He was just your everyday Western Michigan University student, one
with a great group of friends, a comfortable couch, and some free time between
classes. Then, on an April Fools’ Day that called for rum and a cinematic run
through reconstructed history, Turk’s semi-charmed life got a little more
interesting.
"My friend
looks at me and says, 'Dude, do you want to watch some Tom Hanks movies and
drink?' And I thought that sounded like a good time, so we started drinking rum
and Dr. Pepper, and we popped in Forrest Gump."
Thus began the
first official Tom Hanks Day, an event that’s graduated from its bender beginnings and has morphed into a hybrid celebration of the one-time bosom buddy—and fundraiser for Hanks's chosen charity, Lifeline Energy. One look inside the event’s 10th
installment—hosted on April 13th by adjoined Chicago bars Headquarters
Beercade and Uncle Fatty’s Rum Resort—would reveal the enamorment of a
few frighteningly devoted, albeit altruistic, Hanks fanatics. But, according to Turk,
that’s not exactly the case.
The many faces of Tom Hanks. |
"I can't
say we picked Hanks because we knew what an awesome guy he'd turn out to be.
And none of us are die-hard fans of his,” said Turk, a Chicago resident who works on an experiential
marketing team for Groupon. “We just loved Forrest Gump and a bunch of his
other movies."
Turns out
they’re not the only ones. On a sunny spring afternoon in Chicago, hundreds of
fans of such cinematic classics as Splash,
Apollo 13 and Bachelor Party checked
in for an afternoon of Hanks-related revelry. Cast Away-themed t-shirts were sold at the door; green Tom Hanks Day
cozies accommodated the event’s Goose
Island canned beer
special. Attendees posed for photos behind masks of Hanks characters, and
friends gathered under flat-screen projections of the shirtless Hollywood icon and a slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux in Turner
& Hooch. There was even a group dressed as players from A League of Their Own, complete with a
drunken Jimmy Dugan. The influence of Hanks’s career was omnipresent—even
inside Uncle Fattey’s bathroom. When a patron walked in and knocked on a stall
door, the voice from inside replied with a Forrest
Gump quote.
“Seat’s taken.”
Hanks fans pay tribute to A League of Their Own. |
"My friend
and I started emailing someone we thought was Tom Hanks's brother,” said Turk of mails sent in 2006, after the event had moved from WMU to Chicago.
“Then, I get an email from someone claiming to be Tom's assistant. She said Tom
had heard of the event and wanted to donate merchandise for the day. I'm pretty
cynical, so at first I didn't believe the mail. I even sent a response
mail that read, 'If this is one of my friends, stop f---ing with me. But, if
this is legit, please call me."
Minutes later,
he received a call from Hanks's assistant—who was not f---ing with him.
"She told me that Tom loved the idea and wanted to send us a bunch of stuff for the event. So I said, great, tell him to send whatever he wants."
"She told me that Tom loved the idea and wanted to send us a bunch of stuff for the event. So I said, great, tell him to send whatever he wants."
So he did.
First, Hanks sent Turk and friends a typewritten letter. Then, he
sent signed movie posters and DVDs. He sent one of the Wilson volleyballs from Cast Away and props from That Thing You Do. He even sent signed replications of jerseys pressed for his 50th birthday baseball stadium road trip, a traveling bash that involved such celebrants as Billy Crystal. One year, he even sent a 20-pound slab of
homemade bologna, shipped in a giant cooler with its recipe. Turk was
overwhelmed. Though he and his friends ate the bologna (which was delicious),
they decided to repay the rest of Hanks’s ridiculous generosity by turning
their Joe Versus the Volcano-inspired Kalamazoo kegger into a legitimate charity event.
"As soon
as his assistant reached out, I just realized that Hanks is super awesome,” he
said. “He was going to send us all this stuff, so we decided to turn this event
into a fundraiser and raise money for whatever charity Tom wanted us to
support."
This charity turned out to be Lifeline Energy, an education-driven initiative focused on sub-SaharanAfrica
that boasts Hanks as its international ambassador. With this redirected focus,
Turk began to generate revenue from the day’s t-shirt and beer sales, as well
as a raffle conducted with Hanks’s generous donations. These proceeds are now directed annually to Lifeline, with donations totaling into the tens of
thousands of dollars since 2008. Exposure for the event through Jimmy Kimmel Live, CNN and Time Magazine has also drawn direct donations to
the charity through online or independent contributions. Also, in a few instances,
Hanks has personally matched the amount raised through his day’s Goose
Island-sponsored celebration. Such collaboration from the actor has not only impressed the event’s originators, but inspired them to keep the party going year after year.
This charity turned out to be Lifeline Energy, an education-driven initiative focused on sub-Saharan
Tom Hanks superfan, ready to party. |
And, it’s started to branch out. Along with stateside appearances in Cleveland and Portland, Tom Hanks Day has now become International Tom Hanks Day, with annual observation in
"When I
first started coming to this, I assumed it was some festival of drunkeness.
But, when I realized it was all to support some awesome cause, I thought, yeah,
I can support that," said Wilson, who’s attended two Tom Hanks Day events.
"This is an event to cater to my age demographic. There's beer and a
party, but there's also an underlying cause. That's why people are here."
And that’s why
Turk hopes people keep coming. What started as a couple of dudes hoovering
spiked DP while Jenny and Forrest danced to Skynard has matured into a
legitimate opportunity to boost those in need of financial aid and education.
It’s a ridiculous transition, but one that’s now rolled forth for a decade. Back
when they were still hosting Tom Hanks Day on April Fools’ Day, Turk responded to
Hanks’s aforementioned Smith Corona communication with the following message:
With your help, April 1st will no longer
be known for tomfoolery, but rather Tom Hanks.
And for The Money Pit. And Saving Private Ryan. And, for the most creative, Captain
Morgan-influenced charity idea ever endorsed by a two-time Oscar winner.
(Final note: If you'd like to aid the efforts of Lifeline Energy, please visit their website for donation information and instruction.)