Browse: Home / Celebrating the Living: Kirk R. Thatcher

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us
  • Login

The-SoluteLogo

A Film Site By Lovers of Film

Menu

Skip to content
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • Long Reviews
  • News
  • Articles and Opinions
  • Other Media
  • The Friday Article Roundup: The Truth is In Here
  • Lunch Links: Schwarzfahrer
  • Websites on the Internet: THE SOLUTE
  • New on DVD and Blu-Ray
  • Movie Gifts Holidays 2024
Today, in "images you can hear"

Celebrating the Living: Kirk R. Thatcher

Posted By Gillianren on March 26, 2023 in Features | Leave a response

I could win the Nobel Peace Prize and my grave would still say Punk On Bus, Star Trek IV.

Because “Punk on Bus” had no lines, Kirk Thatcher (as he’s credited there; the middle initial comes and goes) gets no residuals from Star Trek IV as an actor. However, one of his soundtrack credits—he has a really busy IMDb page—is for writing the punk classic “I Hate You.” He wrote it because he didn’t think the song originally playing was appropriate for his character. It’s become a classic of sorts since then, though if IMDb is to be believed, its only other appearance is the next year in Back to the Beach. Still, Thatcher has reprised the role a couple of times, including appearing in the MCU.

Still, Kirk Thatcher wasn’t on the set of Star Trek IV solely as an actor. His initial credit, in fact, was as “production assistant/visual effects.” He ended up doing so much work that he was upgraded to associate producer. It’s not commonly known, but most of the shots of “whales” in Star Trek IV were in fact models. Particularly large models, true—they were four feet long. But models nonetheless, and Thatcher was one of the people working on them. Using skills he developed as a technical assistant for ILM on Return of the Jedi. He would then go on to work with the Muppets, presumably because he got to know Frank Oz as well. Apparently he’s going to be a writer for Mystery Science Theater 3000 at some point, working with all pop culture’s greatest puppets.

He’s also worked with a pretty wide array of humans. Frank Oz. Joe Johnston. Jim Henson. Leonard Nimoy. David Fincher. Stephen Spielberg. Michael Giacchino. George Lucas. There are not a lot of people who’ve done as many of the great pop culture icons of our time, but Thatcher is one of them. He’s actually been two people in the MCU, which is also a pretty exclusive list, having reprised Punk on Bus and also having been Jovan in Werewolf by Night. If you count Sesame Street as separate (but overlapping) from the Muppets, which legally they are, he’s done that, too.

All this and we can still safely assume that his IMDb page is incomplete, given that IMDb is notoriously spotty when it comes to things like visual effects and puppetry and even music. All three of which are his primary wheelhouse. Oh, he’s done plenty of acting, goodness knows, and more than just Picard and Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, probably more people know the Muppets Tonight theme, which he wrote, than his one-episode performance of Klutter on Eek! the Cat. Even without Star Trek IV, he’s done enough music to remain memorable.

Thatcher is a busy guy. He’s got a dozen categories on IMDb, never mind “self” and “archive footage.” A lot of it these days is for the Muppets; he even has a couple of Webbys for Muppet shorts that appeared on YouTube. (“Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Ode to Joy,” both of which are excellent.) He’s one of the people who will frankly mostly be ignored by most media reporting. If he comes up at all, yes, it’ll be because of that one iconic moment of his life. However, there are a lot of people in his line of work who don’t even have that, so it could be worse.

Reward me for navigating the failures of IMDb by supporting my Patreon or Ko-fi!

Posted in Features | Tagged Attention Must Be Paid, Kirk R. Thatcher, tribute

About the Author

gillianmadeira@hotmail.com'

Gillianren

Gillianren is a forty-something bipolar woman living in the Pacific Northwest after growing up in Los Angeles County. She and her boyfriend have one son and one daughter, and she gave a daughter up for adoption. She fills her days by watching her local library system’s DVD collection in alphabetical order, watching everything that looks interesting. She particularly enjoys pre-Code films, blaxploitation, and live-action Disney movies of the ’60s and ’70s. She has a Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/gillianren

Related Posts

Life is a mysteryCelebrating the Living: Madonna→

Clearly Pryor knew a thing or two about wooing womenAttention Must Be Paid: Richard Pryor→

Definitely how most people picture him.Celebrating the Living: John Cameron Mitchell→

A sexy hot mess bigot!Attention Must Be Paid: Patricia Highsmith→

  • Comments
  • Popular
  • Most Recent
  • j*****@yahoo.com'
    mr_apollo on Year of the Month: Mon OncleWonderful piece, Sam. It's made…
  • j*****@yahoo.com'
    mr_apollo on Year of the Month: Mon OncleFellow heretic here. I've never…
  • n***********@gmail.com'
    Ruck Cohlchez on Film on the Internet: AN AMERICAN CRIMEI wouldn't have called it…
  • j***********@gmail.com'
    Son of Griff on LIFE ITSELFGlad to hear back from…
  • n*********@gmail.com'
    Jake Gittes on Film on the Internet: AN AMERICAN CRIMEThis is the single most…
  • “The End” of SAVAGES

    38391 views / Posted November 10, 2014
  • The Untalented Mr. Ripley: The Craft of Standup Comedy and the Non-Comedy of TOM MYERS

    30734 views / Posted June 26, 2018
  • What the fuck did I just watch? SPHERE

    30344 views / Posted March 19, 2015
  • Gordon with Mr. Looper

    Attention Must Be Paid: Will Lee

    27651 views / Posted January 7, 2023
  • Scenic Routes: SHOWGIRLS (1995)

    23350 views / Posted November 20, 2014
  • The truth is FAR out there.

    The Friday Article Roundup: The Truth is In Here

    December 6, 2024 / The Ploughman
  • This is a way lower res image than I will be allowed to get away with at the new site.

    Lunch Links: Schwarzfahrer

    December 5, 2024 / The Ploughman
  • Websites on the Internet: THE SOLUTE

    December 4, 2024 / ZoeZ
  • New on DVD and Blu-Ray

    December 3, 2024 / Greta Taylor
  • Movie Gifts Holidays 2024

    December 2, 2024 / The Ploughman

Last Tweets

    ©2014 - 2016 The-Solute | Hosted, Developed and Maintained by Bellingham WP LogoBellinghamWP.com.

    Menu

    • Home
    • Who We Are
    • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact Us
    • Login
    Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!