Peter Thornton (MacGyver)

Infobox character
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name = Peter Thornton
series = MacGyver


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first = "Nightmares"
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creator = Lee David Zlotoff
portrayer = Dana Elcar
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nickname = Pete
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gender = Male
age = 53 - 59
born = December 18, 1933
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occupation = Special agent
Director of Operations
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family =
spouse = Connie Thornton
children = Michael Thornton
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residence = Los Angeles, United States
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nationality = United States

Peter Thornton is a fictional character in the "MacGyver" television series played by Dana Elcar. He is Angus MacGyver's best friend and boss at both the Department of External Services (DXS) and the Phoenix Foundation. Along with MacGyver, Thornton is the only regular character in the series.

Little is revealed about Pete's youth and background before the show starts, but he has been married to Connie Thornton who he has a son with, Michael Thornton. It is also clear that he has extensive background working for the U.S. government. He was a war veteran with service in Vietnam. [Revealed in the season 2 premiere, "The Human Factor"] At an unknown time, he left the military and joined the Department of External Services (DXS), a U.S. government agency involved in intelligence and black ops work. He met MacGyver there in 1980 while tracking the international assassin Murdoc, and was so impressed that he recruited him into the DXS. He reaches the position of Deputy Chief of the Department in 1986 before leaving later that same year. He then goes to work for the Phoenix Foundation as Director of Operations, and takes MacGyver with him as a troubleshooter. Pete settles down with a desk job, but still is involved in many field operations along with MacGyver.

In 1991, actor Dana Elcar began to develop glaucoma, a degenerative condition of the eyes that causes blindness. This condition was written into the show, and Elcar's character also develops the disease.

References