Philip Michael Thomas

Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series Miami Vice. His first notable roles were in Coonskin (1975) and opposite Irene Cara in the 1976 film Sparkle. After his success in Miami Vice, he appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies and advertisements for telephone psychic services. He served as a spokesperson for cell phone entertainment company Nextones, and also voiced the character Lance Vance in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006). Thomas was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in San Bernardino, California. He is of African American, Native American, Irish, and German descent. His father, Louis Diggs, was a plant foreman at Westinghouse. Thomas's mother was Lulu McMorris. He and his seven half brothers and sisters had the surname Thomas, which was the last name of his mother's first husband. As a child, he acted in his church's theater group and, at age 15, while participating in the Pentecostal Delman Heights Four Square Gospel Church choir, became interested in ministry. He graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1967 and briefly worked as a janitor to save money for college. Thomas earned a scholarship to the historically Black Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, where he studied religion and philosophy after high school.