Tom Patton - Soc driver of the red Corvair in the opening scenes of the film...

One of the most interesting aspects about life is the perspective you gain from the passing of time. What once could have been perceived by many as merely a cleverly made up story about something that happened to me a lifetime ago now finally comes full circle in the new release of The Outsiders.  After all these years what is so unbelievable is that fact that it seems as if the scenes we did are in some form making it back into the film again in this new release.  I’ll never forget 22 years ago attending the world premier of The Outsiders with my family.  We were all so excited and proud that we could feel our hearts beating through our chests.  When the movie first started and Stevie Wonder’s moving song began playing I remember thinking what an unbelievable privilege it was to be a part of such an incredible filmmaking experience...and then the unspeakable happened…slowly but surely it was evident by the progression of the storyline line that not only had I been cut out of the movie but our whole segment had been cut out as well.  In a word it was crushing…but as many of us know, it was character building as well. 

At the time I remember that I was so concerned that I had lost my SAG (Screen Actors Guild) eligibility that I called all the contacts I knew to see if our status was still in tact.  I believe it was Buddy Joe Hooker that assured me that all was fine and that if I was to go to L.A. later that year I would still be able to join the union.  A year later I contacted producer Fred Roos and almost begged him to allow me to use the cut portions of the film for the reel that I was getting together to give to casting directors and agents.  He said that he was sorry but that nothing could be done. Can you imagine then what a delightful surprise it is now to discover so many years later that the footage wasn’t destroyed and that now (once again) we can be a part of the film that was to most of us our finest moment.        

It all started when I was a 21 year-old student at the University of Oklahoma pursuing a business degree that I didn’t want among people that I feared had settled on a life they didn’t desire.  At the time I’d never heard of The Outsiders or S.E. Hinton but I definitely knew of The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and Francis Ford Coppola.  In fact, Apocalypse Now was something of a cult film among the frat houses.  It was during that time in 1982 that my one of my friends from high school called me about the auditions taking place in Tulsa for The Outsiders.  He gave me his copy of the book and challenged me to think about possibly taking the upcoming spring break off from college to be a part of what we believed would be movie history.   I had been the president of my drama club in high school and had thought ever since I was ten years old that a career in acting was my true calling.  But through the wise counsel of many who loved me I was convinced to believe that I should muffle that dream for a while until I got out of school, trading the way less traveled for the same road every one else was wandering down.  So taking the chance that perhaps something could come of my acting after all was almost impossible not to try. 

I remember many things from the first day I stepped on to the pre-production lot.  There were so many people there to get work that it seemed like it would almost be impossible to get a part.  I had assumed that all the significant roles would be cast locally so when I first auditioned I was very disappointed to find the only roles available were for stuntmen in the rumble scene.  What I didn’t know then was that the majority of the significant parts were cast in L.A. and only the lesser roles (if any) would be cast out of Tulsa.  Regardless of my feelings I still was privileged to get cast as a stunt man so I took the semester off from college so that I could experience what the film process was like. 

I remember when I first met Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez in the rehearsals for the rumble scene.  I thought that they were just local guys who got a stunt part as greasers like me and were pursuing acting like the rest of us.  I remember being shocked when Tom told me that he and Emilio were from L.A. and that they had been cast from West coast.  I thought “wow, that’s a long way to come to just do some stunts.”  Anyway, through a series of events it was made known to me that a few speaking parts had come up and they would audition a few people for the roles.  That was my real first audition Hollywood style.  We waited for at least 45 minutes before the casting folks finally showed up acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  I learned later from the crew that the old saying “hurry up and wait” was the mantra of the masses in Tinsel Town.  When I found out I won a speaking role I was overjoyed; partly because that was my dream come true and partly because I needed to justify taking off from school to my parents. 

The first thing they did after we were cast as the Corvair socs was cut off our long greasy hair right above the ears and then trade in our black leather jackets for rich boy sweaters and madras.  Next, we were reintroduced back into the rehearsal process for the rumble scene but this time as socs fighting greasers instead of the other way around.  That’s when I was told by Buddy Joe Hooker (probably the greatest stunt man alive at the time…and the coolest) to be the one of the fighting partners for Tom Cruise (the other being stunt man Scott Wilder I believe).  Years later I met Buddy Joe Hooker again on the set of a television show called “Paradise” where he was the stunt coordinator on the episode I was in.  I had the privilege again of being taught by him how to die well when I was shot through the gut by a gun drawn from the holster of Hugh O’Brian while he played Wyatt Earp.  Everyone respected Buddy Joe Hooker.   I remember one day on The Outsiders set Buddy Joe was teaching us how to fight and Patrick Swayze showed up late to rehearsal because his agent was keeping him on the phone.  It was so fascinating to me that  right there in front of everyone Buddy Joe confronted him face to face and challenged him about whether he wanted to be a movie star or a team player.  I thought that was amazing to see the dedication Buddy Joe had to his stunt work without letting the stars influence him at all.  That’s why he’s the best…just ask anyone!

There are so many stories connected to the different actors and actresses I met while on the set that they seem almost too many to mention.  When I first met Tom Cruise I remember he told me very humbly that he was an actor from L.A. and that he had a speaking role in The Outsiders.  I was shocked and said “you mean you act for a living?”  He said, “Yeah.  In fact I’m in a movie right now that’s showing in the theaters.”  I said, “No way….which one?”  And then he told me about the film Taps with Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and George C. Scott.  I’ll never forget that when we wrapped for the day I went to the film by myself to see what in the world type of role could he possibly have had in Taps.  I have to say that there have been very few times in my life when my mouth has seemed unable to close but that was my experience of Tom’s performance in Taps.  I was unprepared to be that blown away.  The next day when we rehearsed I pushed him and said “Oh my…I had no idea that you were a REAL actor!”  That compelled me to start a brand new relationship with Tom in that I really began to watch him every day to see how he dealt with all the various demands of making a film.  My goal was to imitate and duplicate his commitment in every way I knew how.  Frankly, I have been in more than a few films and shows since that time but I have never met anyone as committed to the work as Tom Cruise.  For instance, Buddy Joe would have the guys work out with weights and run almost every day with the goal of not just getting into shape but in building camaraderie.  So every day that I remember we would be running together.  But instead of just running along with everyone else Tom would bark out commands to inspire you as you ran.   No joke, just as if he was the stunt coordinator himself Tom would run behind everyone and slap them on the butt screaming “come on…come on…faster…faster!”  He was one driven guy!  That wasn’t true of everyone on the set. 

Here is a little known story about Tom that took place after we wrapped The Outsiders.  When the film ended Coppola began filming another S.E. Hinton story called Rumble Fish.  I was still in Tulsa waiting to see if I’d get the opportunity to audition for that film as well when I was told that Tom was coming back to Tulsa from Chicago just for one day.  It seems as if they needed to do some pick up shots with Tom from the rumble scene and asked if I would fight him again so they could get the extra footage.  I remember when Tom came back to Tulsa we spend some time talking about his life and the new project he was on.  In retrospect it was interesting because he said that he couldn’t talk about the new film he was doing because it was sort of hush-hush.  I thought that was strange so I pressed him and he said that the only thing he could say was that it dealt with capitalism in America.  The film he was speaking of was Risky Business.  He told me he had lost weight by running on the beach and then tried to gain some baby fat back by eating ice cream and food like that to give the impression that he was as young as his character in the movie.  I thought that was impressive.  It was also there that he told me that he had met this woman who he had fallen in love with and that she was knocking him out of his mind.  Her name was Rebecca Demornay.  He was like a schoolboy when he described how unbelievably sexy he thought she was while he held her and kiss her on the train.  Tom had it bad. 

Over the years I’ve thought a lot about how in many ways Tom was just like everyone else, except for the fact that something about him was uniquely special.  When I asked Janet Hirshenson (one of the casting directors) why she chose Tom for the role of Steve she held up his picture to me and said, “That my friend is a star.” Anyway, by the time it came for us to do our shot Tom, out of nowhere, pulls his tooth out of his mouth and says “Hey, look!”  It was then that he explained in between his laughter how he had taken one of his front teeth (I believe it’s the large one that he is so famous for) and had it capped just so that he could have it knocked out when I hit him in the close up. So, when we did the shot we struggled, I threw four or five punches that he ducked only to then land the final tooth smashing blow that knocked it out of his head….after which he proceeded to beat me to a pulp!  I always think of that when I see his big smile…that I was the first one to knock that big tooth out!  Even though this might sound strange and somewhat extreme you must understand that when your 21 years old and basically looking for every avenue you can to make it as an actor… that this kind of thing can be a totally cool example of extreme dedication to the art!  

Another interesting thing that occurred from those days was when I met Leif Garrett.  Leif was on the set because he had been cast playing Bob Sheldon (who was the soc Diane Lane’s dated and was killed in the film).  He and Darren Dalton (the other main soc in the film) were both from L.A. where Darren had studied method acting at the Joanne Baron/ D.W. Brown Studio for the Dramatic Arts.  After The Outsiders was done I believe it was Darren who introduced Leif to the Studio where he decided to do the two-year program in acting. The reason that was significant is because by the time Leif was studying there years later I had become one of the teachers on staff.  Through a series of events that came about from that relationship on the set and mostly at the school I ended up co-staring in a film with Leif later on called The Whispering which (though it defined what a true “B-film” really is) was a great way to reconnect to Leif again.

There are so many more stories that I could tell but they would take too many hours to write them all down.  What is amazing is how God has taken me from those days of acting and teaching to now being one of seven pastors on staff at a church in Southern California were we share in the responsibilities of ministering a congregation of 10,000 people.  It is in this church that I have had the unspeakable joy of first meeting my bride Lori and now have the privilege of fathering two sons, Josiah (3 ½ years old) and Tommy (18 months old) while we expect our third child sometime in early March.   I think its safe to say that considering all that I have been blessed to be a part of so far in my life…there is no doubt that being a part of The Outsiders was (and still is) a truly unforgettable time!