Malibu mega star Tom Hanks not only made a name for himself with classic flicks like “Big,” “Splash,” “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump,” but he’s also left book lovers fascinated with his portrayal of Robert Langdon, the top Harvard professor of symbolic studies and religious iconology. He has done a stellar job of playing the role of Langdon in the best-selling “Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown. It was followed by another Dan Brown follow-up—“Angeles and Demons”—and most recently by “Inferno.” Being a Tom Hanks and Dan Brown fan, I really had a tough time visualizing how the heck they were going to turn Dante into a film, but they did it and the results were impressive.
Dan Brown’s latest hot seller is “Origin” and we can only hope that Tom is on board for an encore.
A mysterious billionaire sends a slew of invites to his VIP buddies along with a plane ticket to Spain, a hotel reservation and instructions to “Be there. Trust me.”
Edmond Kirsch is the host and futurist who promises to answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence. Sound like good reading? Turn the page and unravel the secrets of the universe.
TOM’S TOME
In between acclaimed movie projects like “The Post” with Meryl Streep, Tom has found time to put pen to paper. The Oscar winner is now a local best-selling author. His book, “The Uncommon Type,” picked up the No. 2 slot on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list.
His first outing as a fiction scribe is a collection of fun and witty short stories. Tom seems to have the magic touch, but what else would you expect from Malibu’s Mister Nice Guy?
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Speaking of good reads, check out “In Bed with Broadcasting” by veteran newsman and Emmy Award winner Ken Davis. Ken and I started out at CBS in Los Angeles when giants like Walter Cronkite ruled the air. Ken ran the assignment desk and I was Connie Chung’s newswriter. It was a very special time back then; all the greats in our world were working as one—Joseph Benti, Chung, Bill Stout, Brent Musburger, Linda Douglass, Roy Firestone, Pat O’Brien, Van Gordon Sauder, Ralph Story. Covering everything from the Hillside strangler to the Iranian revolution, you felt like you had a view from the top of the world. Those were the days when people actually cared about local news and as they used to say at CBS, “accuracy, accuracy, accuracy.”
“In Bed with Broadcasting” is a TV tell-all that doesn’t hold back. Times could get crazy but quality and pride were always no. 1.
Malibu Seensters can obtain a copy of the book by writing to mediaman2@gmail.com. You’ll get a great signed read plus free shipping and handling.
And that’s the way it was.