Celebrity Nooz: Philip Michael Thomas

Philip Michael Thomas (Actor) - Miami Vice

Updated: 11/01/23

Name: Philip Michael Thomas

Birth Name: Philip Michael Thomas

Born: May 26, 1949 in Columbus, Ohio, USA

Claim To Fame: Philip Michael Thomas is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series Miami Vice.

Family Life: In 1986, Thomas married Kassandra Thomas. They have five children together (Noble, Kharisma, Sovereign, Sacred, and Imaj). They later divorced in 1998. Thomas also has six other children (Sacha, Khrishna, India, Gabriel, Chayenne, and Melody) from previous relationships.

Info: His father, Louis Diggs, was a foreman at a Westinghouse plant and his mother was Lulu McMorris. He and his seven half brothers and sisters had the surname Thomas, which was the last name of his mother's first husband.

Grew up in San Bernardino, California.

He is of African American, Native American, Irish, and German descent.

As a child, he acted in his church's theater group.

As a teen, while participating in the Pentecostal Delman Heights Four Square Gospel Church choir, became interested in ministry.

Was an ordained Pentecostal preacher at the age of 16.

In 1967, he graduated from San Bernardino High School.

Thomas earned a scholarship to the historically Black Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, where he studied religion and philosophy after high school.

After two years at Oakwood College, Thomas transferred to the University of California, Riverside. He ultimately quit school to pursue acting as a profession.

Trivia: He auditioned for and won a role in the San Francisco cast of Hair, which began his acting career.

His big break came in 1984, when Thomas began playing the role of Ricardo Tubbs, an ex-NYPD police officer from the Bronx who came to Miami seeking revenge on the person who killed his brother Rafael. In Miami he encounters another undercover cop, Sonny Crockett, who is coincidentally looking for the same person.

Thomas was reportedly paid $25,000 per episode for Seasons 1-2. In 1986, he was given an increase to $50,000 per episode for Seasons 3-5.

In 1985, Thomas released a music album titled "Living the Book of My Life" album under his own record label called Spaceship Records. His second album, Somebody, in 1988.

After his success in Miami Vice, he appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies and advertisements for telephone psychic services.

In 1993, Thomas formed the Magic Cookie Production Company with Sandi Morais.

In 1994, Thomas signed an agreement with Florida-based Psychic Reader's Network (later known as Traffix, Inc.) to become the spokesman for the Philip Michael Thomas International Psychic Network. He was later replaced with Miss Cleo. Was awarded an undisclosed amount by an arbitrator for his work in psychic phone commercials, ending an eight-year dispute in which Thomas claimed Traffix, Inc. owed him $12 million.

In 1997, Thomas was reunited with Don Johnson for two appearances in the police drama Nash Bridges. He played Cedrick "Rick" Hawks, a Deputy United States Marshal from Miami visiting Bridges (Johnson) in San Francisco.

Thomas coined the acronym "EGOT", meaning "Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony", in reference to his plans for winning all four.

In 2002, Thomas performed a voice-over in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as Lance Vance. He reprised his role in the 2006 prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, which details Lance's arrival in Vice City.

Where Are They Now: It has been said that Thomas retired from acting, but it would appear that he's gearing up to be very busy. Thomas has four projects in pre-production: No Family Without Blood (Thriller), The Forfeiture Clause (Drama), Whealthy and Wise (Comedy), and What Do You Have? (Adventure-Comedy) - that's a lot of stuff! Maybe this could lead to a 'Miami Vice' reboot series? Oh, I hope so.

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