Paris Themmen

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Paris Themmen
10.1.10ParisThemmenByLuigiNovi.jpg
Themmen at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 1, 2010
Born (1959-06-25) June 25, 1959 (age 62)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1967–present
Spouse(s)Nikki Grillos (m. 2014)
Websiteparisthemmen.com

Paris Themmen (born June 25, 1959) is an American actor who started his career as a child actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. After leaving acting, he worked in business as a real estate broker and casting director.

Early life[]

Themmen was born in Boston to Ivana Marburger Themmen and Harold B. Themmen, both classical musicians.[1] Themmen's mother was a renowned composer for orchestras in the late 20th century.[2][3] A guitar concerto of hers was in final contention for the 1982 Kennedy Center Friedheim Award.[4] Themmen's father, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, was a clarinetist and librarian for the American Ballet Theatre, and also played for the Boston Pops.[5]

Career[]

Child actor[]

Themmen appeared in radio and TV commercials, voice-overs and theater performing on Broadway in Mame with Ann Miller in 1967 and in The Rothschilds in 1970. In 1971, aged 11, he got his breakthrough role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as Mike Teavee.

Business careers[]

Declaring a hiatus from acting at age 14 to "just be a kid," Themmen went on to receive a B.F.A. in theatre from New York University. He founded Access International, a travel service that arranged Europe-bound charter flights for backpackers.

Following brief stints in real estate, film production, commercial casting, business representation at Walt Disney Imagineering and a few other ventures, he now signs autographs at movie conventions, runs a photography business, and makes sporadic appearances in commercials, plays and TV shows.[6]

Film appearance[]

Themmen's adult acting appearances include "Virtuoso", a 2000, sixth-season episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager,[7] as a fawning fan. He also was billed as a "former child star" in two 2008 episodes of the American game show Duel.[8][9]

On May 4, 2011, Themmen appeared on the British television morning show Daybreak, alongside the other child actors from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory: Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde) and Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop). They made an additional 40th Anniversary reunion appearance on NBC's Today Show eleven days later.[10] Paris also appeared on the TV version of Trivial Pursuit in Summer 1993 and won, and was on Win Ben Stein's Money and lost.

On January 23, 2015 Themmen appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast. The episode was recorded live in Wilmington, Massachusetts during North East ComicCon.

On October 28–30, 2015, his wife appeared on Jeopardy! as a contestant, returning twice as a champion before being defeated on her third appearance.[11] Themmen himself was a Jeopardy! contestant on March 13, 2018, finishing in second place.[12]

Personal life[]

Themmen has been married to Nikki Grillos since 2014. Together, the couple currently resides in Los Angeles, California.[13]

Themmen's sister Allegra Themmen-Pigott (1967–2019) was a coloratura soprano opera singer and music therapist.[14] His sister Tania is married to voice actress and voice director Susan Blu.[15]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Mike Teavee

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1975 The Rock 'n' Fun Magic Show Himself
1994 Macross Plus Additional Voices TV Mini-Series
1999 Screenplay Mail Room Clerk TV Movie
2000 Star Trek: Voyager Fawning Fan Episode: Virtuoso
2003 After They Were Famous Himself Documentary
2011 Daybreak
Pure Imagination: The Story of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Documentary
Today Show
Top Chef: Jest Deserts Episode: Pure Imagination
2012 Beyond the Marquee Episode: Meet the Wonk Kids
Men with No Lives Episode: Who Is Hugh Jardon? Stan Lee's Comikaze Special
2016 Cake Wars 1 episode
LeagueOne: In the Spotlight! Episode: Child Star Remembers Gene Wilder!
2018 Jeopardy! 1 episode

Film work[]

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Until the End of the World Production Assistant Uncredited
2005 Citizen Candy Man: A Chocumentary Special Thanks
2011 Something Borrowed Production Assistant
2012 The Owner First Assistant Director

References[]

  1. ^ Fanfare Magazine, Volume 6, Issues 3-4, 1983 page 276
  2. ^ Remember Music You Could Hum? Retrieved May 10, 2019
  3. ^ American Woman Composers News, Volume 1, Issues 2-3
  4. ^ Pone's 'Avanti!' Wins Friedheim Prize Retrieved May 10, 2019
  5. ^ Teck, Catherine. Music for the Dance: Reflections on a Collaborative Art. Greenwood Press, 1989, page 108
  6. ^ "The Official Paris Themmen Website". paristhemmen.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  7. ^ "Paris Themmen: From Willy Wonka To Voyager". Star Trek.com. June 8, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  8. ^ Duel April 18, 2008
  9. ^ Duel, July 4, 2008 broadcast
  10. ^ Wonka kids on today show. YouTube. 15 May 2011.
  11. ^ Jeopardy! broadcast of October 28, 29, and 30, 2015
  12. ^ "Today's Final Jeopardy - March 13, 2018 – The Jeopardy! Fan". The Jeopardy! Fan. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  13. ^ Gurliacci, David (January 14, 2017). "Celebrity Chefs and The Amazing Kreskin at Chocolate Expo on Jan 29". Darienite.com.
  14. ^ Themmen-Pigott, Allegra. Life in the Key of Allegra: A Personal and Professional Journey with the Healing Powers of Music. 2019
  15. ^ Susan Blu: Transformation of an Animation Icon Retrieved May 10, 2019

External links[]

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