In this issue though, I wanted to touch on one more small topic from the movie section. There was a readers' choice poll of who our favorite movie star of the last 25 years. As you see here, the overwhelming choice was Tom Hanks. I can't argue with that choice and that is most likely who I would have to choose for that honor myself.  If you can't make it out, he was followed by Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise (but Hanks had over half of the votes).  I thought this might be an appropriate place to publish my top 10 Tom Hanks movies.

Hanks really started his rise to fame in the early 80's when he starred on the sitcom Bosom Buddies from 1980-1982. At my age at that time, I just thought it was funny to see two men dressing up like women. Here is a link to watch the opening intro and theme song for Bosom Buddies (a version of Billy Joel's hit "My Life"). He then had a recurring role on a great family sitcom, Family Ties, as "Uncle Ned" back in 1983.

To stick with the 80's for a little while, Hanks really started to get noticed after two movies he released in 1984, Splash and Bachelor Party. One of my very favorite films from the 80's is Big (1988) which won Hanks a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Hanks has been nominated for 7 Golden Globes (winning 4) and 5 Oscars (winning 2) for Best Actor during his career so far. This is very impressive and he has already deservingly received the AFI Life Achievement Award. Here is a link to the intro for the AFI telecast when Hanks received this award and at least the first two minutes are well worth watching.

I have been waiting for an appropriate time to publish this list, so without further ado, here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 TOM HANKS MOVIES (+ Bonus 5):

Honorable Mention. That Thing You Do! (1996) as "Mr. White" - He plays a relatively small acting role in this film, but Hanks was also the writer and director of this film which I find incredibly entertaining. I would probably rank this in my top 5, but since his acting is not a prominent part of the movie, I decided to just give it honorable mention. Here is a link to the video for the song from the movie.

15. Bachelor Party (1984) as "Rick Gassko"

14. You've Got Mail (1998) as "Joe Fox"

13. Splash (1984) as "Allen Bauer"

12. Philadelphia (1993) as "Andrew Beckett" - Amazing individual performance by Hanks won him his first Oscar for Best Actor, but I am not as much of a fan of the movie as a whole

11. Apollo 13 (1995) as "Jim Lovell" - As with most films based on true stores, I am still amazed when a movie is able to trap your attention even when you know how it ends

10. Catch Me If You Can (2002) as "Carl Hanratty" - Ranks on my Top 10 Steven Spielberg Movies list

9. The Terminal (2004) as "Viktor Navorski" - Also ranks on my Top 10 Steven Spielberg Movies list

8. The Green Mile (1999) as "Paul Edgecomb"

7. Saving Private Ryan (1998) as "Capt. John Miller" - Ranks both on my Top 10 Steven Spielberg Movies list as well as my Top 10 Movies Nominated for Best Picture Oscar That Didn't Win list

6. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) as "Sam Baldwin"

5. A League of Their Own (1992) as "Jimmy Dugan" - Ranks on my Top 10 Baseball Movies list

4. Cast Away (2000) as "Chuck Noland" - Hanks' character is on screen alone often with very little dialogue for a majority of the movie, yet I found it riveting and extremely entertaining

3. Big (1988) as "Josh Baskin" - Here is a link to watch one of my favorite scenes in cinema history!

2. Toy Story (1995) & Toy Story 2 (1999) as the voice of "Woody" - Ranks on my Top Animated Feature Films of All Time list

1. Forrest Gump (1994) as "Forrest Gump" - Won him his second of back-to-back Oscars for Best Actor

There's my list. He has made so many movies over the past 30 years that I am bound to have missed one of your favorites. Road to Perdition? The Da Vinci Code? Turner & Hooch? Joe Versus the Volcano? Let me know in the comments what your favorites are. Here is one more link to a short video tribute to some of Hanks' finer performances.

That will wrap up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. As I said, I do plan on discussing the music and television sections of the EW "new classics" issue soon, so keep an eye out for that. I also will be getting back to some more specific 80's related topics next. If you are looking for more of Old School's Top 10 lists, please click there. If you have missed any past issues of Kickin' it, you can find the Archives in the upper left hand column or you can use the search box in the right hand column to find a specific topic. Peace and much love.

Check this out: As you probably know, musician Isaac Hayes sadly and suddenly passed away this past Sunday (August 10, 2008) at the age of just 65. He is known especially for the song "Theme from Shaft," but I will always cherish him as the voice for "Chef" from the television show South Park. I thought I would provide a couple links to some short funny scenes from South Park featuring good ol' "Chef"...
Chef singing his "Make Love" song,
Chef responding to a tough question from the children, and
Chef in a "Thriller" type of performance
There are so many classic moments from that show, so those are just a few short ones. Hayes left the show back in 2006. He is a pop culture icon and will be truly missed.

Quote of the day: "If you're funny, if there's something that makes you laugh, then every day's going to be okay." -Tom Hanks (in a Women's World interview 10/11/2005)

Download this: "As Time Goes By" by Dooley Wilson - From the amazing movie Casablanca, but also done by Jimmy Durante and used in the film Sleepless in Seattle