Let’s talk about the man who truly knows how to light up a room, even on the red carpet. At the National Archives Foundation gala, Tom Hanks wasn’t just another celebrity showing up for a photo op—he was the life of the party. He shook hands, posed for pictures, and even cracked jokes that had the paparazzi in stitches. "You want my pretty smile? Good luck with that," Tom quipped, mugging for the cameras like a true pro. One observer told Closer, “Tom had so much energy—he was laughing, telling jokes, and just being the Tom Hanks we all know and love.”
From Screen to Story: Tom Hanks’ Journey
Tom Hanks, the 61-year-old Hollywood icon, isn’t just a pretty face or a talented actor. He’s often called "the nicest guy in show business," and there’s a reason for that. His charm and humor didn’t come out of nowhere—they were forged in the fires of a challenging childhood. Growing up, Tom faced an uncertain home life that shaped him into the warm, funny, and likable person we see today. He’s the third of four kids, and his world was far from the idyllic TV families he watched on screen. "Our world did not reflect everybody else’s or what we saw on TV," Tom admits. When his parents divorced in 1961, he was just five years old. "My baby brother stayed with mom, and we went off with my dad," he recalls. And it didn’t stop there. By the time he was 10, Tom had lived in 10 different homes, thanks to his father’s frequent moves.
A Look Back: Tom’s Nomadic Childhood
Tom in 1980.
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But Tom has come a long way from those days. He says he's made peace with his past, partly thanks to writing his recently released book of short stories, Uncommon Type. "My siblings would say it wasn’t that fun—we were miserable," he admits. "But in some ways it was very cool, because we laughed a lot." Tom and his siblings were left to their own devices while their father worked in the restaurant industry. "He was gone all day and wouldn’t come home until 11 at night," Tom recalls. Living in a less-than-ideal rented apartment, the family left their mark—literally. "If you scraped the amount of burnt tomato soup off the stove, it would have been like an archaeological dig!" he jokes. "We had scarred that place until the refrigerator was on its last leg. My dad moved out without even attempting to get his deposit back!"
Happy Memories Amid the Chaos
Despite the challenges, Tom has plenty of happy memories to look back on. One of his favorites? A birthday visit from his mom, Janet, which inspired a story set in 1970 in his new collection. "I realized as a kid I was only totally alone with my mom five or six times by the time I was in high school," he says. "In those times, I felt special—it was just me and my mom. That was great." It took five marriages between them for Tom’s parents to finally find happiness, but by then their children had grown up. "Maybe it would have been a bit better if they’d done it when I was in fifth grade as opposed to when I was 42!" he jokes. Writing his first book allowed Tom to reflect on his nomadic childhood with warmth and forgiveness instead of sorrow. "It’s the luck of the draw," he says. "I never had a problem with being new in school—I kind of enjoyed it."
View this post on Instagram.@tomhanks getting ready for some fun @bcrfcure @wcrfcure
Life Lessons and Love: Tom Hanks Today
Tom has taken the lessons from his childhood and used them to build a more settled, happy life with his wife of 29 years, Rita Wilson. "Today I meditated twice," he reveals. "It got me through the day." When it comes to his successful marriage, Tom says the secret is simple: "Always telling the truth." His challenging childhood also helped shape him into the storyteller he is today. "It’s become a brand of self-discovery," he says of writing. "The past is important to us… and I realized that I actually had nostalgia for my former homes. It was a blast."
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