Mr. Thornton is a character in the 1996 film, Twister, who is portrayed by Richard Lineback.
Mr. Thornton was the father of Jo Ann Harding and the wife of Mrs. Thornton. He had owned a farm during this period of time. In June 1969, prior to his daughter's 6th birthday, he was drinking coffee and watching a weather report which reported a tornado warning. He initially thought it was a normal thunderstorm, but then saw that the storm was producing a large F5 tornado when he heard a staring growling noise from outside. After his wife grabbed Jo, they headed towards their storm cellar, while telling her about the tornado heading right for them. As his daughter comforted their dog Toby, Thornton noticed that the cellar door started to shudder. He ran towards the stairs and with all his strength, tried to keep the cellar door firmly shut, but he couldn't due to the howling winds of the large tornado, getting closer every second. He tried to keep the cellar door shut, but unfortunately, the tornado was too strong, causing him and the cellar door to be ripped away. He screamed in fear as the tornado sucked him in, along with the cellar door with his wife and daughter watching in horror.