The Adventures of the Real Tom Sawyer

He did not grow up on the Mississippi River, but he did illustrate comic strips, and he wrote produced, and directed films and television series that entertained hundreds of millions of people.

If you fondly remember Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins Onstage, Stan Drake’s The Heart of Juliet Jones, Al Capp’s Li’l Abner, or Wonder Woman (1978), Chico and the Man (1978), All in the Family (1979), or Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996), then you’ve unknowingly been a Tom Sawyer fan for decades.
Discover Tom’s multiple exciting careers, from penciling and inking comic books at the age of twenty-two for Stan Lee, to top advertising illustrator, to award-winning filmmaker, and on through his Emmy and Edgar-nominated career in Hollywood to musical theatre and beyond.
This Tom Sawyer does not whitewash any fences. You will delight to his entertaining memories of Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Mary Tyler Moore, Mickey Rooney, Leonard Goldberg, Leonard Starr, Stan Drake, Al Capp, Ruth Terry, Milton Caniff, Lila Garrett, Mort Lachman, Howard Hughes, Jack Klugman, Buddy Hackett, Dick van Dyke, and Steve Lawrence.
Illustrated.
“. . . a wildly entertaining testament to enjoying one’s life, finding ways to realize your dreams. And having worked with Tom for 12 lovely years, I can honestly say that he knows how to tell a great story.” - Angela Lansbury
“. . . way more than a memoir. Tom has written a totally entertaining guidebook for how to grab onto the fun-side of life, pursue your dreams, turn bummers into assets, thumb your nose at the bozos—and win the Game.” - William Link, Columbo co-creator
“. . . the veteran writer-producer tells his adventures with humor, pluck, and pizazz. He has an insider’s knowledge of the business that will appeal to aspiring Hollywood writers and fans alike.” - Paul Levine, bestselling author of Bum Rap
“. . . a splendid account of the evolution of a stellar career in television—of overcoming its challenges. Part Movie/TV-land tell-all, part entertainment industry treatise, and all impossibly fun!” - Jon Land, screenwriter and USA Today bestselling author
“Witty, surprisingly honest and impossible to put down . . . the guy's had more adventures than the fictional Tom Sawyer.”
- Dennis Palumbo, screenwriter (My Favorite Year)