Bill Thornbury
Actor · Born May 24, 1952 (74) · Kingsburg, California, USA
Bill Thornbury (born May 24, 1952) is an American musician, and actor, best known for his role as Jody Pearson in the Phantasm film series. A lover of music and scenic arts since his childhood, Bill Thornbury graduated from the California State University at Fresno with a teaching degree in music and nowadays teaches in Northern California.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 24, 1952 (74)
- Kingsburg, California, USA
- Actor
- 6 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
What are Bill Thornbury's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 2
Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 1
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 3
Roles they play
- Allyas Jody in Phantasm (1979)
- Tricksteras Jody in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
- Shapeshifteras Jody in Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Bill Thornbury's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Shudder (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Bill Thornbury's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
10 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
A Blind Bargain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Phantasm: Ravager(2016)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Phantasm IV: Oblivion(1998)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
The Lost Empire(1984)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Secrets of Midland Heights (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Phantasm(1979)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Iron and Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Summer School Teachers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Career shape
Star power in the 86th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 10 titles from 1974 to 2025; peak year 1979.
Film career
Peak 1979 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1979Screen debut· Phantasm
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Bill Thornbury's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 35th percentile, the median of all 6; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 38th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 6 titles are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the acting 51/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 62, detractors 29. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Bill Thornbury's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Bill Thornbury work with?
People who share at least 2 of Bill Thornbury's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Don Coscarelli shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Don CoscarelliShared titles: Phantasm: Ravager (2016), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm (1979)See all 4 shared titles with Don Coscarelli
Actors
- A. Michael BaldwinShared titles: Phantasm: Ravager (2016), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm (1979)See all 4 shared titles with A. Michael Baldwin
- Angus ScrimmShared titles: Phantasm: Ravager (2016), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm (1979)See all 4 shared titles with Angus Scrimm
- Reggie BannisterShared titles: Phantasm: Ravager (2016), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm (1979)See all 4 shared titles with Reggie Bannister
- Kathy LesterShared titles: Phantasm: Ravager (2016), Phantasm (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Kathy Lester
Composers and cinematographers
- Christopher L. StoneShared titles: Phantasm: Ravager (2016), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)See all 3 shared titles with Christopher L. Stone
- Chris ChomynShared titles: Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Chomyn
- Fred MyrowShared titles: Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Fred Myrow
Producers
- Dac CoscarelliShared titles: Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Dac Coscarelli