Trivia

Played 9 seasons of Semi-Pro baseball in Sacramento, CA. As a starting pitcher he had a record of 30 wins and 12 loses playing against some of the nations top college and ex-pro players.

Since 2013, Busfield has been married to director-producer, author, and retired actress Melissa Gilbert.

Was asked to grow his beard for his role on Thirtysomething (1987), as producers thought that it would make Tim, who was still being cast as teenagers and young adults at the time, look closer to his age.

Son, Wilson, with his first wife, Radha Delamarter.

Has an Honorary PHD from Michigan State University.

When Trapper John, M.D. (1979) ended, Busfield and his brother, Buck, created the Fantasy Theatre, a professional touring company for children's audiences-and, later, Honorary State Children's Theater for California - based in his new hometown of Sacramento.

His first exposure to acting was through his father, Roger, who taught in the drama department at Michigan State University. His mother, Jean, was the director of the Michigan State University Press.

Timothy Busfield is the Blue Water Film Festival first recipient of the "Golden Mitten" award. The award recognizes "an individual from Michigan that has made a significant mark in the arts and entertainment field" The award was presented in 2011.

He was married to Radha Delamarter, with whom he has a son, Wilson. He married, secondly, to Jenny Merwin, sister of Melissa Merwin, who is married to Joshua Malina. Both Malina and Busfield starred in The West Wing (1999). Busfield and Merwin have two children: Daisy and Samuel. Since 2013, Busfield has been married to director-producer, author, and retired actress Melissa Gilbert.

Has two sisters, Terry and Julia, and a brother, Buck.

Studied drama at East Tennessee State University and Actor's Theatre of Louisville. After his apprenticeship at ATL Timothy joined the resident company alongside Chris Cooper, Kathy Bates, Ken Jenkins, and the late Susan Kingsley.

Busfield, who has been interested in standard-bred harness horse racing since the late 1980s, took the cast of Thirtysomething (1987) with him to Los Alamitos Racetrack in 1988 for a night of harness racing. Tim has owned several standard-bred horses, and he can be seen sometimes at the Golden Bear racetrack at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California, watching harness racing with his children.

Daughter, Daisy, and son, Samuel, with his second wife, Jenny Merwin.

Landed his first professional acting job at age 22 with The Green Mountain Guild's Theatre for Children. In 1981, Busfield moved to New York, where he joined the Circle Repertory Company for their production of Lanford Wilson's "Talley and Son". In 1983, he understudied Matthew Broderick in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" on Broadway in 1983.

He replaced Tom Hulce on the original Broadway run of Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men." He later went on to work with Aaron Sorkin as a director on Sports Night (1998), as Danny on The West Wing (1999), and as Cal on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006).

Served in the U.S. Navy, then studied drama at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, and at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville. After his apprenticeship at ATL, Busfield joined the resident company alongside Chris Cooper, Kathy Bates, Ken Jenkins, and the late Susan Kingsley.

He is a graduate of East Tennessee State University.

Busfield's short film, One Smart Fellow (2015), won the 2016 Audience Award at the 7th Williamsburg Independent Film Festival.

Timothy was inducted into the Sacramento Baseball Hall of Fame as a pitcher, in 2024.