Thomas Andrew Franco (born April 14, 1980) is an American actor,[1] artist, and the founder of the Firehouse Art Collective in Berkeley, California.[2] He is the brother of actors James Franco and Dave Franco.[3]
Tom Franco | |
|---|---|
 Franco in 2016 | |
| Born | Thomas Andrew Franco April 14, 1980 Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, actor |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Julia Lazar
(m. 2014; died 2014)Iris Torres
(m. 2015) |
| Relatives | James Franco (brother) Dave Franco (brother) |
Early life and education
Franco was born in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne), is a writer and occasional actor.[citation needed] His father, Douglas Eugene Franco (d. 2011), ran a Silicon Valley business,[4][5] and was a "philanthropic entrepreneur".[6] Franco's father was of Portuguese (Madeiran) and Swedish descent.[7] Franco's mother is from a family of Russian Jewish ancestry; her parents had changed the surname from "Verovitz" to "Verne."[8] Tom is the middle child of three brothers; the older is actor, director, writer, and artist James Franco and the younger is actor Dave Franco. They were raised in Palo Alto.[6]
Franco is a graduate of Palo Alto High School, class of 1998.[9] He graduated in 2002 from University of California, Santa Cruz majoring in fine art,[9] then attended California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, majoring in ceramics.[6]
Career
Franco started acting professionally in the comedy horror film Basket Case 2 (1990), credited as Frog Boy. He subsequently appeared in A Peace of History (2005) and The Devil Wears a Toupee (2007).[10] He had a small role in The Disaster Artist (2017), in which his brothers played the lead roles.
Franco is the founder and co-director of Berkeley’s Firehouse Art Collective.[6] He shared directorship with his wife Julia Lazar Franco who died in 2014.[11]
Personal life
Franco's first wife, Julia Lazar (1957–2014),[12] worked closely with him. Her death was a result of liver failure (brought on by hepatitis C and liver cancer)[13] and kidney trouble. The two were married in a hospital solarium about a month before her death.[14] In 2015, Franco married Iris Torres, a film producer.
References
- ^ "Meet Tom Franco: The Franco brother you (probably) never knew about". News.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ "Alumnus Tom Franco brings his collaborative art culture to UC Santa Cruz". University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ "My Day With the Franco Brothers". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ Finn, Natalie (October 4, 2011). "James Franco's Father Dies at 63". E! Online. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ Who's who of emerging leaders in America. Marquis Who's Who Inc. 1991. ISBN 0-8379-7202-7.
- ^ a b c d Fletcher, Ethan (21 September 2012). "Tom Franco : Renaissance man sparks life into the East Bay art scene". Diablo Magazine. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ "James Franco", Inside the Actors Studio, December 7, 2010.
- ^ "Dave Franco and Conan O'Brien Discuss Shalom Life's JILF List". ShalomLife.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
- ^ a b "Tom Franco". MISSION CLAY. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
- ^ "James Franco Joined by His 2 Brothers in 'The Disaster Artist'". TheWrap. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
- ^ https://puzzups.com/celebrate-the-life-and-lagment-the-death-of-our-beloved-julia-lazar-franco-who-left-but-julia-will-be-remembered-by-all-who-knew-her-as-an-especially-creative-soul/
- ^ "Julia Lazar Franco (1957–2014)". FindAGrave.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ Shensa, Jonathan (3 August 2014). "Help Save The Life of Bay Area Artist Julia Lazar-Franco". The Outsider's Guide to the Inside of Hollywood. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Firehouse Art Collective". Facebook. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
External links
- Tom Franco at IMDb
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