Paris Themmen

Themmen was born in Boston to Ivana Marburger (born 1936) and Harold B. Themmen, both classical musician parents.[1] Themmen's mother was a renowned composer for orchestras in the late 20th century.[2][3] A guitar concerto of hers was in final contention for the 1982 Kennedy Center Friedheim Award.[4] Themmen's father, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, was a clarinetist and librarian for the American Ballet Theatre, and also played for the Boston Pops.[5]

Themmen appeared in radio and TV commercials, voice-overs and theater before playing the role of Mike Teavee in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, when he was 11 years old. He performed on Broadway in Mame with Ann Miller in 1967 and in The Rothschilds in 1970.

Declaring a hiatus from acting at age 14 to "just be a kid," Themmen went on to receive a B.F.A. in theatre from New York University. Smitten with the urge to travel, he founded Access International, a travel service that arranged Europe-bound charter flights for backpackers. Themmen's passion for travel has taken him to over 60 countries.

Following brief stints in real estate, film production, commercial casting, business representation at Walt Disney Imagineering and a few other ventures, he now signs autographs at movie conventions, runs a photography business, and makes sporadic appearances in commercials, plays and TV shows.[6]

Themmen's adult acting appearances include "Virtuoso", a 2000, sixth-season episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager,[7] as a fawning fan. He also as himself billed as a "former child star" in two 2008 episodes of the American game show Duel.[8][9]

On May 4, 2011, Themmen appeared on the British television morning show Daybreak, alongside the other child actors from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory: Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde) and Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop). They made an additional 40th Anniversary reunion appearance on NBC's Today Show eleven days later.[10] Paris also appeared on the TV version of Trivial Pursuit in Summer 1993 and won, and was on Win Ben Stein's Money and lost.

On January 23, 2015 Themmen appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast. The episode was recorded live in Wilmington, Massachusetts during North East ComicCon.

On October 28–30, 2015, his wife appeared on Jeopardy! as a contestant, returning twice as a champion before being defeated on her third appearance.[11] Themmen himself was a Jeopardy! contestant on March 13, 2018, finishing in second place.[12]

Themmen has been married to Nikki Grillos since 2014. Together, the couple currently resides in Los Angeles, California.[13]

Themmen's sister Allegra Themmen-Pigott (1967–2019) was a coloratura soprano opera singer and music therapist.[14] His sister Tania is married to voice actress and voice director Susan Blu.[15]

• Paris Themmen at IMDb
• Official website