known for his roles as Lieutenant JG Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV, his recurring role as the merchant in Legend of the Seeker and Joxer the Mighty in both Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Ted Raimi | |
|---|---|
 Raimi at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2024 | |
| Born | December 14, 1965 |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Relatives | Sam Raimi (brother) Ivan Raimi (brother) |
Raimi has appeared in minor roles including the films Crimewave, Intruder, Shocker, Darkman, Candyman, Army of Darkness, Clear and Present Danger, The Grudge, Drag Me to Hell and Oz the Great and Powerful, as well as the television series ALF, Twin Peaks, Baywatch and Supernatural. He has had voice roles in the television series Invader Zim and Code Monkeys, and in the video games Evil Dead: Regeneration and The Quarry.
Early life
editRaimi was born to a Jewish family[3] in Detroit, Michigan. His parents are Celia (née Abrams), a lingerie store proprietor, and Leonard Raimi, a furniture store proprietor. Ted was raised in Conservative Judaism, and his ancestors immigrated from Russia and Hungary.[4] He attended Wylie E. Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, where he played blues harp and was a DJ and a member of the Groves Cinema Society. At seventeen, Raimi began his professional acting career doing industrial films in Detroit, for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. He attended University of Michigan, New York University, then finally University of Detroit. Raimi's older brothers are director Sam Raimi and screenwriter Ivan Raimi.
Career
editRaimi's motion picture acting credits include: Wes Craven's Shocker, Born Yesterday, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Darkman and the Spider-Man series, as well as roles in such features as: Stuart Saves His Family, The Grudge, Midnight Meat Train and Oz the Great and Powerful.
On television, he has been seen on shows such as Twin Peaks, CSI: NY, Supernatural and Legend of the Seeker, but is best known for his roles as the communication officer Lt. Tim O'Neill on the science fiction television series seaQuest DSV (later seaQuest 2032) and starring as the warrior wannabe Joxer on Xena: Warrior Princess.
Raimi wrote the original "Joxer the Mighty" song with help from director Josh Becker for Xena: Warrior Princess. In 2022, he joined director Alex Kahuam for his upcoming feature film Failure!, which was shot entirely in a single long-take.[5]
Selected filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | It's Murder! | Bradley | ||
| 1981 | The Evil Dead | Fake Shemp | [6][7] | |
| Torro. Torro. Torro! | Short film | |||
| 1982 | Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter | |||
| 1985 | Crimewave | Waiter | [6][8] | |
| Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except | Chain Man | |||
| 1987 | Evil Dead II | Possessed Henrietta | [9] | |
| Blood Rage | Condom Salesman | |||
| 1989 | Intruder | Joe 'Produce Joe' | [10] | |
| Easy Wheels | Charlie | |||
| Shocker | "Pac-Man" | |||
| 1990 | Darkman | Rick Anderson | [6] | |
| 1991 | Lunatics: A Love Story | Hank Stone | ||
| 1992 | Eddie Presley | "Scooter" | ||
| Patriot Games | CIA Technician | |||
| Candyman | Billy | [11][12] | ||
| Army of Darkness | Cowardly Warrior / Swordsmith / Villager / S-Mart Clerk | Credited as "Theodore Raimi"; uncredited for roles besides "Cowardly Warrior" | [9] | |
| Inside Out V | Richard | Direct-to-video | ||
| The Finishing Touch | Detective Arnold | |||
| The Fountain Clowns | Hayden | |||
| 1993 | Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence | Reporter | ||
| Born Yesterday | Cynthia's Assistant | |||
| Skinner | Dennis Skinner | [13] | ||
| Hard Target | Man On The Street | |||
| 1994 | Floundering | Safe Salesman | ||
| Clear and Present Danger | Satellite Analyst | |||
| In This Corner | Interviewer | |||
| 1995 | Stuart Saves His Family | Hal | ||
| The Expert | Jerry's Friend | Uncredited | ||
| 1996 | The Shot | Detective Corelli | ||
| 1997 | Wishmaster | Ed Finney | ||
| 1998 | Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus | Crius | Voice; direct-to-video film | |
| 1999 | Freak Talks About Sex | Jackie's Husband | ||
| 2001 | The Attic Expeditions | Dr. Coffee | ||
| 2002 | Spider-Man | Ted Hoffman | [2] | |
| 2003 | Red Zone | Phelps | ||
| Between the Sheets | Gabriel / A.D.R. Mixer | |||
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | Ted Hoffman | [2] | |
| Illusion | Ian | |||
| The Grudge | Alex Jones | [14] | ||
| 2005 | Man with the Screaming Brain | Pavel | ||
| Freezerburn | Special Agent Johnson | |||
| 2006 | High Hopes | Special Agent Brown | ||
| Kalamazoo? | Angel | |||
| 2007 | Reign Over Me | Peter Saravino | ||
| My Name Is Bruce | Mills Toddner / Wing / Sign Painter | |||
| Spider-Man 3 | Ted Hoffman | [2] | ||
| Millennium Crisis | August | |||
| 2008 | Diamonds and Guns | The Landlord | ||
| The Midnight Meat Train | Randle Cooper | |||
| 2009 | Drag Me to Hell | Doctor | ||
| 2010 | VideoDome Rent-O-Rama | Francis | Short film | |
| 2011 | Ruthless: An Experiment in Terror | Bartender | ||
| 2012 | Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader | Dr. Higgs | ||
| 2013 | Oz the Great and Powerful | Skeptic In Audience | ||
| 2014 | Murder of a Cat | Young Sheriff | ||
| 2017 | Darkness Rising | Dad | [15][16] | |
| 2021 | 18½ | Alexander Haig | Voice | |
| 2023 | Failure! | James |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Knight & Daye | Buyer | Episode: "Stalk Radio" | |
| Alien Nation | Johnny Appleseed | Episode: "Chains of Love" | ||
| ALF | Julius | Episode: "It's My Party" | ||
| 1991 | Twin Peaks | Heavy Metal Youth | Episodes: "2.19", "2.20" | |
| 1992 | Baywatch | Leonaard | Episode: "Rookie of the Year" | |
| 1993–1996 | seaQuest DSV | Lieutenant j.g. Timothy O'Neill | Main role (54 episodes) | |
| 1996 | American Gothic | Ted Parker | Episode: "Learning to Crawl" | |
| Apollo 11 | Steve Bales | Television film | ||
| 1996–2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Joxer | Recurring role (42 episodes) | [13] |
| 1997 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Episodes: "When a Man Loves a Woman", "Stranger in a Strange World" | ||
| 1998 | Alex Kurtzman | Episode: "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hercules" | ||
| 1999 | Iggy Vile M.D. | Frederick Marsche | Television film | |
| 2001 | Primetime Glick | Various roles | ||
| 2002 | Invader Zim | Skoodge, Holographic Alien Head | Voice roles Episodes: "Battle of the Planets", "HOBO 13/Walk for Your Lives" |
|
| Odyssey 5 | Harry Mudd | Episode: "Trouble with Harry" | ||
| 2005 | CSI: NY | Garage Joe / Joe Strahil | Episode: "Hush" | |
| 2006 | Masters of Horror | Father Tulli | Episode: "The Damned Thing" | |
| 2007 | Planet Raptor | Dr. Tygon | Television film | |
| 2007–2008 | Code Monkeys | Various roles | Recurring voice roles (6 episodes) | |
| 2008 | Legend of the Seeker | Sebastian | Episode: "Bounty" | |
| 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | Television miniseries | |||
| Supernatural | Wesley Mondale | Episode: "Wishful Thinking" | ||
| 2009 | Angel of Death | Jed Norton | Web series | |
| 2010 | Legend of the Seeker | Sebastian | Episode: "Hunger" | |
| 2011 | Your Dungeon, My Dragon | Episode: "Battle of the Bands, Man" | ||
| 2016 | Ash vs Evil Dead | Possessed Henrietta | Also played Possessed Henrietta in Evil Dead II | [17] |
| 2018 | Chet Kaminski | Recurring role (6 episodes) | [18] | |
| 2017 | Buddy Thunderstruck | Darnell / Moneybags | Voice role; 12 episodes | |
| 2021 | Creepshow | Ted | Episode: "Public Television Of The Dead" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Evil Dead: Regeneration | Sam | Voice role | [7][19] |
| 2022 | The Quarry | Travis Hackett | Voice, motion capture and likeness |
Non-acting work
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Within the Woods | Crew | Short film | |
| 1981 | Torro. Torro. Torro! | |||
| 1985 | Crimewave | Apprentice editor | ||
| 1995 | seaQuest DSV | Writer | Episode: "Lostland" | |
| 1998 | Normal Joe | |||
| 1999 | Iggy Vile M.D. | Television film | ||
| 2008 | Diamonds and Guns | Second unit co-director | ||
| 2009 | My Treat | Director | Short film | |
| 2011 | Morbid Minutes | 5 episodes | ||
| Writer | Episodes: "Better to Remember", "Tie Game" |
References
edit- ^ "Raimi, Ted 1965-". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage.
- ^ a b c d Peter David's novelizations of the films reveal his first name to be Ted, after the actor who plays him.
- ^ Wills, Adam (July 22, 2009). "Jews Get Geek on at Comic-Con". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ Aushenker, Michael (April 26, 2002). "Spider-Mensch: The Jewish roots of director Sam Raimi and "Spider-Man."". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on November 13, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- ^ "FAILURE! Alex Kahuam Directs Genre Icon Ted Raimi in Single Take Thriller". screenanarchy.com. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c Muir 2004, p. 307.
- ^ a b Mangione, Nick (October 7, 2016). "Chilling news from Ash Vs. Evil Dead at NYCC". Geek.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ Robson 2007, p. 40–41.
- ^ a b Paul, Zachary (February 19, 2018). "Fast Facts: 'Army of Darkness' and 25 Years Worth of Trivia". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ Muir 2007, p. 744.
- ^ Willis 2000, p. 121.
- ^ Leighton, Susan (December 5, 2017). "Thoughts from the Ledge: Ted Raimi – the genius clown prince of horror". 1428Elm.com. FanSided. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ a b Coffel, Chris (February 15, 2019). "[Blu-ray Review] Ted Raimi Skins Streetwalkers in the Sleazy Fun 'Skinner'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ Cobb, Kayla (October 22, 2019). "'The Grudge's Tongue Scene Will Forever Give Me Nightmares". Decider.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ Barton, Steve (April 28, 2017). "Ted Raimi Gets Animated for Darkness Rising Art". Dread Central. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ Collis, Clark (June 1, 2017). "Explore a house of horrors in exclusive trailer for Darkness Rising". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- ^ "Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead: Episode 209". STARZ. December 4, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- ^ Bryant, Jacob (February 10, 2016). "TV News Roundup: 'Ash vs Evil Dead' Adds Ted Raimi, Lee Majors; 'Mary Mary' Gets Season 5 Premiere Date". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- ^ Pulliam & Fonseca 2014, p. 88.
Further reading
edit- Muir, John Kenneth (2004). The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi. Applause Books. ISBN 978-1557836076.
- Muir, John Kenneth (2007). Horror Films of the 1980s. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786428212.
- Pulliam, June Michele; Fonseca, Anthony J. (2014). Encyclopedia of the Zombie: The Walking Dead in Popular Culture and Myth. Greenwood. ISBN 978-1440803888.
- Robson, Eddie (2007). Coen Brothers. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0753512685.
- Willis, John (2000). John Willis 1993 Film Annual: Screen World. Vol. 44. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1557831750.
External links
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