Tom Ligon, Veteran Stage and Screen Actor and SAG-AFTRA Board Member, Dies at 85
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Tom Ligon, a veteran film, television, and Broadway actor who served for years as a dedicated board member of the New York Local of SAG-AFTRA, has passed away at the age of 85. The actors’ union confirmed his passing but did not provide further details regarding the cause of death.
Born on September 10, 1940, in New Orleans, Ligon began his career in the mid-1960s with guest-starring roles on television. He soon landed a supporting role in the acclaimed 1969 musical film Paint Your Wagon, sharing the screen with stars Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. That same year, he made his Broadway debut in two short-lived productions: Angela, opposite Geraldine Page, and Love Is a Time of Day, opposite Sandy Duncan. Throughout the late 1960s, he also appeared in several Off-Broadway productions across New York.
On-Screen Career in Film and Television
Ligon’s professional on-camera career spanned continuously from the 1970s through the 2010s. His notable feature film credits include:
- The Last American Hero
- Bang the Drum Slowly (in which he memorably performed the traditional ballad “The Streets of Laredo”)
- The Last Detail
- Young Doctors in Love
- Serial
On the small screen, Ligon made guest appearances on highly popular primetime series, including Medical Center, Starsky & Hutch, Police Woman, Baretta, Dallas, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Additionally, he was a familiar face on daytime soap operas, with roles in The Young and the Restless, Loving, Santa Barbara, Another World, and All My Children. In 1996, he also returned to the Broadway stage as a replacement cast member in Tartuffe: Born Again.
Six Decades of Union Activism and Advocacy
Tom Ligon was a dedicated member of the actors’ union for nearly 60 years. In addition to his service on the SAG-AFTRA New York Local Board, he chaired the National Seniors Committee and served as vice-chair of the New York Seniors Committee. Ligon was a staunch advocate for the merger of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)—a historic unification that was ultimately finalized in 2012.
In his personal life, Ligon married fellow actor K.C. Ligon in 1976. The couple remained together until her passing in 2009.
