Surgery is a success

Well guys I had the Gastic Bypass Surgery and it was a huge success. I had the surgery June 3rd and I have now lost 80 lbs. WOW! I feel great! I am so excited about my new life and body. I feel younger and happier and healthier. It was a blessing and gift from God. I hope I can inspire other who need this surgery to go ahead and have it. It truly saved my life. Thank you to my wonderful Dr. and all the staff. I will post a picture soon so you can all see the remarkable results

Surgery is scheduled

Well Its been a while since my last entry but Ive been busy working on a new show for Logo TV called "Shirts and Skins" scheduled for the fall TV season. Also there have been some changes in my type of Surgery. I am no longer having the Lap Band surgery, I'm having the Gastric Bypass as per the advice of my Doctor. I'm excited and having the Surgery on June 5th. Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe

I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Russell Crowe at the Hollywoowd Film Festival. He was very friendly and down to earth. I had just finished interviewing Director Michael Mann who told Russell to trust me and give me the interview. ET Hard Copy and TV Guide all tried to get Russell to talk but he would only talk to me! Thank you Michael Mann! Check out the short clip from my interview.

Did you vote?

It was election day Feb. 5th and boy did the masses get out and vote. I was an election official at my local precinct (A Baptist Church in the valley) and its was swamped. Everyone should try to volunteer as an election poll worker sometime and see how our voting system works first hand. I was the inspector for my precinct and it was my job to set up the polling place and assign jobs to all the clerks. Our precinct had 6 clerks. We had a total of 300 voters turn out at our precinct which was a record high. I had to first take a 3 hour class prior to the elections and then also had to make arrangements to pick up the supplies and all the machines used at the polls. It filled my car!. I had to be at the polls at 6am to set up for the 7 am opening and worked all day until 8 when they closed and then had to count ballots and box everything up and return it all that night to the designated drop off place. I didn't get home till 10pm. It was a long but fullfilling day. I did my civic duty and enjoyed most of the process.

I think for the most part we have a great system for voting but I noticed a lot of people had no Idea how to vote or what issues were on the ballots or even what party they were? I was very happy to see so may new first time voters out there utilizing their right to make a difference. Evey vote counts. I was also moved to see a 96 year old man voting as an American citizen for the first time. He had just recieved his American citizenship and was so proud and happy to vote. I am proud to be an American in a country that allows us freedom and the right to choose the leaders of our choice. I also loved the little traditions that went along with the poll working like at 7 am you shout outside: "The Polls are Now Open", and administering the "Oath", to to the clerks that they would: uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. These traditions have been apart of the election process from the beginning.

My Doctors check up

On Saturday I had a pre op. check up with Dr. Lara. As per my surgeon I will need to make sure Im healthy and ready to have the Lap Band Operation. This involves getting pre op. blood tests and sugar levals and high blood pressure tests along with an upper GI (sounds horrible) . My Blood pressure is normal and my sugar levels have gone down but Im still taking Diabetes medication to regulate it. I will be having the upper GI next week and if all goes well I will get cleared for the surgery. Im hoping to have the surgery in 30 days and if the insurance and Dr Liu (my surgeon) approve it I will be on my journey soon.

My interview with Morgan Freeman

Myself and the amazing actor Morgan Freeman. I interviewd Mr Freeman at the Hollywood Film Festival and he said "As an actor you must be real to your character and your Character must be real". Check back for a clip from my on camera interview.

John Travolta & Tom at the Hollywood Film Festival

I interviewd John Travolta at the Hollywood Film Festival where he was getting a Lifetime achievement Award. John was amazing and talked about his family and wife Kelly Preston whom I had worked with years ago on the film "Secret Admirer" I remember I was driving an old 1966 Chevy and Kelly had asked me for a ride after the shoot to downtown Hollywood. and I was so impressed by her charm and beauty. John is a lucky man

Why I am here!

Hello to everyone on cyberland. This is my first entry in the blog world so please bear with me, I'm new to this. I decided to start the blog with the help and encouragement of a friend and fellow blogger Fightin' Mad Mary. She is an inspiration and amazing support. I never would have started with out her help. Well, first of all Im an actor in Hollywood. Let me clarify this, Im a character Actor in Hollywood. For those of you who dont know what a character actor is let me explain. Every year thousands of young beautiful hot men and women flock to Hollywood chasing the deam of Stardom. Well I was one of them once. I was young but I was never beautiful or hot. I was an average looking overweight guy from the midwest who loved acting and wanted to pursue a dream. A Character Actor. Wow was I in for the shock of my life. I had acted for years in High school, College and even done Summer Stock but nothing I had done could prepare me for Hollywood. Hollywood, the land of dreams, hopes, and rejection.

Well, I was very lucky and had been already cast in a film before I ever left home. My first role was in a little film called "Purple Rain" starring a little know singer at the time named Prince. This was to change my life forever. I was attending college in Wisconsin when I heard about an audition on the radio being held about 2 hours away in Minnesota at the Airport Holiday Inn. All the radio announcer said was to come dressed funky, sexy, wierd and wild. Well. I had access to the College Costume shop so I rummeged through the costumes and found some skin tight gold lame pants with a wild green satin shirt and a large safari hat with a feather and off I went to the audition. Well when I showed up there were over 6 thousand people there and only 2 speaking parts available. I waited in line for hours and finally got to sign up and get my picture taken. Well that was it. They told us all to go hame and if they needed us we would get a call. When I got home there was a message on my machine. I had gotten the part and was to report to the Production offices the next day for my costume fitting and to get my script. I was going to be in a Hollywood Movie. My scene was to be with stars Prince and Appolonia. I had a blast on the set and the Producers liked me so much they asked me to come to Hollywood for a Screen test for another film. I was on my way. Well I did go to Hollywood and I did test but I didnt get the role, however at the screen test there was another Producer watching named Bob Rosen who saw me and wanted me for his next film. A comedy called "Porkey's Revenge" I played young Snooky. Well here I was, a working actor in Hollywood. I did over 30 films, many commercials, sit coms, pilots and even a talk show called "Interviews of a Lifetime".

Now to the reason I'm here. I have decided to embark on another journey, this one will effect my acting career and also my life. I have decided to have bariatric surgery. For those of you out there who dont know what that is, it is The LAP-BAND surgery which is an adjustable gastric band designed to help you lose excess body weight, improve weight-related health conditions and enhance quality of life. The big question is how will it affect my career and my life. Stay tuned for further installments of my blog to see! I will also talk about my many films and my talk show. I have interviewed over 2000 Celebrities and OMG the stories I have on camera are amazing. From Clint Eastwood, Halle Berry, Russel Crowe, Dustin Hoffman, and many many more.

Anna Nicole Smith, Another Candle in the Wind

Tom and the late great Anna Nicole Smith at the Beverly Hills Hotel Oscar Party . Anna was gracious to give me 2 interviews. She was always kind and affectionate. I will cherish my memories of her and post a clip of the exclusive never before seen interview soon so you can all see how fun and playful she was.