Tom Alter






































Tom Alter

Tom Alter in 2013.jpg
Alter in 2013

Born
Thomas Beach Alter


(1950-06-22)22 June 1950

Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh (now in Uttarakhand), India

Died
(2017-09-29)29 September 2017 (aged 67)

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Occupation Actor
Years active 1976–2017
Spouse(s)
Carol Evans (m. 1977)
Children 2
Relatives
Martha Chen (sister)

Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017)[1] was an Indian actor of American descent.[2] He was best known for his work in Hindi cinema[3][4] and the Indian theatre.[5]


In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.[6][7]




Contents






  • 1 Early life


  • 2 Career


    • 2.1 Film


    • 2.2 Television


    • 2.3 Theatre


    • 2.4 Writing and journalism




  • 3 Personal life


  • 4 Filmography


    • 4.1 Film


    • 4.2 TV Series




  • 5 References


  • 6 External links





Early life


Born in Mussoorie in present-day Uttarakhand,[8] Tom Alter was the son of American Christian missionaries of Swiss German ancestry and lived for years in Mumbai and the Himalayan hill station of Landour. His grandparents migrated to India from Ohio, U.S., in November 1916, when they arrived in Madras.[9] From there, they moved to and settled in Lahore, in present-day Pakistan. His father was born in Sialkot.[9] After the India's Partition, Alter's family too split into two; his grandparents chose to stay in Pakistan while his parents moved to India. After living in Allahabad, Jabalpur and Saharanpur, they finally settled in 1954 in Rajpur, Uttarakhand, then a small town located between Dehradun and Mussoorie; Rajpur is now considered a suburb of Dehradun. Alter's siblings are older sister Martha Chen, who teaches at Harvard University[10] and brother John, a poet.[3]


As a child, Alter studied Hindi among other subjects in Mussoorie. Consequently, he came to be occasionally referred to as the "Blue-eyed saheb with impeccable Hindi."[11] He was educated in Mussoorie's Woodstock School. At 18, Alter left for the U.S. for higher education and studied at the Yale University for a year before returning to India upon losing interest in studies. The following year, he obtained work as a teacher at St. Thomas School, Jagadhri, in Haryana. He worked there for six months, simultaneously coaching his students in cricket. Over the next two and a half years, Alter worked several jobs, teaching for a while at Woodstock School, Mussoorie, and working at a hospital in the U.S., and returning to India before continuing to work at Jagadhri. At Jagadhri, he began to watch Hindi films.[9] It was during this time that he saw the Hindi film Aradhana, which proved to be a turning point in his career and drifted towards a career in acting, inspired by the lead actor Rajesh Khanna.[12] He headed to Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, where he studied acting from 1972 to 1974 under Roshan Taneja.[9] In a 2017 interview, he recalled, "I came to Mumbai to become Rajesh Khanna; didn't come to act on stage."[13]



Career



Film


After graduating from FTII, Alter headed straight to Bombay and soon got his first break in the Dev Anand starrer Saheb Bahadur (1977), directed by Chetan Anand. However, his first release was Ramanand Sagar's Charas. This was followed by roles in Ram Bharose, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin and Parvarish. He dubbed for actor Jeevan for the innocent person of the twin roles played by Jeevan in the film Amar Akbar Anthony.


Alter was fluent in Hindi and Urdu, and was knowledgeable about Indian culture. He could also read Urdu and was fond of Shayari.[9] He worked for noted filmmakers like Satyajit Ray in Shatranj Ke Khilari and is remembered for his role as a British officer in Kranti. He got the opportunity to act with his idol Rajesh Khanna in the film Naukri, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1978 and later in Chetan Anand's Kudrat. In Sardar, the 1993 film biography of Indian leader Sardar Patel, which focused on the events surrounding the partition and independence of India, Alter portrayed Lord Mountbatten of Burma.[14] He also acted in the Hollywood movie One Night with the King with Peter O'Toole.


In 1996 he appeared in the Assamese film Adajya, and in 2007 acted in William Dalrymple's City of Djinns alongside Zohra Sehgal and Manish Joshi Bismil. He also appeared in the solo play Maulana and the film Ocean of An Old Man.


Alter acted in the role of a doctor in Bheja Fry, a comedy movie starring Rajat Kapoor.


In April 2011 he acted in a short film Yours, Maria directed by Chirag Vadgama, playing the lead role of Matthew Chacha in the movie.


Alter lent his voice for the authorised audio autobiography of Dr. Verghese Kurien, titled The Man Who Made The Elephant Dance, which was released in 2012.


Some of his most famous movie roles have been as Musa in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's acclaimed crime drama Parinda, Mahesh Bhatt's blockbuster romance Aashiqui, and Ketan Mehta's Sardar, in which Alter essayed the role of Lord Mountbatten.



Television


Alter appeared in many Indian television series, including Samvidhaan, all of which were praised by audience for his acting. In Zabaan Sambhalke he played the role of a British writer, Charles Spencers, who lives in India and wants to learn Hindi language. He acted in TV series Khamosh Sa Afsana (as a Husain Baba), telecast on Doordarshan in 2014-15. In November 2014, he played Sahir Ludhianvi in a stage production based on life and work of the famous Urdu poet and film-lyricist. He also played a school teacher in Yahan Ke Hum Sikandar.[5] Alter has worked as the red robe guru in Mukesh Khanna's TV production Shaktiman (1998–2002). He played Indian characters in Indian television series, such as the long-running Junoon, in which he was the sadistic mob lord Keshav Kalsi.[14]



Theatre


Alter was also a stage actor. In 1977, he along with Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani formed a theatre group called Motley Productions. Their first play was Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, which was staged at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, on 29 July 1979. He has been performing at Prithvi Theatre ever since, his latest being an adaptation of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's My Grandad had an Elephant which was performed on 7 June 2011. He has also worked with the New Delhi theatre group Pierrot's Troupe.[5]


In the early 2000s, he played the Indian freedom fighter, Maulana Azad, in a solo Urdu language play.[15]


In Ghalib In Delhi he played the role of Mirza Ghalib, the great erstwhile Urdu poet.[16]


He was the lead actor in "Once Upon A Time", a collection of five short stories presented as vignettes, directed by Sujata Soni Bali, and co-starring prominent stage actor and TV personality Sunit Tandon. The production was last staged in Mumbai on 17 June 2017.



Writing and journalism


Alter has written books including The Longest Race, Rerun at Rialto, and The Best in the World. He was also a sports journalist with a special interest in cricket, a game on which he has written extensively in publications such as Sportsweek, Outlook, Cricket Talk, Sunday Observer, Firstpost, Citizen, and Debonair. He played cricket for a film industry team MCC (Match Cut Club), which includes Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Shah, Vishal Bhardwaj, Aamir Khan, Nana Patekar, Bhupinder Singh and Amarinder Sangha. He also wrote on cricket in Indian publications. In 1996, he was invited by friend Siraj Syed to Singapore, to do cricket commentary in Hindi, for Indian viewers, on the sports TV channel, ESPN.
In addition to acting, Alter also ventured into direction - he directed a one-shot episode for the short-lived series Yule Love Stories in the mid-1990s - and was a sports journalist in the late 1980s to early 1990s. He has written three books, one non-fiction and two fiction. Before his sudden death, Alter had just announced his inaugural feature film as a director called Rerun at Rialto, which was based on the book written by him.



Personal life


Alter married Carol Evans, a fellow Woodstock School student, in 1977. The marriage produced two children: son Jamie and daughter Afshaan.[17] Jamie has worked as a cricket writer for ESPNcricinfo[18] and CricBuzz,[19] and was also the sports editor of The Times of India.[20] As a cricket enthusiast himself, Tom wrote columns for newspapers and journals for over ten years.[21] He also worked as a journalist during the time and was the first to video interview Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in 1988.[22]


In September 2017, Alter was diagnosed with Stage IV skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma).[23] His thumb had been amputated a year earlier because of the condition.[24] He died on 29 September at his residence in Mumbai. A statement released on behalf of his family read: "It is with sadness we announce the death of our beloved Tom Alter, actor, writer, director, Padma Shri, and our dear husband and father. Tom passed away Friday night at home with his family and close family members in attendance. We ask for their privacy to be respected at this time."[25][26]



Filmography



Film











































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Year
Title
Role
Notes
1975

Mrig Trishna
Colonel Lawrence

1976

Charas
Chief Custom Officer

1976

Laila Majnu


1977

Shatranj Ke Khilari
Capt. Weston

1977

Hum Kisise Kum Naheen
Jack

1977

Parvarish
Mr. Jackson, Supremo's 2nd in Command

1977

Saheb Bahadur


1977

Ram Bharose
Tom

1977

Kanneshwara Rama
British Superintendent of police

Kannada film
1977

Chani


1978

Atyachaar


1978

Naukri
Mr. Anderson

1978

Des Pardes
Inspector Martin

1978

Kaala Aadmi


1979

Chamelee Memsaab


1979

Junoon
Priest

1979

Hum Tere Aashiq Hain
British Police Commissioner

1979

Salaam Memsaab
John

1980

Bharat Ki Santan


1980

Constans


1981

Kranti
British Officer

1981

Kudrat
Major Thomas Walters

1982

Meri Kahani


1982

Brij Bhoomi
Guest

Brajbhasha film
1982

Gandhi
Doctor at Aga Khan Palace

English film
1982

Vidhaata
David

1982

Swami Dada
Bob Simpson

1982

Jaanwar


1983

The Last Tiger


1983

Nastik
Mr. John

1983

Arpan
Tom

1983

Jaani Dost
Cobra's Goon

1983

Romance
Priest

1983

Gulami Ki Zaanjeerein


1984

Sharara


1984

Bad Aur Badnam
President of ringania
Uncredited
1985

Ram Teri Ganga Maili
Karam Singh (Ganga's Brother)

1985

Bond 303
Tom

1986

Shart
Alter

1986

Amma
British Officer

1986

Sultanat
Shah

1986

Karma
Rexson

1986

Chambal Ka Badshah


1986

Avinash
Tom

1986

Palay Khan


1986

Car Thief
John

1986

On Wings of Fire
Priest
English film
1987

Mr. X


1987

Jalwa
Voice of wrestler

1987

Woh Din Aayega
Somnath

1988

Etwa


1988

Commando
Hatcher

1988

Rukhsat
New York Police Capt. Morri

1988

Khoon Bhari Maang
Plastic Surgeon
Cameo appearance
1988

Janam Janam
DFO

1988

Sone Pe Suhaaga
Dr. Rex

1988

Ore Thooval Pakshikal


1989

Shagun


1989

Vardi
Tom

1989

Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro
Johan - (Jani Hippi)

1989

Daata
Pat

1989

Tridev
Dunhill

1989

Bye Bye Blues
Gilbert Wilson

1989

Parinda
Musa

1989

Swarn Trisha


1990

Aashiqui
Arnie Campbell

1990

Doodh Ka Karz
Frank

1990

Zimmedaaar
Mercus

1990

Atishbaz


1991

Farishtay
Guest Appearance

1991

Deshwasi


1991

Pahari Kanya
Doctor

Assamese language film
1991

Jab Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya


1992

Suryavanshi
Tom

1992

Tahalka
Dong's army captain

1992

Angaar
Public prosecutor
Uncredited
1992

Junoon
Harry

1993

Kala Coat
Alexander

1993

Gumrah
Insp. Phillip

1993

Sardar

Lord Mountbatten

1994

Insaniyat
British Intelligence

1994

Gajamukta


1994

Ekka Raja Rani
Mr. Rai
Uncredited
1995

Jai Vikraanta


1995

Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India!
Bidder

1995

Milan
Father Demello

1996

Kala Pani


1996

Adajya
Mark Sahib
Uncredited
Assamese language film
1997

Adajya
Mark Sahib

1997

Divine Lovers
Dr. Taubman

1998

Hanuman
Tom's Father

1999

Kabhi Paas Kabhi Fail


2000

Driving Miss Palmen
George Basilitz

2000

Shaheed Uddham Singh: Alais Ram Mohammad Singh Azad
Brig. Gen. Edward Harry Dwyer

2000

Champion
Doctor

2001

Veer Savarkar


2001

On Wings of Fire


2002

What Happened Then... !!!
Allen McGirvan

2002

Dil Vil Pyar Vyar
Special Appearance

2002

Bharat Bhagya Vidhata
Mohammed Jalaudin Ghaznavi

2003

Love at Times Square
Mr. Gery

2003

Dhund: The Fog
Uncle Tom

2003

A.O.D.
Sanjeev Sarkar

2003

Hawayein
Stephen

2003

Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo


2004

Aetbaar
Dr. Freddie

2004

Asambhav
Brian

2004

Veer-Zaara
Doctor

2004

Silence Please... The Dressing Room
Cricket coach Ivan Rodrigues
English film
2004

Mitter Pyare Nu Haal Mureedan Da Kehna
Ghosht Khan

2004

Ghar Grihasti
Drug smuggler

2004

Loknayak

Abul Kalam Azad

2005

Mission Vande Mataram


2005

Subash Chandra Bose
Governor Jackson

2005

Viruddh... Family Comes First
Anderson (British Consultate)

2005

The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey
Watson

2005

The Hangman
Father Mathew

2006

Hot Money


2006

Alag: He Is Different.... He Is Alone....
Dr. Richard Dyer

2006

One Night with the King
King Saul (prologue)
English film
2007

Foto


2007

I M IN LOVE
Church father

2007

Bheja Fry
Dr. Shepherd

2007

Kailashey Kelenkari
Sol Silverstein

Bengali film
2008

Ocean of an Old Man
Thomas - Teacher
English film
2008

Colours of Passion Rang Rasiya
Justice Richards

2009

Avatar
Adeitional Na'vi people
British-Australian-American film
2010

Muigwithania
Major David
English film
2010

Jaanleva
Mr. Malhotra

2011

With Love, Delhi!
Ajay

2011

Yours Maria
Matthew Chacha
Short
2011

Cycle Kick
Football Coach
English film
2011

Son of Flower
Major James Edwards
English film
2011

With Love, Delhi!
Historian (Kidnapper)
English film
2012

Jhansi Ki Rani Laxmibai


2012

Life Ki Toh Lag Gayi
Chicha

2012

Kevi Rite Jaish
Uncle Sam / Derek Thomas
Gujarati language film
2012

Son of Flower
Major James Edwards

2012

Jaanleva Black Blood


2013

Divana-e-Ishq


2013

The Corner Table
George Miller
English short film
2014

Daptar - The School Bag[27]
Magic Uncle

Marathi film
2014

M Cream
Mr. Bhardawaj
English / Hindi film
2014

Bhaangarh


2015

Bachpan Ek Dhokha


2015

Honour Killing
Mr. Smith

2015

Promise Dad
Raul

2015

Bangistan
The Imam

2015

The Path of Zarathustra
Mamwaji

2016

Anuragakarikkinvellam
Abhi's Boss

Malayalam film
2016

Life Flows On
Tom

English film
2017

Sargoshiyan
Alan Alter

Hindi film
2017

2016 The End


Hindi film
2018

Redrum
Eric Fernandez

Hindi film
2018

The Black Cat


English Film


TV Series



































































































Period
Name
Role
Genre
Channel
Notes
1993-1997

Zabaan Sambhalke
Charles Spencers

Sitcom

DD Metro Home TV

1994

The Great Maratha
Robert Clive
Historical drama

DD National

Hindi
1994-1998

Junoon
Keshav Kalsi
Drama

DD Metro

1997-1998

Betaal Pachisi
Harry
Fantasy

DD National

1998-1999

Captain Vyom
Vishwapramukh
Science-fiction, Action

DD National

1998-2005

Shaktiman
Mahaguru


DD National

2003-2004

Hatim
King of Paristan
Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller

STAR Plus

Hindi, Urdu, Tamil languages
2011-2013

Yahan Ke Hum Sikandar[28]
Samuel
Drama

DD National

2017

Rishton Ka Chakravyuh
Somdev Guruji
Soap-opera, Drama

STAR Plus

2018
Wilderness Days
Anchor
Wildlife TV Series

Epic TV
Hindi Language
2018

Smoke (web series)
Moshe Barak
Web series

Eros Now
Hindi Language


References





  1. ^ "Actor Tom Alter Dies Of Cancer At 67". NDTV. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ "Tom Alter (1950-2017): The on-screen 'firangi' who remained forever Indian".


  3. ^ ab "No 'Alter'native". Screen. 9 May 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010.


  4. ^ Hazarika, Sanjoy (6 July 1989). "An American Star Of the Hindi Screen". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2010.


  5. ^ abc "Features / Metro Plus: Tom Tom". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 9 August 2008.


  6. ^ "Multifaceted actor Tom Alter to receive Padma Shri". India eNews. 25 January 2008.


  7. ^ "Woodstock School News". Woodstock School India. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.


  8. ^ "Tom Alter". Paritosh Uttam. Archived from the original on 22 May 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2011.


  9. ^ abcde Guftagoo with Tom Alter (in Hindi). Rajya Sabha TV. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.


  10. ^ "Curriculum Vitae of Marty Chen" (PDF). Retrieved 29 September 2017.


  11. ^ Zaman, Rana Siddiqui (13 October 2014). "Delhi is my second home: Tom Alter". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 October 2014.


  12. ^ "A Haryana town friend recalls the night show that led Tom Alter the teacher to show biz".


  13. ^ "Tom Alter: I came to Mumbai to become Rajesh Khanna; didn't come to act on stage". Hindustan Times. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2018.


  14. ^ ab "The Hindu : Metro Plus Delhi / Personality : Tom, unaltered". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 2016-07-02.


  15. ^ Padnani, Amisha (6 October 2017). "Tom Alter, Blue-Eyed Star of Bollywood Films, Dies at 67". The New York Times.


  16. ^ "Actor Tom Alter as Mirza Ghalib". Little Black Book. Retrieved 29 September 2017.


  17. ^ "Tom Alter". Times of India. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-08-12.


  18. ^ "Author: Jamie Alter". espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 4 May 2017.


  19. ^ "News Articles by Jamie Alter". cricbuzz.com. Retrieved 4 May 2017.


  20. ^ "Jamie Alter: Times of India Reporter". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 September 2017.


  21. ^ "Tom Alter - Back In The News". informationmadness.com. 4 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2017.


  22. ^ Chandawarkar, Rahul (28 August 2005). "Telling a story in different ways". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 May 2017.


  23. ^ "Tom Alter diagnosed with skin cancer". The Hindu. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.


  24. ^ "Tom Alter Battling Stage 4 Skin Cancer, Confirms Son Jamie". NDTV. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.


  25. ^ "Actor Tom Alter dies of skin cancer at 67". Hindustan Times. 30 September 2017.


  26. ^ "Tom Alter, Padma Shri actor and writer, dies aged 67". Times of India. 30 September 2017.


  27. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  28. ^ http://www.in.com/tv/shows/dd-national-174/yahan-ke-hum-sikandar




External links



  • Tom Alter on IMDb








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