birth_place name birth_date article_title birth_name occupation
columbus , ohio , us william thomas , jr. . november 1947 william thomas , jr.
 william thomas , jr. . actor
william thomas , jr.

william thomas , jr. -lrb- born november 1947 in columbus , ohio -rrb- is an african american actor .
he is known for his recurring role as vanessa huxtable 's fiancé dabnis brickey on the long-running nbc sitcom `` the cosby show '' .
he portrayed the character from 1991 to 1992 , during the series ' eighth and final season .
prior to his work on `` the cosby show '' , thomas portrayed cool charles on the critically acclaimed but short-lived 1987-1988 cbs comedy-drama `` frank 's place '' , which starred tim reid and his wife daphne maxwell reid .
he also portrayed det. william donald potts on steven bochco 's widely-panned 1990 abc musical-drama `` cop rock '' .
before coming to hollywood , william appeared on broadway in `` godspell '' , `` your arms are too short to box with god '' , and as jacob in the original production of `` la cage aux folles '' .
he has also appeared on `` the bold and the beautiful '' in 2005 as an ins agent .
movie credits include `` mambo kings '' , `` bruce almighty '' , and `` christmas with the kranks '' .
thomas is an ordained christian minister .
