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Tom Hanks

Tom HanksAKA Thomas Jeffrey Hanks

Born: 9-Jul-1956
Birthplace: Concord, CA

Gender: Male
Religion: Born-Again Christian [1]
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Forrest Gump

Hanks's parents divorced when he was very young, and he was raised by his father, a chef who often moved in pursuit of work. Hanks went to five different elementary schools, and grew up a shy child. He reinvented himself as a class clown in high school, and eventually took drama classes and began appearing in school plays.

His first film was 1980's He Knows You're Alone, a deservedly forgotten thriller, and his crossdressing sitcom Bosom Buddies with Peter Scolari was cancelled quickly. His second film was Splash, a silly but sweet story of inter-species romance, with Daryl Hannah, and John Candy. For several years after Splash, Hanks continued as a comedic actor -- Big, The 'burbs, A League of Their Own. Hanks took more serious work in the 1990s, winning Oscars for Philadelphia and Forest Gump. He played astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo 13, and was praised for Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile. From Saving Private Ryan to Catch Me If You Can, he had seven consecutive films that broke the $100 million "blockbuster" barrier. He reportedly demands $25 million per movie.

As a producer, Hanks delivered the top-notch HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon and Band of Brothers, and Nia Vardalos' indie hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He wrote, directed, produced, and took a supporting role in the rock'n'roll fable That Thing You Do!. In his next film, Hanks will play Charlie Wilson, the real-life Texas Congressman who was caught in a hot-tub tryst with two cocaine-snorting prostitutes, but was re-elected and went on to secretly supply funds for Osama bin Laden's Mujahadeen resistance in Afghanistan.

Despite the perception that The Green Mile was a statement against the death penalty, Hanks says he has no problem with capital punishment. He campaigned publicly for anyone-but-Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's 2003 election for Governor, and Hanks has promised he will never seek elected office himself.

In 2003, the contractor who built Hanks' remote, sprawling Idaho mansion and compound, including several guesthouses, filed a lawsuit to collect $1.75 million in allegedly unpaid fees. Hanks responded by threatening a countersuit, pointing out that their contract specified that any disputes would be resolved through confidential, binding arbitration, a clause specifically intended to deflect any potential for bad press. The court records were promptly sealed, the matter went to arbitration, and the following year a spokesman for the construction company said he was "thrilled" with the arbitrators' decision, but forbidden to comment further.


[1] Hanks was raised in the Roman Catholic church, but as a boy he also attended Mormon services with his stepmother and Nazarene services with his aunt. He has said that in high school he had "a serious born-again experience", and he joined the Greek Orthodox Church when he married his second wife, actress Rita Wilson.

Father: Amos Hanks (chef, d. 1992)
Mother: Janet Turner Hanks (div. 1960)
Sister: Sandra Hanks (author, b. 31-Jul-1951 to Amos and Janet Hanks)
Brother: Larry Hanks (teaches entomology at the University of Illinois, b. 26-Jan-1953 to Amos and Janet Hanks)
Mother: Winifred Hanks (stepmother)
Brother: Jim Hanks (actor, b. 15-Jun-1961 to Amos and Winifred Hanks)
Wife: Samantha Lewes ("Susan Dillingham", b. 1952, m. 1978, sep. 1985, div. 1987, d. 2002 bone cancer, 2 children)
Son: Colin Hanks (actor, b. 24-Nov-1977)
Daughter: Elizabeth Ann Hanks (b. 17-May-1982)
Wife: Rita Wilson (actress, m. 30-Apr-1988, two sons)
Son: Chester Marlon Hanks (rapper p/k/a Chet Haze, b. 4-Aug-1990)
Son: Truman Theodore Hanks (b. 26-Dec-1995)

    High School: Skyline High School, Oakland, CA (1974)
    University: Chabot Junior College (transferred)
    University: California State University Sacramento (dropped out)

    Al Franken for Senate
    Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
    Gore 2000
    Hillary Clinton for President
    Hillary Rodham Clinton for US Senate Committee
    National Space Society Board of Governors
    Obama for America
    Obama Victory Fund 2012
    Endorsement of Intel Consumer Electronics Show keynote, Las Vegas, NV (5-Jan-2006)
    Endorsement of Sony Consumer Electronics Show keynote, Las Vegas, NV (8-Jan-2009)
    Oscar for Best Actor 1994 for Philadelphia
    Oscar for Best Actor 1995 for Forrest Gump
    Emmy 1998 for From the Earth to the Moon (shared)
    Emmy 2002 for Band of Brothers (shared)
    American Film Institute Life Achievement Award 2002
    Hollywood Walk of Fame 7030 Hollywood Blvd.
    Born-Again Christian
    Funeral: Diana, Princess of Wales (1997)
    Funeral: Nora Ephron (2012)
    Risk Factors: Marijuana, Diabetes

    TELEVISION
    Bosom Buddies Kip Wilson (1980-82)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
    Larry Crowne (30-Jun-2011)
    That Thing You Do (14-Sep-1996)

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Toy Story 4 (14-Jun-2019) [VOICE]
    The Post (14-Dec-2017)
    The Circle (26-Apr-2017)
    Inferno (8-Oct-2016)
    Sully (2-Sep-2016)
    A Hologram for the King (20-Apr-2016)
    Bridge of Spies (4-Oct-2015)
    Saving Mr. Banks (20-Oct-2013)
    Captain Phillips (27-Sep-2013)
    Killing Lincoln (17-Feb-2013) · Himself
    Cloud Atlas (8-Sep-2012)
    Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (25-Dec-2011) · Thomas Schell
    Larry Crowne (30-Jun-2011) · Larry Crowne
    Toy Story 3 (12-Jun-2010) · Woody [VOICE]
    The Pacific (14-Mar-2010)
    Angels & Demons (7-May-2009)
    The Great Buck Howard (18-Jan-2008) · Mr. Gable
    Charlie Wilson's War (21-Dec-2007)
    The Simpsons Movie (21-Jul-2007) · Himself [VOICE]
    The Da Vinci Code (17-May-2006)
    Cars (14-Mar-2006) [VOICE]
    The Polar Express (21-Oct-2004) · Santa Claus
    Elvis Has Left the Building (27-Aug-2004) · Mailbox Elvis
    The Terminal (9-Jun-2004) · Viktor Navorski
    The Ladykillers (26-Mar-2004)
    Catch Me If You Can (16-Dec-2002) · Carl Hanratty
    Road to Perdition (12-Jul-2002) · Michael Sullivan
    America: A Tribute to Heroes (21-Sep-2001) · Himself
    Band of Brothers (9-Sep-2001)
    Cast Away (7-Dec-2000)
    The Green Mile (6-Dec-1999) · Paul Edgecomb
    Toy Story 2 (13-Nov-1999) · Woody [VOICE]
    You've Got Mail (18-Dec-1998)
    Return with Honor (3-Oct-1998) · Narrator
    Saving Private Ryan (24-Jul-1998) · Capt. Miller
    From the Earth to the Moon (5-Apr-1998) · Himself
    That Thing You Do (14-Sep-1996) · Mr. White
    Toy Story (22-Nov-1995) [VOICE]
    The Celluloid Closet (13-Sep-1995) · Himself
    Apollo 13 (30-Jun-1995) · Jim Lovell
    Forrest Gump (23-Jun-1994) · Forrest Gump
    Philadelphia (23-Dec-1993) · Andrew Beckett
    Sleepless in Seattle (25-Jun-1993) · Sam Baldwin
    A League of Their Own (1-Jul-1992)
    The Bonfire of the Vanities (21-Dec-1990)
    Joe Versus the Volcano (9-Mar-1990)
    Turner & Hooch (28-Jul-1989) · Scott Turner
    The 'burbs (17-Feb-1989)
    Punchline (7-Oct-1988)
    Big (3-Jun-1988) · Josh
    Dragnet (26-Jun-1987) · Streebeck
    Every Time We Say Goodbye (14-Nov-1986)
    Nothing in Common (30-Jul-1986) · David Basner
    The Money Pit (26-Mar-1986) · Walter Fielding
    Volunteers (16-Aug-1985) · Lawrence Bourne III
    The Man with One Red Shoe (19-Jul-1985) · Richard
    Bachelor Party (29-Jun-1984)
    Splash (9-Mar-1984) · Allen Bauer
    Mazes and Monsters (28-Dec-1982)
    He Knows You're Alone (12-Sep-1980)

Is the subject of books:
Tom Hanks: The Unauthorized Biography, 2000, BY: David Gardner


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