Tom Chick

Last updated
Tom Chick
Tomchick sailing.jpg
Chick in September 2006
Born (1966-08-14) August 14, 1966 (age 57)
Education Harvard University (MTS)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • journalist
  • critic
Known for

Tom W. Chick (born August 14, 1966) is an American actor and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's boyfriend Gil in the U.S. version of The Office , and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing .

Contents

Early life and education

Chick attended Harvard Divinity School and received a Master of Theological Studies with a focus on the Old Testament. [1]

Career

Deciding not to pursue the ministry, he later moved to Hollywood, California, where he pursued a career in writing about video games and occasionally acting for television roles. He is also the co-founder and administrator of a web-based site for games discussion, Quarter to Three. [2]

Chick is an independent journalist whose columns on video games have appeared online and in print. As a freelance columnist, he has written for a number of sites, including Firing Squad, [3] Yahoo Games, [4] GameSpy, [5] GameSpot, Xtreme Gamer, [6] 1Up, [7] Rotten Tomatoes [8] and others. His articles have also appeared in magazines such as the "Tom vs. Bruce" series in Computer Gaming World , and he was listed as "one of the field's rare American practitioners" in an article on "New Games Journalism" in The New York Times . [9]

In May 2008, he partnered with the Syfy as editor-in-chief of a new co-branded gaming blog, entitled Fidgit.

Chick's most successful television acting engagement was a recurring role as reporter Gordon in nine episodes of The West Wing . He also played Oscar's homosexual lover Gil in The Office , and Mario in The Nine .

Personal life

In late September 2014, Chick revealed in a podcast that he had stage four Hypopharyngeal cancer and was about to begin chemotherapy. [10] [11]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994 Frank and Jesse Detective Whitcher

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994 Monty BeckEpisode: "Two Cold Feet"
1994 Beverly Hills, 90210 JoeEpisode: "Rock of Ages"
1994, 1995 Living Single Aaron2 episodes
1996 NewsRadio EmployeeEpisode: "The Song Remains the Same"
1997 ER WeissbrootEpisode: "Friendly Fire"
1997 Frasier Waiter #1 / Waiter2 episodes
2001 The King of Queens GuyEpisode: "Wedding Presence"
2001 Spin City EmployeeEpisode: "A Shot in the Dark: Part 2"
2001 Grounded for Life Mr. SandersEpisode: "Dream On"
2003 Joan of Arcadia Reporter #2Episode: "The Devil Made Me Do It"
2003–2005 The West Wing Gordon9 episodes
2006 The Nine Mario2 episodes
2006–2007 The Office Gil4 episodes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dinklage</span> American actor (born 1969)

Peter Hayden Dinklage is an American actor best known for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series a record four times. He also received a Golden Globe Award in 2011 and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2020 for the role. Dinklage has a common form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia and stands 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) tall. He has used his celebrity status to raise social awareness of dwarfism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomonobu Itagaki</span> Japanese video game designer

Tomonobu Itagaki is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the Dead or Alive series and also reviving the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.

<i>Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning</i> 2008 video game

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting, developed by Mythic Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts in 2008. The game revolved around the continual worldwide conflict that the Warhammer Fantasy setting is known for, and the game is geared toward ongoing, constant war laced with dark humour. Age of Reckoning ended up selling over a million copies and peaking at 800,000 subscribers, but dropped to 300,000 subscribers several months later. The game received generally positive reviews from critics but shut down in 2013. Since at least 2014, an active private server called Return of Reckoning has been run by fans, and it remains active as of March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yahoo! Movies</span> American film website

Yahoo! Movies, provided by the Yahoo! network, was home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also included red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production stills. Users could read critic's reviews, write and read other user reviews, get personalized movie recommendations, purchase movie tickets online, and create and view other user's lists of their favorite movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GameSpy</span> American video game company

GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for |Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameSpy brand to other video game publishers through a newly established company, GameSpy Industries, which also incorporated his Planet Network of video game news and information websites, and GameSpy.com.

<i>Tom Clancys Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow</i> 2004 video game

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a 2004 stealth game developed and published by Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Milan. The game is the sequel to Splinter Cell and the second game in the Splinter Cell series endorsed by writer Tom Clancy. It follows the covert activities of Sam Fisher, an agent working for a black-ops branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) called "Third Echelon". Michael Ironside returns to voice Sam Fisher, while Dennis Haysbert voices the character Irving Lambert, Fisher's boss, making this the only time he is not voiced by Don Jordan. Lalo Schifrin provides the theme music for the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Green (writer)</span> American video game journalist

Jeffrey Green is an American writer and video game journalist, and the last editor-in-chief of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine. In November 2013, Jeff left PopCap Games, where he served as a director of editorial and social media. He was employed by the Sims division of developer Electronic Arts, where he served as a designer, producer, and writer. Green kept his job at Ziff Davis after the closing of GFW for several months before announcing his departure from the company. While an employee at Ziff Davis, Green hosted the weekly CGW Radio podcast and hosted The Official EA Podcast.

Rolf Saxon is an American actor. He is well known for his voice-over work in video games, movies and TV shows.

<i>Gunstar Super Heroes</i> 2005 video game

Gunstar Super Heroes is a run and gun video game for the Game Boy Advance developed by Treasure and published by Sega in 2005. It is the sequel to the 1993 Sega Genesis game Gunstar Heroes, with the story taking place after the events of the original game and featuring an expanded combat system over its predecessor.

<i>1Up Network</i> American entertainment network

1Up.com was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, 1Up.com provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused content. Like a print magazine, 1Up.com also hosted special week-long online cover stories that presented each day a new in-depth feature story, interview with the developers, game screenshot gallery, game video footage, and video of the game studio and creators. On February 21, 2013, Ziff Davis announced it would be winding down the site, along with sister sites GameSpy and UGO.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Hollander</span> British actor (born 1967)

Thomas Anthony Hollander is a British actor who has gained success for his roles on stage and screen, winning BAFTA and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<i>The Political Machine</i> 2004 video game

The Political Machine is a government simulation game from Stardock and the first game in the Political Machine series, in which the player leads a campaign to elect the President of the United States. The player accomplishes this goal by traveling from state to state and engaging in a variety of activities to either raise money or raise poll numbers. Each game starts with the selection of a pre-created candidate or creation of a fictional candidate from one of the two major American political parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Headquarters and fundraisers are possible, the effectiveness of which depends on various factors.

<i>Major League II</i> 1994 film by David S. Ward

Major League II is a 1994 American sports comedy film and sequel to the 1989 film Major League and it is the second installment in the Major League film series. The film stars most of the same cast from the original, including Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Corbin Bernsen. Absent from this film is Wesley Snipes, who played Willie Mays Hayes in the first film and who had become a film star in his own right by 1994. Omar Epps took over his role. Several new cast members appear in Major League II. David Keith plays Jack Parkman, a selfish superstar catcher who is looking to replace the aging Jake Taylor as the starter. Takaaki Ishibashi, of Japanese comedic duo Tunnels, is outfielder Isuro "Kamikaze" Tanaka who helps excite the team. Eric Bruskotter is rookie catcher Rube Baker who is getting used to the MLB life. Unlike the first film, which was rated R, Major League II was rated PG and released by Warner Bros. instead of Paramount Pictures.

<i>Dead or Alive Xtreme 2</i> 2006 video game

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 is a 2006 video game for the Xbox 360 game console. Developed by Team Ninja, it is the sequel to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. The title expands upon the activities available in the original, supplementing beach volleyball with additional beach-related minigames.

IGN is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former editor-in-chief, Peer Schneider. The IGN website was the brainchild of media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29, 1996. It focuses on games, films, anime, television, comics, technology, and other media. Originally a network of desktop websites, IGN is also distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the Xbox and PlayStation, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu, and Snapchat.

<i>Europa Universalis: Rome</i> 2008 video game

Europa Universalis: Rome is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio. Published by Paradox Interactive and released in 2008, it became the fourth installment in the Europa Universalis series. It was the second game to be based on Paradox's Clausewitz Engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Smith (writer)</span> American journalist

Luke Michael Smith is an American writer. He is a staff member at the video game development company Bungie, and is a former video games journalist. Smith wrote for a college newspaper and weekly papers in Michigan before being hired as one of the first new freelance writers for Kotaku. At Kotaku, Smith developed his writing style but soon left the site for a staff position as 1Up.com's news editor. Smith made a name for himself at 1Up, particularly through an article he wrote focusing on problems with the game Halo 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Holland</span> English actor (born 1996)

Thomas Stanley Holland is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award and three Saturn Awards. He featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most popular actors of his generation.

<i>Kingsman</i> (franchise) British action comedy media franchise

Kingsman is a British multimedia franchise, consisting of action comedy comic books, films, and video games, that follow the missions of Agent Galahad of Kingsman, a fictional secret service organization. Based on the comic book series of the same name created by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, a 2012 Marvel Comics release set in the Millarworld, in-turn based on a concept by Millar and Matthew Vaughn, the franchise has garnered success both financially and critically.

Literary Hub is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter.

References

  1. Quarter to Three Post by Tom Chick. January 25, 2007.
  2. As of 31 May 2008, the site has 7,010 registered members, with 1,709 of them having posted more than 5 times. Over half the registered membership has never posted a single message. (membership listing)
  3. Firing Squad Tom Chick's profile page.
  4. Yahoo Games Archived 2007-01-20 at the Wayback Machine List of contributors.
  5. Review of Painkiller . GameSpy.com. April 2004.
  6. Review of Bully . Xtreme-Gamer.com. October 2006.
  7. Review of Sword of the Stars Archived 2006-11-26 at the Wayback Machine . 1Up.com. September 2006.
  8. Rotten Tomatoes Tom Chick's review listing
  9. Wallace, Mark. "Notes on Halo". The New York Times. April 3, 2005.
  10. tomchick (2014-09-23). "Qt3 Movie Podcast: The Guest". Quarter to Three. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  11. tomchick (2015-03-17). "Qt3 Movie Podcast: It Follows". Quarter to Three. Retrieved 2021-10-25.