Ted Raimi

Ted Raimi
Raimi at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2024
Born (1965-12-14) December 14, 1965 (age 59)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • screenwriter
Years active1977–present
RelativesSam Raimi (brother)
Ivan Raimi (brother)

Theodore Raimi (born December 14, 1965)[1] is an American character actor, director and writer. He is known for his roles in the works of his brother Sam Raimi, including a fake Shemp in The Evil Dead, possessed Henrietta in Evil Dead II, and Ted Hoffman in the Spider-Man trilogy.[2] He later reprised his role as Henrietta in the television series Ash vs. Evil Dead, in which he also played the character Chet Kaminski. He is also known for his roles as Lieutenant JG Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV, his recurring role as the merchant in Legend of the Seeker and Joxer the Mighty in both Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Raimi has appeared in minor roles including the films Crimewave, Intruder, Shocker, Darkman, Candyman, Army of Darkness, Clear and Present Danger, The Grudge, Drag Me to Hell and Oz the Great and Powerful, as well as the television series ALF, Twin Peaks, Baywatch and Supernatural. He has had voice roles in the television series Invader Zim and Code Monkeys, and in the video games Evil Dead: Regeneration and The Quarry.

Early life

Raimi was born to a Jewish family[3] in Detroit, Michigan. His parents are Celia (née Abrams), a lingerie store proprietor, and Leonard Raimi, a furniture store proprietor. Ted was raised in Conservative Judaism, and his ancestors immigrated from Russia and Hungary.[4] He attended Wylie E. Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, where he played blues harp and was a DJ and a member of the Groves Cinema Society. At seventeen, Raimi began his professional acting career doing industrial films in Detroit, for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. He attended University of Michigan, New York University, then finally University of Detroit. Raimi's older brothers are director Sam Raimi and screenwriter Ivan Raimi.

Career

Raimi's motion picture acting credits include: Wes Craven's Shocker, Born Yesterday, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Darkman and the Spider-Man series, as well as roles in such features as: Stuart Saves His Family, The Grudge, Midnight Meat Train and Oz the Great and Powerful.

On television, he has been seen on shows such as Twin Peaks, CSI: NY, Supernatural and Legend of the Seeker, but is best known for his roles as the communication officer Lt. Tim O'Neill on the science fiction television series seaQuest DSV (later seaQuest 2032) and starring as the warrior wannabe Joxer on Xena: Warrior Princess.

Raimi wrote the original "Joxer the Mighty" song with help from director Josh Becker for Xena: Warrior Princess. In 2022, he joined director Alex Kahuam for his upcoming feature film Failure!, which was shot entirely in a single long-take.[5]

Selected filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1977 It's Murder! Bradley
1981 The Evil Dead Fake Shemp [6][7]
Torro. Torro. Torro! Short film
1982 Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter
1985 Crimewave Waiter [6][8]
Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except Chain Man
1987 Evil Dead II Possessed Henrietta [9]
Blood Rage Condom Salesman
1989 Intruder Joe 'Produce Joe' [10]
Easy Wheels Charlie
Shocker "Pac-Man"
1990 Darkman Rick Anderson [6]
1991 Lunatics: A Love Story Hank Stone
1992 Eddie Presley "Scooter"
Patriot Games CIA Technician
Candyman Billy [11][12]
Army of Darkness Cowardly Warrior / Swordsmith / Villager / S-Mart Clerk Credited as "Theodore Raimi"; uncredited for roles besides "Cowardly Warrior" [9]
Inside Out V Richard Direct-to-video
The Finishing Touch Detective Arnold
The Fountain Clowns Hayden
1993 Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence Reporter
Born Yesterday Cynthia's Assistant
Skinner Dennis Skinner [13]
Hard Target Man On The Street
1994 Floundering Safe Salesman
Clear and Present Danger Satellite Analyst
In This Corner Interviewer
1995 Stuart Saves His Family Hal
The Expert Jerry's Friend Uncredited
1996 The Shot Detective Corelli
1997 Wishmaster Ed Finney
1998 Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Crius Voice; direct-to-video film
1999 Freak Talks About Sex Jackie's Husband
2001 The Attic Expeditions Dr. Coffee
2002 Spider-Man Ted Hoffman [2]
2003 Red Zone Phelps
Between the Sheets Gabriel / A.D.R. Mixer
2004 Spider-Man 2 Ted Hoffman [2]
Illusion Ian
The Grudge Alex Jones [14]
2005 Man with the Screaming Brain Pavel
Freezerburn Special Agent Johnson
2006 High Hopes Special Agent Brown
Kalamazoo? Angel
2007 Reign Over Me Peter Saravino
My Name Is Bruce Mills Toddner / Wing / Sign Painter
Spider-Man 3 Ted Hoffman [2]
Millennium Crisis August
2008 Diamonds and Guns The Landlord
The Midnight Meat Train Randle Cooper
2009 Drag Me to Hell Doctor
2010 VideoDome Rent-O-Rama Francis Short film
2011 Ruthless: An Experiment in Terror Bartender
2012 Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader Dr. Higgs
2013 Oz the Great and Powerful Skeptic In Audience
2014 Murder of a Cat Young Sheriff
2017 Darkness Rising Dad [15][16]
2021 18½ Alexander Haig Voice
2023 Failure! James

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1989 Knight & Daye Buyer Episode: "Stalk Radio"
Alien Nation Johnny Appleseed Episode: "Chains of Love"
ALF Julius Episode: "It's My Party"
1991 Twin Peaks Heavy Metal Youth Episodes: "2.19", "2.20"
1992 Baywatch Leonaard Episode: "Rookie of the Year"
1993–1996 seaQuest DSV Lieutenant j.g. Timothy O'Neill Main role (54 episodes)
1996 American Gothic Ted Parker Episode: "Learning to Crawl"
Apollo 11 Steve Bales Television film
1996–2001 Xena: Warrior Princess Joxer Recurring role (42 episodes) [13]
1997 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Episodes: "When a Man Loves a Woman", "Stranger in a Strange World"
1998 Alex Kurtzman Episode: "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hercules"
1999 Iggy Vile M.D. Frederick Marsche Television film
2001 Primetime Glick Various roles
2002 Invader Zim Skoodge, Holographic Alien Head Voice roles
Episodes: "Battle of the Planets", "HOBO 13/Walk for Your Lives"
Odyssey 5 Harry Mudd Episode: "Trouble with Harry"
2005 CSI: NY Garage Joe / Joe Strahil Episode: "Hush"
2006 Masters of Horror Father Tulli Episode: "The Damned Thing"
2007 Planet Raptor Dr. Tygon Television film
2007–2008 Code Monkeys Various roles Recurring voice roles (6 episodes)
2008 Legend of the Seeker Sebastian Episode: "Bounty"
30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust Television miniseries
Supernatural Wesley Mondale Episode: "Wishful Thinking"
2009 Angel of Death Jed Norton Web series
2010 Legend of the Seeker Sebastian Episode: "Hunger"
2011 Your Dungeon, My Dragon Episode: "Battle of the Bands, Man"
2016 Ash vs Evil Dead Possessed Henrietta Also played Possessed Henrietta in Evil Dead II [17]
2018 Chet Kaminski Recurring role (6 episodes) [18]
2017 Buddy Thunderstruck Darnell / Moneybags Voice role; 12 episodes
2021 Creepshow Ted Episode: "Public Television Of The Dead"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
2005 Evil Dead: Regeneration Sam Voice role [7][19]
2022 The Quarry Travis Hackett Voice, motion capture and likeness

Non-acting work

Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1978 Within the Woods Crew Short film
1981 Torro. Torro. Torro!
1985 Crimewave Apprentice editor
1995 seaQuest DSV Writer Episode: "Lostland"
1998 Normal Joe
1999 Iggy Vile M.D. Television film
2008 Diamonds and Guns Second unit co-director
2009 My Treat Director Short film
2011 Morbid Minutes 5 episodes
Writer Episodes: "Better to Remember", "Tie Game"

References

  1. ^ "Raimi, Ted 1965-". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage.
  2. ^ a b c d Peter David's novelizations of the films reveal his first name to be Ted, after the actor who plays him.
  3. ^ Wills, Adam (July 22, 2009). "Jews Get Geek on at Comic-Con". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Aushenker, Michael (April 26, 2002). "Spider-Mensch: The Jewish roots of director Sam Raimi and "Spider-Man."". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on November 13, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  5. ^ "FAILURE! Alex Kahuam Directs Genre Icon Ted Raimi in Single Take Thriller". screenanarchy.com. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Muir 2004, p. 307.
  7. ^ a b Mangione, Nick (October 7, 2016). "Chilling news from Ash Vs. Evil Dead at NYCC". Geek.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Robson 2007, p. 40–41.
  9. ^ a b Paul, Zachary (February 19, 2018). "Fast Facts: 'Army of Darkness' and 25 Years Worth of Trivia". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  10. ^ Muir 2007, p. 744.
  11. ^ Willis 2000, p. 121.
  12. ^ Leighton, Susan (December 5, 2017). "Thoughts from the Ledge: Ted Raimi – the genius clown prince of horror". 1428Elm.com. FanSided. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Coffel, Chris (February 15, 2019). "[Blu-ray Review] Ted Raimi Skins Streetwalkers in the Sleazy Fun 'Skinner'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Cobb, Kayla (October 22, 2019). "'The Grudge's Tongue Scene Will Forever Give Me Nightmares". Decider.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Barton, Steve (April 28, 2017). "Ted Raimi Gets Animated for Darkness Rising Art". Dread Central. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Collis, Clark (June 1, 2017). "Explore a house of horrors in exclusive trailer for Darkness Rising". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  17. ^ "Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead: Episode 209". STARZ. December 4, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  18. ^ Bryant, Jacob (February 10, 2016). "TV News Roundup: 'Ash vs Evil Dead' Adds Ted Raimi, Lee Majors; 'Mary Mary' Gets Season 5 Premiere Date". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  19. ^ Pulliam & Fonseca 2014, p. 88.

Further reading

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