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Trivia
Birth name: Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
Date of birth: 9 July 1956
Place of birth: Concord, California, USA
Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
Nickname: Tom
Spouse: Rita Wilson (30 April 1988 - present) 2 children,
Samantha Lewes (24 January 1978 - 19 March 1987) (divorced) 2 children.
Is a frequent guest host on "Saturday
Night Live" (1975).
Received the Distinguished Public Service
Award, the U. S. Navy's highest civilian honor, on Veterans Day 1999 for
his work in the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Entertainment Weekly chose him as the only
actor worthy of $20 million.
Dislocated his shoulder when he fell through
a rotting floor in building in Germany while scouting locations with
Steven Spielberg for prospective HBO series, "Band of
Brothers" (2001) (mini). [Fall 1999]
Rumored to be executive producer on a new
Fox show, "West Point" (2000). [1999]
First to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars
since Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938).
Ranked #17 in Empire (UK) magazine's
"The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Attended Skyline high school, Oakland,
California.
Attended Chabot College in Hayward,
California.
Attended California State University,
Sacramento.
Voted best actor by the readers of the
"US Magazine" in 1995.
Brother of Jim Hanks.
After a one-shot guest appearance on
"Happy Days" (1974), producer Ron Howard asked him to read for
a secondary part in Splash (1984), and he got the lead instead.
Children, with Lewes, Colin Hanks (b. 1977)
and Elizabeth Hanks (b. 1982).
Married first wife Samantha Lewes (real
name: Susan Dillingham) two months after their son, Colin, was born.
Hanks cited the help of a nearby ice cream
shop which helped him gain 30 pounds for his role in A League of Their
Own (1992).
Received emergency treatment for serious
staph infection in leg in summer, 1999 after returning from overseas
location shoot.
Was asked to play the title role in Jerry
Maguire (1996).
Born at 11:17 AM
His Oscar acceptance speech for 1993's
Philadelphia (1993) led to the plot of the movie In & Out (1997).
Hanks thanked a gay teacher in his speech.
Has another brother who is a professor at
the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, IL.
Received American Film Institute's Life
Achievement Award, presented by fellow Oscar-winner Steven Spielberg on
12 June 2002 in Los Angeles. The youngest ever recipient.
Has also credited Joe Spano, former co-star
of "Hill Street Blues" (1981), as being another of his most
important early inspirations.
Returned to Skyline High School, his old
school in Oakland, CA, to dedicate a renovated theater named for Rawley
T. Farnsworth, the retired drama teacher he thanked in his
"Philadelphia" Oscar speech. Oakland Tribune reports Hanks
donated about 1/4 of the $465,000 cost of the project. Then he led
audience of some 1000 people in chorus of "There's No Business Like
Show Business". (3 June 2002)
According to Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard),
he is a huge Trekkie and the first time the two met, Star Trek was the
only thing he wanted to talk about. Hanks was actually the original
choice to play Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and
desperately wanted to play the role, but had to back out due to his
earlier commitment to That Thing You Do! (1996).
Is a member of the International Thespian
Society (a group supporting theatre for high school students
internationally).
Children with Rita Wilson: Chester Marlon
(b. 4 August 1990) and Truman Theodore (b. 26 December 1995).
Jim Lovell, whom Hanks played in Apollo 13
(1995), is actually left-handed, but Hanks refused to write with his
left hand for the movie.
Tom Hanks is a fourth cousin, four
generations removed from Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United
States. Their common ancestors were William and Sarah Hanks, who were
great-great-great grandparents of the former president.
Ranked #13 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power
100 List. Had ranked #15 in 2002.
Is a diehard Cleveland Indians baseball team
fan.
Ranked #1 on Star TV's Top Ten Box Office
stars of the 1990s (2003)
Lost 30 lbs. for his role in Philadelphia
(1993).
Gained, then lost 50+ lbs. for his role in
Cast Away (2000).
Is a fan of English Premier League soccer
team Aston Villa.
Has been referred to by many as "the
modern James Stewart".
His heroic Oscar-winning gay character
Andrew Beckett in the 1993 film Philadelphia (1993) was ranked #49 on
the Amerian Film Institute's heroes list of the 100 years of The
Greatest Screen Heroes and Villians.
He was voted the 26th Greatest Movie Star of
all time by Entertainment Weekly.
His three favorite bands/artists are Elvis
Presley, Patrick Rondat and Alabama Thunderpussy.
His first wife, Samantha Lewes, died of
cancer.
Had made three films with director Steven
Spielberg, all of which are tied to Europe. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
revolved around his character and his infantry seeking out a missing
private in Europe. Catch Me If You Can (2002) involved his character
tracking down Frank Abagnale Jr. in France and in The Terminal (2004),
his character was from the fictional eastern European country of
Krakohzia.
Shortly before the release of Columbia
Pictures' Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), he was one of
several actors speaking out against the use of "synthespians"
(computer-generated actors) in the place of flesh-and-blood humans.
Nevertheless, he took the lead role in the computer-animated film The
Polar Express (2004), a film highly-publicized for its use of new (and
expensive) technique of digital actors.
In 1994 - 2004 period, he is the most
nominated performer nominated for an Academy Award (4 times, along Sean
Penn, Meryl Streep, Julianne
Moore, Judi Dench and Ed
Harris) and is the most winner (2 times).
Was considered for the role of Peter Banning
(Peter Pan) in Hook (1991).
Was listed as a potential nominee on the
2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Actor
category for his roles in the films The Polar Express (2004) (Referred
to as "Bi-Polar Express" on the ballot), The Ladykillers
(2004) and The Terminal (2004). He did not receive a nomination however.
Has been good friends with Bruce Springsteen
since youth.
When he once worked as a hotel bellman, some
of the celebrity guests whose bags he carried included, Cher,
Sidney Poitier, Slappy White and Bill Withers
He was voted the 28th Greatest Movie Star of
all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Appears uncredited as a member of the
Mountie choir for "The Lumberjack Song" in Concert for George
(2003) (TV)
He is an environmental conservationist and
often advocates and supports natural causes.
In three of his movies, he has had a scene
where he is stranded at sea: Splash (1984), Joe Versus the Volcano
(1990), and Cast Away (2000).
Has worked with two actors who played Howard
Hughes. In Philadelphia (1993), he worked with Jason Robards, who played
Hughes in Melvin and Howard (1980) for director Jonathan Demme. His cast
mate in Catch Me If You Can (2002) was Leonardo DiCaprio, who played
Hughes in The Aviator (2004) for Martin Scorsese.
He and actress Meg Ryan have been co-stars
in three movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe
Versus the Volcano (1990) and You've Got Mail (1998).
Shares his birthday with Jack White, David
O'Hara, Courtney Love, Chris Cooper, O.J. Simpson and Donald Rumsfeld.
Ancestors of his from England, many of whom
eventually settled in America, sharing the name "Hanks" can be
traced back several centuries.
Attended John Swett Elementary School
(Oakland, California)
Member of the Board of Governors of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Actors Branch) [2001]
Related to Bill Cosby's wife Camille (nee
Hanks), both share lineage with Abraham Lincoln through his mother Nancy
Hanks. |
