Do you remember he started out as a stand-up comic... and a fine one at that...
I remember Tim doing Stand-Up. Kind of a west coast version of Mort Sahl. I think that also helped enormously with his timing later on in television and film.
One of my favorite Tim Thomerson roles (besides Jack Deth) was as an old "Rice Paddy Daddy" and buddy of Sgt. Zack in an episode of CBS's "Tour Of Duty". Tim's charcter had "Been There" and "Done That". Was a screw-up and drunk back at the Base Camp, but rock solid in the bush.
Come to think of it. Tim would have made a fairly decent "Sgt. Rock".
Jack.