Tom Fitzsimmons (actor)

{{Infobox person

|name = Tom Fitzsimmons

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|10|28}}

|birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

|known_for = The Paper Chase

|occupation = Television actor

|years_active = 1974–2000

|alma_mater = Fairfield College Preparatory School
Yale University (MFA)

|partner = Tim Donoghue

}}

Tom Fitzsimmons (born October 28, 1947){{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/634279829/|title=TVQ&A|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|location=Fort Worth, Texas|date=November 19, 1978|access-date=May 26, 2022|page=290|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}} is an American television actor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/469863864/|title=Heel stealers are harmless|first=Robert|last=Gearty|work=Daily News|location=New York, New York|date=July 18, 1992|access-date=May 26, 2022|page=127|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}} He is known for playing Franklin Ford III in the American drama television series The Paper Chase.{{Cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present|date=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSGdkYBscRwC|publisher=Ballantine Books|page=1048|first1=Tim|last1=Brooks|first2=Earle|last2=Marsh|isbn=9780345429230|via=Google Books}}

Life and career

Fitzsimmons was born in San Francisco, California. He attended Fairfield College Preparatory School. He then attended at Yale University, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree. After earning his degree, Fitzsimmons made his theatre debut in the Broadway play Scapino. He began his television career in 1974, where he first appeared in the soap opera television series Love of Life, where Fitzsimmons played Price Madden. Fitzsimmons guest-starred in television programs including The Bob Newhart Show, One Day at a Time, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Dallas, The Facts of Life, Murder, She Wrote and All in the Family.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tom-fitzsimmons/credits/3030433941/|title=Tom Fitzsimmons List of Movies and TV Shows|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 26, 2022}}

In 1978, Fitzsimmons joined the cast of the new CBS drama television series The Paper Chase, where he played Franklin Ford III. In 1980, he had an audition having his hair curled, in which according to The Republic he was a model.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/139262859/|title=Here's a Story That'll Curl Your Hair|work=The Republic|location=Columbus, Indiana|date=February 20, 1980|access-date=May 26, 2022|page=7|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}} He played Dr. Meeker in All My Children. His last television credit was from the legal drama and police procedural television series Law & Order. But he did continue to act on stage into the late 1990s, such as in the 1999 play "Bedroom Farce" with his real-life partner Tim Donoghue.{{Cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/last-chance-sds-old-globe-says-goodnight-to-ayckbourns-bedroom-farce-may-9-com-81754|title=Last Chance: SD's Old Globe Says Goodnight To Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce, May 9 | Playbill}}

Personal life

He is openly gay, and he lives with his partner, actor Tim Donoghue, in Roxbury, Connecticut.{{cite web | url=https://litchfieldmagazine.com/onourradar/if-one-is-good-many-is-better/ | title=If One is Good, Many is Better }}