Tim Russ

Youthful, sober-looking African-American character player whose childhood experiences as an "Air Force brat" may have contributed to the authority of his many subsequent portrayals of FBI agents, security guards, soldiers and others with serious work to do. With his steely eyes, large full-lipped mouth and narrow face, Russ looks much younger than his years. While he has divided his time fairly evenly between stage, film and TV, many of his most memorable roles have been in the latter medium. Russ was the hip computer whiz who kept the high-tech truck running on the short-lived adventure series "The Highwayman" (NBC, 1988). He was also the annoying alter-ego who resided in the answering machine of imaginative cartoonist Jeffrey Jones in the Wes Craven-produced fantasy sitcom "The People Next Door" (CBS, 1989). Russ has many TV guest shots to his credit on series including "Melrose Place," "Murphy Brown," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Living Single." He has also been very active on the California stage.