- - T.K. Carter, “The Thing” and “Punky Brewster ”Actor, Dies at 69

Kimberlee SpeakmanJanuary 11, 2026 at 1:12 AM

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Eric Charbonneau/Getty;Bob D'Amico /American Broadcasting Companies via Gett

T.K. Carter in 2020; Carter in a ‘Just Our Luck’ promo photo in 1983 -

T.K. Carter, known for his roles in The Thing, Space Jam and Punky Brewster, died on Friday, Jan. 9, at the age of 69

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the actor was found dead in his California home in Duarte

Carter’s credits include dozens of TV and film projects dating back to the 1970s, including Runaway Train and The Corner

T.K. Carter, the veteran actor who has memorable roles in The Thing, Runaway Train and Punky Brewster, has died. He was 69.

Carter died at his home in Duarte, Calif., after deputies received a service call at around 5:42 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, according to a statement obtained by PEOPLE from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies found Carter deceased on the scene, noting that no foul play was suspected. The sheriff’s office did not give any other information on his cause of death or what prompted the call.

Carter — who was born on Dec. 14, 1956, and raised in Los Angeles — started acting in his pre-teens and doing stand-up routines at the age of 12, according to IMDB. By high school, Carter had acted in theater and earned a role in Neil Simon’s production of The Odd Couple.

T.K. Carter as Mike Fulton in a 'Punky Brewster' scene

He continued to work on his comedy after high school, doing stand-up routines at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles and honed his acting skills at the Improvisation Cafe and Ye Little Club.

After doing some work onstage, the actor and comedian finally began appearing on-screen in the 1970s, earning small roles in TV shows like Police Woman, The Waltons and The Jeffersons.

He eventually got his breakthrough role as the character Nauls the cook in 1982’s horror film The Thing, and also earned a role as Dave Prince in 1985’s Runaway Train.

Around that time, Carter also got a recurring role on the popular 1980s show Punky Brewster as Mike Fulton for two seasons. He also the one-season sitcom Just Our Luck.

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T.K. Carter in the 1980s

In the 1990s, Carter starred as Iceman in Ski Patrol and earned a voice role as Nawt in 1996’s Space Jam. He also was featured in several TV shows at the time, including Moesha, The Steve Harvey Show, The Nanny and NYPD Blue.

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T.K. Carter in a 'How to Get Away with Murder' scene

He appeared in the TV series The Corner and a series of smaller films in the 2000s before returning to TV in the 2010s, making appearances on shows like How to Get Away with Murder, Everybody Hates Chris, Saints & Sinners and The Bobby Brown Story.

Carter continued to act into the early 2020s with appearances in Stumptown, Fake Friends and the TV series Dave. His final TV credit was on the show The Company You Keep in 2023.

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