Thomas Kent Carter was born on December 18, 1956, in New York City. He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in California. He made his television debut in 1976 in an episode of Police Woman. In the late Seventies, he guest starred on the shows Good Times; Quincy, M.E.; The Waltons; and The Jeffersons. He made his movie debut in Youngblood in 1978. He appeared in the movies Corvette Summer (1978), The Hollywood Knights (1980), Seed of Innocence (1980), and Seems Like Old Times (1980).
In the Eighties, T.K. Carter starred on the show Just Our Luck and was a regular on the shows Punky Brewster and Good Morning, Bliss. He was a voice on the animated shows Turbo Teen and Jem. He guest starred on the shows Transformers, 227 and The Magical World of Disney. He appeared in the movies Underground Aces (1981), Southern Comfort (1981), The Thing (1982), Doctor Detroit (1983), Runaway Train (1985), He's My Girl (1987) Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), and Ski Patrol (1990).
In the Nineties, T.K. Carter was a regular on the The Sinbad Show. He guest starred on the TV shows Family Matters, A Different World, Moesha, The Gregory Hines Show, The Steve Harvey Show, and The Nanny, NYPD Blue. He appeared in the mini-series The Corner. He appeared in the movies A Rage in Harlem (1991), Space Jam (1996), and My Favorite Martian (1999).
In the Naughts, T.K. Carter guest starred on the shows In Justice and Everybody Loves Chris. He appeared in the movies How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (2003), The L.A. Riot Spectacular (2005), and Domino (2005). In the Teens, he guest starred on the shows Love That Girl!, Saints & Sinners, The Bobby Brown Story, and Stumptown. He appeared in the movie The Way Back (2020). In the 2020s, he appeared in the movie Fake Friends (2022). He had a recurring role on the TV shows Dave and The Company You Keep.
T.K. Carter was a great talent who could play a wide variety of roles. This can even be seen early in his career. He guest starred as Head, one of J.J.'s (Jimmie Walker) fun-loving friends in two episodes of Good Times. His following guest appearance was on The Waltons, playing Jodie Foster, the son of Verdie Foster (Lynn Hamilton), who had just joined the Navy. Throughout his career, T.K. Carter would play both comedic roles and serious roles, and play both sorts of roles equally well. He was the unfortunate Cribbs in Southern Comfort (1981) and the cook Nauls in The Thing (1982), but also played Diavolo Washington in the comedy Doctor Detroit (1983). T,K. Carter could play nearly anything, from goofballs to authority figures. He was a teacher in his regular role on Punky Brewster, and Clarence Hall, the eccentric friend of lead character David Bryan (Sinbad). T.K. Carter had enormous talent and versatility, and leaves behind a legacy of great performances.
