Thomas Duane Arnold popularly known as Tom Arnold is an American actor and comedian who has appeared in several films such as Nine Months (1995), True Lies (1994), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Mr. 3000 (2004), McHale’s Navy (1997), Animal Factory (2000),Happy Endings (2005), The Great Buck Howard (2008) and also Madea’s Witness Protection (2011). Tom was also ‘The Best Damn Sports Show Period’s’ host for four years.
He was in Ottumwa, Iowa and he is the son of Linda Kay and Jack Arnold. He has six siblings though his mother abandoned the family when he was a child. Tom and his siblings were raised by their father. From the age of 4 to 7, he was sexually abused by a male babysitter.
He worked at a meatpacking plant, during his youth. Arnold attended Ottumwa High School, Indian Hills Community College and from 1981 to 1983, joined the University of Iowa, where he studied business administration and writing.
Age
Tom born in March 6th, 1959, Ottumwa
Marriage
Tom got married to Roseanne Barr in 1990, an actress whom the two had a role in Roseanne a popular sitcom. Roseanne was also a well known comedienne. Their marriage, however, came to an end after lasting for four years and their marriage ended because of the alcohol and drug addictions of Tom. He later got married to Julie Champnella, a hairstylist for the second time in 1995. Again four years later, their union ended in divorce and a political consultant Shelby Roos became his wife in 2002.
Their marriage also ended after six years upon which he once again got married to his fourth wife known as Ashley Groussman, in 2009. She is a home organizer and in 2013, the two were blessed with a baby boy by the name Jax.
Education
Arnold attended Ottumwa High School and later joined Indian Hills Community College. Tom was enrolled at the University of Lowa to study writing and business education. At the University, Tom performed stand up comedies.
Career
Tom Arnold had a prop-based comedy routine known as ‘Tom Arnold and the Goldfish Review’ in the early 1980s. Roseanne brought him in as a writer for her popular television sitcom. In 1990, the two got married, after she divorced her first husband. He wrote himself into the show as the character ‘Arnie Thomas’ which was a play on his name. Their marriage attracted media and especially tabloid attention because of their sometimes outrageous behavior. Tom starred in his own sitcom, The Jackie Thomas Show, in 1992 which was airing after Roseanne on ABC, the show lasted 18 episodes.
They bought a house together in Tom’s hometown of Eldon, Iowa and opened a restaurant, ‘Roseanne and Tom’s Big Food Diner’ nearby in 1993. They appeared in the 1993 movie The Woman Who Loved Elvis, filmed in Ottumwa. They got divorced in 1994 because of irreconcilable differences, alcohol and drug addiction of Tom. This led to closure of their restaurant in 1995. Arnold narrated and starred in several Craftmatic Adjustable Bed commercials that aired throughout 1995, after his divorce from Roseanne. The last commercial that he filmed culminated in Tom lying in a bed that caught on fire and melted a strand of his underarm hair during the taping and the footage was never released. Tom played the role of Al Raymond in the second season Baywatch Hawaii episode, ‘The Cage’ in November, 2000.
In an interview on radio’s The Howard Stern Show, late 1990s, he admitted that his share of his and Roseanne’s estate amounted to over $20 million, including a percentage of the her ABC-TV series, though would not elaborate, citing a confidentiality clause. He appeared as the sidekick to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in the James Cameron’s action blockbuster film True Lies in 1994. He was one of the hosts of The Best Damn Sports Show Period from 2001 to 2005. He was the voice of Arby’s ‘Oven Mitt’ commercials from 2003 to 2005.
He had his first romantic leading man part in the 2005 movie Happy Endings. Tom starred in The Kid & I in 2005. Arnold hosted the CMT show My Big Redneck Wedding from 2008 to 2011. In 2008, Tom hosted CMT’s The Biggest Redneck Wedding Ever, in which he served as the wedding planner, created a wedding that exceeded the dreams of a couple who wanted to be married in a mud bog, and performed the actual ceremony. CMT also made three series of ‘My Big Redneck Vacation’ that presented by him and featuring the Clampet Family from Shreveport, Louisiana. Tom’s role as a child molester in Gardens of the Night sparked revelations that he had been a victim of sexual abuse while still a child. Tom Arnold decided to take on the role to shed more light on the issue.
Tom was revealed as a celebrity contestant on the Australian edition of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! In January, 2017. After 17 days, Tom was the first evictee from the jungle and stated he was paid between $600,000 and $700,000 for his participation in the program. He filed a lawsuit against companies Network Ten and A List Entertainment for defrauding him for being on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! In June, 2017. Tom claims that he was promised a payment of $425,000 and a comedy tour in Australia which never happened as agreed. Arnold was missing $140,000 in payment and Network Ten backed out of the comedy tour. In 2018, his Viceland show The Hunt for the Trump Tapes premiered to low ratings and mainly negative reviews and the show was canceled after one season.
Filmography
-Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare as Childless Man (1991)
-Backfield in Motion, Howard Peterman (1991)
-Hero, Chick (1992)
-Coneheads, Golfer (1993)
-Body Bags, Morgue Worker (1993)
-Undercover Blues, Vern Newman (1993)
-True Lies, Albert ‘Gib’ Gibson (1994)
-Nine Months, Marty Dwyer (1995)
-Big Bully, Roscoe “Fang” Bigger (1996)
-Carpool, Franklin Laszlo (1996)
-The Stupids, Stanley Stupid (1996)
-Touch, August Murray (1997)
-McHale’s Navy, Lt. Commander Quinton McHale, Jr. (1997)
-Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Texan (1997)
-Hacks, Danny (1997)
-National Lampoon’s Golf Punks, Al Oliver (1998)
-Buster & Chauncey’s Silent Night, Fritz (voice) (1998)
-Jackie’s Back, Martin Pritz (1999)
-Bar Hopping, Eddie (2000)
-Animal Factory, Buck Rowan (2000)
-We Married Margo, Himself (2000)
-Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, Doughy Primesuspect / Hardy (The Killer) (2000)
-Just Sue Me, Barbuto (2000)
-Welcome to Hollywood, Himself (2000)
-Exit Wounds, Henry Wayne (2001)
-Lloyd, Tom (2001)
-Hansel & Gretel, Boogeyman (2002)
-Romantic Comedy 101, James Ford (2002)
-Children on Their Birthdays, Lionel Quince (2002)
-Manhood, Dr. Levanthal (2003)
-Cradle 2 the Grave, Archie (2003)
-National Lampoon’s Barely Legal, Mr. Lewis (2003)
-Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Himself (2003)
-Just for Kicks, Coach Martin (2003)
-Soul Plane, Elvis Hunkee (2004)
-Mr. 3000, Himself (2004)
-Happy Endings, Frank McKee (2005)
-Kicking & Screaming, Himself (2005)
-Rebound, Himself (2005)
-The Kid & I, as Bill Williams, Also as producer and writer (2005)
-Chasing Christmas, Jack Cameron (2005)
-Three Wise Guys, Murray Crown (2005)
-Homo Erectus, Gay Caveman (2007)
-Pride, Richard Binkowski (2007)
-Game of Life, Richard (2007)
-Palo Alto, Morgan (2007)
-The Final Season, Burt Akers (2007)
-Gardens of the Night, lex (2008)
-Good Dick, Dad (2008)
-This Is Not a Test, Himself (2008)
-Remarkable Power, Van Hagen (2008)
-Moonlight and Mistletoe, Nick Crosby (2008)
-Unstable Fables: The Goldilocks and 3 Bears Show, Mac Bear (voice) (2008)
-The Skeptic, Sully (2009)
-American Summer, Himself (2009)
-April Showers, Martin Blackwell (2009)
-The 1 Second Film, Producer (2009)
-Group Sex, Herman (2010)
-Walk a Mile in My Pradas, Joe (2011)
-Fred 3: Camp Fred, Floyd Spunkmeyer (2012)
-Madea’s Witness Protection, Walter (2012)
-Jewtopia, Bruce Daniels (2012)
-Hit and Run, U.S. Marshal Randy Anderson (2012)
-Chilly Christmas, Quarterman (2012)
-Pulling Strings, Art (2013)
-Dumbbells, Daddy (2014)
-Shelby, Doug the Dog Catcher (2014)
-Jungle Shuffle, Coati King (voice) (2015)
-Underdog Kids, Gene “Geno” Burman (2015)
-Sex School, Principle Hyman (2015)
-A Mouse Tale, Dalliwog the Wizard (voice) (2015)
-I Am Chris Farley, Himself (2015)
-The Curse of Downers Grove, Chuck’s father (2015)
-Maximum Impact, Barnes (2017)
-The Hunt for the Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold, Himself (2018)
-Bigger, Roy Hawkins (2018)
-Christmas Scavenger Hunt, Carl, Hallmark Movie (2019)