T.K. Carter – best known for his role as Nauls in The Thing – has passed away at the age of 69.
The Thing star T.K. Carter has died at the age of 69.
The actor – known for his role as Nauls in the 1982 sci-fi-horror movie – was found dead in his home after law enforcement received a call to the property in Duarte, California, on Friday (09.01.26), TMZ reports.
Police confirmed that they received the call at about 5.42pm, and a death report was filed.
Officials say they do not suspect foul play and that T.K.’s cause of death has not been released.
He is survived by his wife, Janet Carter.
Fans have paid tribute to T.K. – whose career spanned almost 50 years – on social media.
One person on X penned: “Rest in Peace T.K. Carter. He was a part of some many movies from my childhood including the horror masterpiece that is The Thing. Such a sad loss. (sic)”
Referencing the star’s role of National Guardsman, Tyrone Cribbs, in the 1981 action-thriller movie Southern Comfort, a second user of the social media platform typed: “RIP Mr T.K. Carter. You will be missed. You may have been Nauls in The Thing, but you always be Cribbs to me. (sic)”
And referring to T.K.’s character T-Bone – a recurring character who was part of Steve Harvey’s band, The High Tops, on The Steve Harvey Show in the 1990s, a supporter on Instagram said: “RIP T-Bone, the Hightops will never be the same.”
Born in New York City on December 18, 1956, T.K. grew up in the San Gabriel Valley area of Southern California.
His acting debut came in the mid-1970s when he landed a role in an episode of the NBC police procedural series, Police Woman.
T.K. built up his reputation as a versatile character actor by appearing in early movies, including the 1978 comedy-adventure film Corvette Summer (car wash employee) and the 1980 comedy-romance flick Seems Like Old Times (Chester).
The performer got his big break in 1982 when he was cast as Nauls, a cook stationed at an American Antarctic research station, US Outpost 31, in the John Carpenter-directed sci-fi-horror, The Thing.
T.K. went on to have memorable performances as Dave Prince in the 1985 action-thriller film, Runaway Train, the voice of Monstar Nawt in the 1996 live-action animated sports comedy movie, Space Jam, and as Lester Kincaid in the 2005 action-crime flick, Domino.
He also had recurring roles on TV shows, such as Mike Fulton in the 1980s NBC sitcom Punky Brewster.
In more recent performances, T.K. starred as Gary McCullough in the 2000 HBO miniseries The Corner.
His last appearances came in three episodes of the ABC drama The Company You Keep, as Pike, and five episodes of Lil Dicky’s Dave, as Cliff, in 2023.
The Thing star T.K. Carter dead at 69
