Yours Truly : C.Thomas Howell

Starting a Career

(Howell is on far left corner) Howell's showbiz debut was acting in the The Brian Keith Show episode "The Little People" as a little boy whose ears are being checked out by a doctor. When he got older, he tried stunt acting like his father and worked on commercials for a while.He tried rodeo riding for a few years. In 1982, He made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Afterward, he was cast as the lead role Ponyboy Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders, which earned him a Young Artist Award. Following The Outsiders, he became a teen idol, appearing in teen magazines like Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine, which referred to him as "Tommy" and "Tom". His stage name was C.Thomas Howell since his father owned a buissness and was Christopher also. Just so people won't confuse them.