#tomarnold

Wow, is Tom Arnold, writer, producer, comedian, star on screens big and small, and an old friend of my beau’s, inspiring! And fun! The latter, no surprise. The former, almost shocking. His talent has always been brilliantly apparent, but this was not the fast-talking, almost scarily manic man I saw interview Shep Gordon ten years ago. A far cry from it. Today’s Tom still has a lot to say but this Tom is humble, thoughtful, wise, generous with his experience, strength, hope, heart, and time, and very clearly sober. To say he’s impressive is grossly understated. I’m in awe of his transformation and his strength of character. Tom’s devotion to his children is so sweetly sincere, it’s obvious they’re the loves and focus of his life. At 64, which he unabashedly shares, it’s so lovely to behold his joy describing what many parents might perceive as mundane tasks. Tom appears to take none of it for granted. (Dig his orange Daddy nails!) We spoke of his own troubled childhood, his alcoholic, disappearing mother, sans rules, his young father left to care for three small children when he was but a child himself, the abuse Tom suffered, and the justice he later sought and achieved as much as that was possible, the impact of Andy Kaufman on young Tom, his starting to do standup, Roseanne, writing, his marriage (s) - there have been four, and the mess of his current divorce - turning that lemon into lemonade with his thoughtful Divorce Party Podcast, his addictions, getting sober, going out and doing it again, a couple of times, most recently, off Benzos, Tom says very much as horrendous as portrayed in Dope Sick. It feels to this recovering addict like this time it’s for keeps. Tom Arnold is a model of recovery. He goes to meetings, is of service, both inside and out of the rooms, lives an honest, thoughtful, generous life, and is doing some of the best work of his career.  He spoke of some major health scares, Arnold Schwarzenegger, losing 80 pounds and how he did and is keeping it off. In reverence to the strike, we spoke of only one of his upcoming projects - Underdeveloped - which received a waiver perhaps as it shines a light on studio greed. It drops Sept 8th on Tubi. 

I’ve long been a fan of Tom Arnold’s work. I’m now a devoted fan of the man. The hour flew. Like all great entertainers, he left me wanting more, more, more! 

Tom Arnold Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, August 23rd, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

StreamedLive on The Facebook

Replay here:

Today, Live! Are you kidding me, or what? Tom Arnold, writer, producer, comedian, star on screens big and small, and an old friend of my beau's, doncha know... What crazy fun is this gonna be? Psyched!

Tom Arnold Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wed, August 23rd, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

Streaming Live on The Facebook