Tim Choate (October 11, 1954 – September 24, 2004) was an American actor born in Dallas, Texas. He studied at the University of Texas at Austin and Cornell University and worked extensively in theater, appearing on Broadway in Da and Crimes of the Heart and with the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. On screen he appeared in the Merchant Ivory films The Europeans, Jane Austen in Manhattan and Jefferson in Paris, as well as Times Square, Blow Out, Ghost Story, Def-Con 4, Soapdish and Pearl Harbor. On television he was best known as Zathras on Babylon 5, and he had a recurring role on Newhart. He died in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles.