Tom Arnold Biography / Pictures

Tom Arnold (born March 6, 1959) is an American actor and comedian. He was born in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Tom Arnold was a writer who appeared regularly as the character "Arnie Thomas" in the popular television sitcom Roseanne (which debuted in 1988). On the set of the program, he met the show's star, Roseanne Barr, whom he married in 1990. The couple's marriage attracted media and especially tabloid attention due to their sometimes outrageous behavior. In 1993, they bought a house together in Tom's hometown of Ottumwa and opened a restaurant in nearby Eldon, Iowa. Arnold and Barr divorced in 1994, and their restaurant closed in 1995. Arnold converted to Judaism when he married Barr, and has remained religiously Jewish even after the divorce. This was lampooned in the movie The Big Lebowski, in which the character Walter, played by John Goodman, who played Roseanne's husband on television, remained devoutly Jewish after his divorce.

In 1994, Arnold appeared as Arnold Schwarzenegger's sidekick in the James Cameron blockbuster True Lies. This was also parodied in an episode of The Simpsons, where washed-up actor Troy McClure makes a comeback in a McBain movie (The Simpsons have also had Arnold sent to the Sun in a rocket in their 10th Halloween episode). He later supported Schwarzenegger's bid for the California governorship. He played the father on the Outer Limits episode "Family Values".

Arnold was the host of Fox Sports Net's talk show Best Damn Sports Show Period and has provided the voice for Arby's "Oven Mitt" character in television commercials.

Arnold went through a rigorous cardiovascular training program in 2005, losing nearly 70 pounds. The new svelte Arnold had his first romantic leading man part in the 2005 movie Happy Endings. In 2005, Arnold also starred in The Kid & I, which paired him with Eric Gores, the son of Alec Gores, a billionaire technology investor and founder of the Gores Technology Group, best known for its acquisition and resale of Brøderbund. The younger Gores has cerebral palsy and his father hired Arnold, a neighbor in Malibu, to make a sequel to Eric's favorite film, True Lies, in which Arnold co-starred. The plot of The Kid & I closely parallels the actual situation.