Jim Thornton
{{Short description|American radio personality (born 1965)}}
{{For|other people named James Thornton|James Thornton (disambiguation){{!}}James Thornton}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Jim Thornton.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Thornton in 2016
| name = Jim Thornton
| birthname =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
| othername =
| occupation = Radio/television announcer
| yearsactive = 1985–present
| spouse = Sue Thornton
| children = 1
| website =
}}
Jim Thornton is an American radio and television announcer, news anchor, and voice actor. He is known for his voiceover work in video games, movies and television shows. Since 2011, he is best known for being the announcer of Wheel of Fortune following the death of longtime announcer Charlie O'Donnell.
Early life and education
Born in Huntington, West Virginia, Jim Thornton graduated from Huntington High School in 1983 and then moved to Los Angeles in 1984 where he started his broadcasting career a year later. He also has a degree in linguistics from Marshall University.{{cite web|url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/personality/jim-thornton/|title=Jim Thornton|work=CBS Los Angeles|accessdate=21 December 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230115723/http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/personality/jim-thornton/|archivedate=30 December 2010}}
Career
=Radio=
Thornton is best known as the afternoon anchor on all-news radio KNX 1070 in Los Angeles, having been promoted from traffic reporting. He has also announced on Celebrity Deathmatch and narrated a portion of Monsters, Inc.{{cite news|url=http://www.herald-dispatch.com/life/x1731976006/Huntington-native-takes-a-spin-on-the-Wheel?i=0|title=Huntington native takes a spin on the 'Wheel'|last=Henderson-Bentley|first=Angela|newspaper=The Herald-Dispatch|date=20 January 2011|accessdate=26 September 2011}}
=Game show announcer=
Thornton did substitute announcing work on The Price Is Right following the death of former announcer Rod Roddy. In December 2010, he auditioned for the same role on Wheel of Fortune following the death of the show's announcer Charlie O'Donnell, and was confirmed as the show's new announcer on June 13, 2011.Episode #5336, original air date December 20, 2010{{cite news|url=http://www.herald-dispatch.com/life/x1558297125/Huntingtons-Jim-Thornton-realizes-lifelong-dream-on-Wheel-of-Fortune|title=Huntington's Jim Thornton realizes lifelong dream on 'Wheel of Fortune'|last=Henderson-Bentley|first=Angela|newspaper=The Herald-Dispatch|date=15 June 2011|accessdate=26 September 2011}} Because of this job, Thornton has scaled back from his job at KNX.
In 2021, Thornton joined Sajak and White as the announcer for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune on ABC.
On April 26, 2023, Thornton switched places with host Pat Sajak, hosting the bonus round while Sajak served as announcer, as a contestant named Sarah Ward, who was a fan of Thornton, wanted to meet him in-person.{{cite web |last1=Weisholtz |first1=Drew |title=Pat Sajak was missing from 'Wheel of Fortune' bonus round. Here's the delightful reason why |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/pat-sajak-announcer-jim-thornton-wheel-of-fortune-bonus-round-rcna81759 |website=today.com |date=27 April 2023 |publisher=NBC Universal |access-date=10 December 2023}}
=Voiceover work=
Thornton provided the voice of Johnny Gomez in Celebrity Deathmatch and the announcer in The Cleveland Show. He also appeared in video games, where he provided additional voice-over work for Hitman: Blood Money and as a DJ in Mafia II.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
Filmography
=TV series=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-present | Channel 2 Action News | Traffic Reporter | |
| rowspan="2"| 2004 | The Price Is Right | Try-Out Announcer | 10 episodes |
| The Soup | Announcer | 1 episode | |
| 2006-2007 | Celebrity Deathmatch | Johnny Gomez | 16 episodes |
| 2009 | The Cleveland Show | Announcer | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Announcer | Episode: "Comedy" |
| 2010-present | Wheel of Fortune | Announcer | 2,200 episodes |
| 2021-present | Celebrity Wheel of Fortune'' | Announcer | 22 episodes |
=Shorts=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Let's Pollute | Narrator |
=Movies=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | Commercial Narrator |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Hitman: Blood Money | Additional voices | |
| 2008 | WALL-E | Old-Time Announcer | |
| 2010 | Mafia II | DJ | |
| 2012-present | Wheel of Fortune | Announcer |
Personal life
Thornton is married to Sue, and they have a son, Sam.{{cite web |title=VETERAN RADIO ANNOUNCER JIM THORNTON IS THE NEW VOICE OF "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" |url=https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-media-ventures/shows/wheel-of-fortune/releases/?view=28496-veteran-radio-announcer-jim-thornton-is-the-new-voice-of-wheel-of-fortune |website=paramountpressexpress.com | date=13 June 2011 |publisher=Paramount |access-date=10 December 2023}}{{cite web |title=Jim Thornton |url=https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-media-ventures/shows/wheel-of-fortune/talent/?view=jim-thornton |website=paramountpressexpress.com |publisher=Paramount |access-date=10 December 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101230115723/http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/personality/jim-thornton/ More info on Jim Thornton]
- {{IMDb name|id=1365861|name=Jim Thornton}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Jim}}
Category:Actors from Huntington, West Virginia
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American radio personalities
Category:Huntington High School (West Virginia) alumni
Category:Marshall University alumni