Tom Alter 70th Birth Anniversary: Interesting Facts About the Indian Actor of American Descent Who Wowed Fans With His Impeccable Talent

Thomas Beach Alter, one of the finest actors in the Indian cinema was born on June 22, 1950. An Indian actor, with American descent, Tom Alter was a great actor and a theatre artist during his times. As we observe the 70th birth anniversary of the decorated actor, we at LatestLY, bring some of the lesser-known facts and interesting things about Tom Alter’s life and career to you. Aaron Taylor-Johnson Birthday: Some Interesting Facts You Didn't Know About The Actor.

1. It is a little-known fact that Tom Alter was the son of American missionaries of English, Scottish, and Swiss-German ancestry.

2. Tom Alter’s family lived in Lahore back then. However, his grandparents chose to stay in Pakistan, while his first family moved to India after the ‘Partition of India’.

3. His American heritage didn’t hold him back when it came to learning Hindi and other subjects. Tom Alter was so good in Hindi that he was referred to as ‘blue-eyed saheb with impeccable Hindi’.

4. Not many people know it was Rajesh Khanna-starrer film ‘Aradhana’ that inspired Tom Alter to turn into actions. He decided to take admission in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1972, and there was no turning back. The rest they say is history.

5. Tom Alter’s first break was Dev Anand-starrer ‘Saheb Bahadur’ in 1977. However, his first film was Ramanand Sagar’s Charas, which saw an early release in 1976. Helen Hunt Birthday: A Look At Some Interesting Facts About The Actress And Director.

6. Tom Alter was an amazing stage actor. During his acting days, he along with Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani formed a group ‘Motley Productions’.

7. Not many people know that Tom Alter was a great writer too. Alter also worked as a journalist in his illustrious career. He has worked for Outlook, Firstpost, Debonair, and other prominent publications.

8. It is a little-known fact that it was Tom Alter who the first one to video interview Sachin Tendulkar in 1988.

9. In 2008, Tom Alter was awarded the Padma Shri award for his immense contribution in the field of arts and cinema.

Tom Alter breathed his last in 2017, due to Stage IV skin cancer. He passed away on September 22, after a prolonged illness. Tom Alter was a very popular actor in his times. Some of his popular films include Parinda, Aashiqui, Sardar, Parvarish, Kranti, Vidhaata, Karma, Tridev, Veer Zara, Bheja Fry among others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2020 12:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).