A reliable, unassuming character player of 1970s TV and 80s and 90s features, most typically in tough roles, Tighe [pronounced "tie"] first came to attention as one of the two paramedics on the long-running NBC medical drama, "Emergency!" (1972-77). As Roy DeSoto, the sandy-haired medic on the move, Tighe and co-star Randolph Mantooth brought quiet assurance and their likably ordinary looks to heroic roles which developed a huge following, especially among children. The two actors, in fact, also provided voices to an animated version of the series.

As "Emergency!" and his contract with Universal came to an end, Tighe continued for a while in stalwart TV roles (e.g., Thomas Jefferson in the miniseries "The Rebel" 1979), but worked increasingly on the stage. He performed in many regional, Broadway and London productions including "Buried Child", "Equus", "Design for Living" and "Open Admissions". Before 1987 Tighe had only made a handful of feature film appearances, but after John Sayles cast him as a cruel strikebreaker in "Matewan", an entirely new and busy career opened up for the actor. His face and build a bit heavier, his voice a little more gravelly, Tighe enjoyed an impressive range of tense worker types and grim villain roles. He was the owner of the rough-and-tumble club in "Road House" (1989), a weathered brigadier general in "Geronimo: An American Legend" (1993), a prep school coach in "School Ties" (1992) and, in one of his several other roles for Sayles, one of the gamblers who starts the scandal in "Eight Men Out" (1988). One especially memorable Tighe performance was as the harried, small-town insurance salesman, cuckolded by Johnny Depp, who has a fateful encounter with his children's wading pool in the offbeat "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" (1993). TV-movies also picked up for the actor and have included "Betrayal of Trust" (1994) and "Spy Games" (1991), the latter reuniting him with Mantooth.

In 1995, Tighe returned to series TV in the ABC drama "Murder One". As Dave Blalock, a former cop turned private investigator, Tighe held his own in scenes with series star Daniel Benzali, bringing a world-weariness and sense of dedication to what could have been a stock character. He also enjoyed a recurring role on NBC low-rated cult comedy-drama "Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000).