Just getting started: Tom Hanks in the 1980s

Tom Hanks in his breakout role in "Splash" in 1984.

Source: https://screenrant.com/

(May be subject to copyright)

It was a role-playing adventure game gone wrong. It was also the first time I ever saw Tom Hanks on the screen.

“Mazes and Monsters” is a made-for-TV movie about four teens who play a game that takes some serious and dangerous turns, especially when one of the players begins to think it’s real.

That role was played by Tom Hanks and, although much is made about him getting his start on the comedy “Bosom Buddies”, my first recollection is that movie, based on the real-life game “Dungeons and Dragons”.

From there, Hanks would go onto “Bosom Buddies” then have his big-screen breakout, propelling him into being one of the biggest starts of the 1990s and beyond.

Small screen debut
“Mazes and Monsters” came out in 1982, and was filmed in all or part in Canada, as illustrated by the number of Canadian actors in the movie.

In addition to Hanks, who plays the college student obsessed with the role-playing fantasy game, there was David Wallace, and Canadian actors Chris Makepeace, best known for the movie “My Bodyguard”, and Wendy Crewson who, at the time, was still best known for her work in Canada and had not yet had her breakout in the States. Other notable Canadian actors making an appearance were Chris Wiggins, Lloyd Bochner, and Peter Donat.

Sitcom success
One of the big reasons my first exposure to Tom Hanks was in “Mazes and Monsters” was that we did not have cable TV in the three-channel universe of peasant vision, and missed a lot of shows that were not aired by Channels 7, 9, and 13.

One of those shows was “Bosom Buddies” which ran from 1980 to 1982. It starred Hanks and Peter Scolari, as two ad executives forced to dress as women to live in an all-female hotel.

To this day, I have not seen an episode, although I read quite a bit about it in “TV Guide”.

Yet, it would help Hanks get his break on the big screen. That, and a connection he made on another TV show.

Making a “Splash” on the big screen
Tom Hanks had a guest-starring role in an episode of “Happy Days” in 1982 where he met writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. They were writing the script for a movie called “Splash” to be directed by Ron Howard, another “Happy Days” alumnus.

They suggested Hanks for the lead role, playing a man who falls in love with a present-day mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah.

“Splash” came out in 1984, went on to big box office success, and Hanks was on his way.

Ties that bind
Hanks continued to work on TV, with another memorable guest-starring role. He appeared in three episodes of “Family Ties” in 1983-1984 as Ned Donnelly, Elyse Keaton’s brother, and the uncle of Alex P. Keaton, played by Michael J. Fox, who was struggling with alcohol. It was one of the first glimpses we saw of Tom Hanks using that mix of comedy and drama that makes him such a great actor.

Movie madness
Following “Splash”, Tom Hanks was in movies throughout the rest of the decade. He would have another hit with “Bachelor Party” in 1984, followed in 1985 by two flops in “The Man With One Red Shoe” and “Volunteers”. He started 1986 with another comedy, “The Money Pit”, where he and Shelley Long play a married couple whose marriage disintegrates as they become mired deeper and deeper in the renovation of their home.

Wikipedia reveals Hanks had signed a contract with Disney Studios, making him part of a talent pool. That explains why he just kept cranking out movies en masse.

In 1986, Hanks began to show signs of the depth and versatility he became known for with the role he played in “Nothing in Common”. He plays a man estranged from his father, played by Jackie Gleason.

“Dragnet” followed in 1987, a continuation of the old TV series, where Hanks played the partner of the nephew of Joe Friday, the main character in the original “Dragnet”.

Just as “Splash” had ignited his career, “Big” would send Tom Hanks’ career to the next level in 1988. He plays a boy who suddenly becomes a man on the outside but remains a child on the inside. It was a huge commercial success and established Hanks as a huge box office draw.

He closed out 1988 with “Punchline”, where he played a stand up comedian opposite Sally Field. It would not be the last time he was in a movie with her.

Tom Hanks closed out the decade with two movies in 1989. The first was “The ‘Burbs”, where he played a man living in the the suburbs who suspects his neighbours are hiding a big secret. The second was “Turner and Hooch” where he plays a cop who befriends a dog who is the only witness to a murder.

The years after
Tom Hanks’ career would reach the stratosphere in the 1990s as he tore off a string of hits including “A League of Their Own”; “Sleepless in Seattle”; “Philadelphia”; “Forrest Gump”; “Apollo 13”; “Toy Story”; “That Thing You Do!”; “Saving Private Ryan”; “You’ve Got Mail”; “The Green Mile”; and “Cast Away”. He won back to back Oscars for Best Actor for “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump”, and could have easily made it a three-peat with “Apollo 13”.

In the 21st Century, the hits just kept on coming and he acts to this day.

We just watched him a few weeks ago in another excellent movie, “A Man Called Otto”. He plays a widower coping with life in his neighbourhood.

Stray thoughts
I also have a couple odd memories that have to do with Tom Hanks .

Disney Sunday Movie
Back in 1986, if I recall, ABC launched the “Disney Sunday Movie”, which was the latest incarnation of an ongoing show. This time, Michael Eisner, the head of Disney, introduced each movie. I think they wanted to launch the series with something familiar, so they aired “Splash!”

The New York Ranger seasons
This sports magazine I was reading was talking about the New York Rangers, and their past three seasons which were up and down. They said they won the President’s Trophy for finishing first in the NHL regular season in 1991-1992, finished last in their division and out of the playoffs in 1992-1993, and won the President’s Trophy and Stanley Cup in 1993-1994.

“It’s like Tom Hanks doing another season of ‘Bosom Buddies’ between ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Forrest Gump’,” the magazine joked.

Parting thoughts
When I was in the bookstore on the ferry I was taking to Vancouver Island recently, I thought of Tom Hanks when I saw the book “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece”. It was actually a novel he recently published.

It just showed how prevalent, pervasive and prolific he is.

My first impression of Tom Hanks was as kind of a goof, a bit of a dufus, a frat boy. It was tough taking him seriously. He also seemed to be putting out movies all the time, like they were being sold in bulk.

He started sprinkling in more layered performances, such as “Nothing in Common” and “Big”, where he was funny, but serious too. The humour was not immature and sophomoric anymore either, like when he started. Now, it was endearing and heartwarming.

By the end of the 1980s, he was well on his way to what has become an outstanding career and an incredible body of work.