Tom Alter

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title: "Tom Alter" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1950-births", "2017-deaths", "indian-columnists", "indian-cricket-coaches", "indian-male-film-actors", "indian-male-stage-actors", "indian-male-television-actors", "indian-sports-journalists", "assamese-language-actors", "indian-presbyterians", "indian-people-of-american-descent", "people-from-mussoorie", "male-actors-from-mumbai", "male-actors-in-hindi-cinema", "film-and-television-institute-of-india-alumni", "recipients-of-the-padma-shri-in-arts", "male-actors-in-gujarati-language-films", "indian-people-of-english-descent", "indian-people-of-scottish-descent", "indian-people-of-swiss-german-descent", "male-actors-in-malayalam-cinema", "male-actors-in-kannada-cinema", "deaths-from-cancer-in-india", "indian-amputees", "indian-actors-with-disabilities", "schoolteachers-from-uttarakhand", "woodstock-school,-mussoorie-alumni"] description: "American–Indian actor (1950–2017)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Alter" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American–Indian actor (1950–2017) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Tom Alter
image	Tom Alter, 2016.jpg
caption	Alter in 2016
birthname	Thomas Beach Alter
birth_date
birth_place	Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), India
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1975–2017
death_date
death_place	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
spouse
children	2
relatives
::

| name = Tom Alter | image = Tom Alter, 2016.jpg | caption = Alter in 2016 | birthname = Thomas Beach Alter | birth_date = | birth_place = Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), India | occupation = Actor | yearsactive = 1975–2017 | death_date = | death_place = Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | spouse = | children = 2 | relatives =

Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Early life

Born in Mussoorie in present-day Uttarakhand, Alter was the son of American Presbyterian missionaries of English, Scottish and Swiss German ancestry and lived for years in Mumbai and the Himalayan hill station of Landour. His grandparents migrated to Madras, India from Ohio, U.S., in November 1916. From there, they moved to and settled in Lahore, in present-day Pakistan. His father was born in Sialkot. After the Partition of India, Alter's family split into two; his grandparents chose to stay in Pakistan while his parents moved to India. After living in Allahabad, Jabalpur and Saharanpur, in 1954 they finally settled in Rajpur, Uttarakhand, then a small town located between Dehradun and Mussoorie; Rajpur is now considered a suburb of Dehradun. Alter's siblings are older sister Martha Chen, who teaches at Harvard University and brother John, a poet. Author Stephen Alter is a first cousin.

As a child, Alter studied Hindi among other subjects in Mussoorie's Woodstock School. At 18, Alter left for the U.S. for higher education and studied at Yale University for a year before returning to India upon losing interest in studies. The following year, he obtained work as a teacher at St. Thomas School, Jagadhri, in Haryana. He worked there for six months, simultaneously coaching his students in cricket. Over the next two and a half years, Alter worked several jobs, teaching for a while at Woodstock School, Mussoorie, and working at a hospital in the U.S., and returning to India before continuing to work at Jagadhri. At Jagadhri, he began to watch Hindi films. It was during this time that he saw the Hindi film Aradhana, which proved to be a turning point in his career and drifted towards a career in acting, inspired by the lead actor Rajesh Khanna. He headed to Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, where he studied acting from 1972 to 1974 under Roshan Taneja.

Career

Film

After graduating from FTII, Alter headed straight to Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) and soon got his first break in the Dev Anand starrer Saheb Bahadur (1977), directed by Chetan Anand. However, his first release was Ramanand Sagar's Charas. This was followed by roles in Des Pardes, Ram Bharose, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin and Parvarish. He dubbed for actor Jeevan for the innocent person of the twin roles played by Jeevan in the film Amar Akbar Anthony.

Alter was fluent in Hindi and Urdu, and was knowledgeable about Indian culture. He could also read Urdu and was fond of Shayari. He worked for noted filmmakers like Satyajit Ray in Shatranj Ke Khilari and is remembered for his role as a British officer in Kranti. He got the opportunity to act with his idol Rajesh Khanna in the film Naukri, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1978 and later in Chetan Anand's Kudrat. In Sardar, the 1993 film biography of Indian leader Sardar Patel, which focused on the events surrounding the partition and independence of India, Alter portrayed Lord Mountbatten of Burma. He also acted in the Hollywood movie One Night with the King with Peter O'Toole.

In 1996 he appeared in the Assamese film Adajya, and in 2007 acted in William Dalrymple's City of Djinns alongside Zohra Sehgal and Manish Joshi Bismil. He also appeared in the solo play Maulana and the film Ocean of An Old Man.

Alter played the role of a doctor in Bheja Fry, a comedy movie starring Rajat Kapoor.

In April 2011 he acted in a short film Yours, Maria directed by Chirag Vadgama, playing the lead role of Matthew Chacha in the movie.

Alter lent his voice for the authorized audio autobiography of Dr. Verghese Kurien, titled The Man Who Made The Elephant Dance, which was released in 2012.

Some of his most famous movie roles have been as Musa in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's acclaimed crime drama Parinda, Mahesh Bhatt's blockbuster romance Aashiqui, and Ketan Mehta's Sardar, in which Alter essayed the role of Lord Mountbatten.

His last film was Hamari Paltan (2018).

Television

Alter appeared in many Indian television series, including Samvidhaan. In Zabaan Sambhalke he played the role of a British writer, Charles Spencers, who lives in India and wants to learn the Hindi language. He acted in the TV series Khamosh Sa Afsana (as a Husain Baba), telecast on Doordarshan in 2014–15. In November 2014, he played Sahir Ludhianvi in a stage production based on the life and work of the famous Urdu poet and film lyricist. He also played a schoolteacher in Yahan Ke Hum Sikandar. Also, he appeared in Contiloe & Cinevistaas show Ssshhhh...Koi Hai in 2002–03. He played Indian characters in Indian television series, such as the long-running Junoon, in which he was the sadistic mob lord Keshav Kalsi. He anchored "Adabi Cocktail" in 2000 telecast on Urdu Television Network and interviewed Johny Walker, Naushad, TunTun, Hasan Kamaal, Adnan Sami, Jagdeep, Naqsh layalpuri and many more.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Tom_Alter_as_Zafar.jpg" caption="Tom Alter as Zafar"] ::

Theatre

In 1978, he, Naseeruddin Shah, and Benjamin Gilani formed a theatre group called Motley Productions. Their first play was Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, which was staged at Prithvi Theatre, Bombay, on 29 July 1979. He went on to appear in many other plays at the theatre, including an adaptation of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's My Grandad Had an Elephant which was performed on 7 June 2011. He has also worked with the New Delhi theatre group Pierrot's Troupe.

In the early 2000s, he played the Indian independence activist Maulana Azad in a one-man Urdu-language play.

In Ghalib In Delhi, he played the role of Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib.

He was the lead actor in "Once Upon A Time", a collection of five short stories presented as vignettes, directed by Sujata Soni Bali and co-starring prominent stage actor and TV personality Sunit Tandon. The production was last staged in Mumbai on 17 June 2017.

Writing and journalism

Alter has written books including The Longest Race, Rerun at Rialto, and The Best in the World. He was also a sports journalist with a special interest in cricket, a game on which he has written extensively in publications such as Sportsweek, Outlook, Cricket Talk, Sunday Observer, Firstpost, Citizen, and Debonair. Alter was the first to video interview Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in 1988.

Alter played cricket for a film industry team MCC (Match Cut Club), which includes Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Shah, Vishal Bhardwaj, Aamir Khan, Nana Patekar, Bhupinder Singh and Amarinder Sangha.

In 1996, he was invited by friend Siraj Syed to Singapore, to do cricket commentary in Hindi, for Indian viewers, on the sports TV channel, ESPN.

Personal life

Alter married Carol Evans, a fellow Woodstock School student, in 1977. They had two children together.

In September 2017, Alter was diagnosed with stage IV skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma). His thumb had been amputated a year earlier because of the condition. He died on 29 September at his residence in Mumbai.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Mrig Trishna	Colonel Lawrence
1976	Charas	Chief Custom Officer
Laila Majnu
1977	Shatranj Ke Khilari	Capt. Weston
Hum Kisise Kum Naheen	Jack
Parvarish	Mr. Jackson, Supremo's 2nd in Command
Saheb Bahadur
Ram Bharose	Tom
Kanneshwara Rama	British Superintendent of police	Kannada film
Chani		Marathi Movie
1978	Atyachaar
Naukri	Mr. Anderson
Des Pardes	Inspector Martin
Kaala Aadmi
1979	Chamelee Memsaab
Junoon	Priest
Hum Tere Aashiq Hain	British Police Commissioner
Salaam Memsaab	John
1980	Bharat Ki Santan
Constans
1981	Kranti	British Officer
Kudrat	Major Thomas Walters
1982	Meri Kahani
Brij Bhoomi	Guest	Brajbhasha film
Gandhi	Doctor at Aga Khan Palace	English film
Vidhaata	David
Swami Dada	Bob Simpson
Jaanwar
1983	The Last Tiger
Nastik	Mr. John
Arpan	Tom
Jaani Dost	Cobra's Goon
Romance	Priest
Gulami Ki Zaanjeerein
1984	Sharara
Bad Aur Badnam	President of ringania	Uncredited
1985	Ram Teri Ganga Maili	Karam Singh (Ganga's Brother)
Bond 303	Tom
1986	Manav Hatya
Shart	Alter
Amma	British Officer
Sultanat	Shah
Karma	Rexson
Chambal Ka Badshah
Avinash	Tom
Palay Khan
Car Thief	John
On Wings of Fire	Priest	English film
1987	Mr. X
Jalwa	Voice of wrestler
Woh Din Aayega	Somnath
1988	Etwa
Commando	Hatcher
Rukhsat	New York Police Capt. Morri
Khoon Bhari Maang	Plastic Surgeon	Cameo appearance
Janam Janam	DFO
Sone Pe Suhaaga	Dr. Rex
Ore Thooval Pakshikal
1989	Shagun
Vardi	Tom
*Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro *	Johan - (Jani Hippi)
Daata	Pat
Tridev	Dunhill
Bye Bye Blues	Gilbert Wilson
Parinda	Musa
Swarn Trisha
1990	Aashiqui	Arnie Campbell
Doodh Ka Karz	Frank
Zimmedaaar	Mercus
Atishbaz
1991	Farishtay	Guest Appearance
Deshwasi
Pahari Kanya	Doctor	Assamese language film
Jab Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya
1992	Suryavanshi	Tom
Tahalka	Dong's army captain
Angaar	Public prosecutor	Uncredited
Junoon	Harry
1993	Kala Coat	Alexander
Gumrah	Insp. Phillip
1994	Sardar	Lord Mountbatten
Insaniyat	British Intelligence
Gajamukta
Ekka Raja Rani	Mr. Rai	Uncredited
1995	Jai Vikraanta
Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India!	Bidder
Milan	Father Demello
1996	Kala Pani
Adajya	Mark Sahib	Uncredited
Assamese language film
1997	Divine Lovers	Dr. Taubman
1998	Hanuman	Tom's Father
1999	Kabhi Paas Kabhi Fail
2000	Driving Miss Palmen	Georg Baselitz
Shaheed Uddham Singh: alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad	Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer
Champion	Doctor
2001	Veer Savarkar	David Barry
On Wings of Fire
2002	What Happened Then... !!!	Allen McGirvan
Dil Vil Pyar Vyar	Special Appearance
Bharat Bhagya Vidhata	Mohammed Jalaudin Ghaznavi
2003	Love at Times Square	Mr. Gery
Dhund: The Fog	Uncle Tom
A.O.D.	Sanjeev Sarkar
Hawayein	Stephen
Yeh Hai Chakkad Bakkad Bumbe Bo
2004	Aetbaar	Dr. Freddie
Asambhav	Brian
Veer-Zaara	Doctor Yusuf
Silence Please... The Dressing Room	Cricket coach Ivan Rodrigues	English film
Mitter Pyare Nu Haal Mureedan Da Kehna	Ghosht Khan
Ghar Grihasti	Drug smuggler
Loknayak	Abul Kalam Azad
2005	Subash Chandra Bose	Governor Jackson
Viruddh... Family Comes First	Anderson (British Consultate)
The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey	Watson
The Hangman	Father Mathew
2006	Hot Money
Alag: He Is Different.... He Is Alone....	Dr. Richard Dyer
One Night with the King	King Saul (prologue)	English film
2007	Foto
I M IN LOVE	Church father
Bheja Fry	Dr. Shepherd
Kailashey Kelenkari	Sol Silverstein	Bengali film
2008	Ocean of an Old Man	Thomas - Teacher	English film
Colours of Passion Rang Rasiya	Justice Richards
2009	Avatar	Additional Na'vi people	British-Australian-American film
2010	Muigwithania	Major David	English film
Jaanleva	Mr. Malhotra
2011	With Love, Delhi!	Ajay
Yours Maria	Matthew Chacha	Short
Cycle Kick	Football Coach
Son of Flower	Major James Edwards	English film
With Love, Delhi!	Historian (Kidnapper)	English film
2012	Jhansi Ki Rani Laxmibai
date=2012-11-14	title=Tom's encounters with icons who Altered his life	work=The Times of India	url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/toms-encounters-with-icons-who-altered-his-life/articleshow/17211217.cms
Life Ki Toh Lag Gayi	Chicha
Kevi Rite Jaish	Uncle Sam / Derek Thomas	Gujarati language film
Son of Flower	Major James Edwards
Jaanleva Black Blood
2013	Divana-e-Ishq
The Corner Table	George Miller	English short film
2014	Daptar - The School Bag	Magic Uncle	Marathi film
Myth of Kleopatra	Adeyapartha Rajan	Hindi- English Film
M Cream	Mr. Bhardawaj	English / Hindi film
Bhaangarh
2015	Bachpan Ek Dhokha
Honour Killing	Mr. Smith
Promise Dad	Raul
Bangistan	The Imam
The Path of Zarathustra	Mamwaji
2016	Anuragakarikkinvellam	Abhi's Boss	Malayalam film
Life Flows On	Tom	English film
2017	Sargoshiyan	Alan Alter
2016 The End
2018	Redrum	Eric Fernandez	Posthumously
The Black Cat		English Film; Posthumously
San' 75 Pachattar		Marathi film; Posthumously
Hamari Paltan	Masterji	Posthumously
Nanak Shah Fakir
2019	KITAAB Short film	John	Last film
::

TV series

::data[format=table]

Period	Name	Role	Notes
1986	Idhar Udhar	Ronny Gonsalves	Episodic appearances
1988	Bharat Ek Khoj	Multiple characters
1990–1991	The Sword of Tipu Sultan	Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
1993–1997	Zabaan Sambhalke	Charles Spencers
1994	The Great Maratha	Robert Clive
1993–1998	Junoon	Keshav Kalsi
1995–2001	Aahat		Season 1 Episode 212 and 213
1997–1998	Betaal Pachisi	Harry
1998–1999	Captain Vyom	Vishwapramukh
1998–2005	Shaktiman	Mahaguru
2000	Adabi Cocktail
2002–2003	Ssshhhh...Koi Hai	Swami Antaryami, Mritunjay
2003–2004	Hatim	King of Paristan	Hindi, Urdu, Tamil languages
2011	Shama	Shama's Dadajaan
2011–2013	Yahan Ke Hum Sikandar	Samuel
2014	Samvidhaan	Abul Kalam Azad
2014	Dard Ka Rishta	Dindyal Sharma
2014–2015	Khamosh Sa Afsana	Hussain Baba
2017	Rishton Ka Chakravyuh	Somdev Guruji
2018	Wilderness Days	Anchor
2018	Smoke	Moshe Barak
::

References

References

1. (30 September 2017). "Actor Tom Alter Dies Of Cancer At 67". [[NDTV]].
2. (October 2017). "Tom Alter (1950–2017): The on-screen 'firangi' who remained forever Indian".
3. (9 May 2008). "No 'Alter'native".
4. Hazarika, Sanjoy. (6 July 1989). "An American Star Of the Hindi Screen". The New York Times.
5. (9 August 2008). "Features / Metro Plus: Tom Tom". The Hindu.
6. (25 January 2008). "Multifaceted actor Tom Alter to receive Padma Shri". India eNews.
7. (2 January 2008). "Woodstock School News". Woodstock School India.
8. "Tom Alter". Paritosh Uttam.
9. (23 August 2016). "Guftagoo with Tom Alter". [[Rajya Sabha TV]].
10. "Curriculum Vitae of Marty Chen".
11. (October 2017). "A Haryana town friend recalls the night show that led Tom Alter the teacher to show biz".
12. "Metro Plus Delhi / Personality : Tom, unaltered".
13. (23 April 2018). "Hamari Paltan: The last film of veteran actor, to release on April 27".
14. (2017-10-02). "10 Beautiful Roles Tom Alter Fit Into Perfectly During His Film And Television Career".
15. Padnani, Amisha. (2017-10-06). "Tom Alter, Blue-Eyed Star of Bollywood Films, Dies at 67". The New York Times.
16. "When I met Tom Beach Alter".
17. Padnani, Amisha. (6 October 2017). "Tom Alter, Blue-Eyed Star of Bollywood Films, Dies at 67". The New York Times.
18. "Actor Tom Alter as Mirza Ghalib". Little Black Book.
19. "Veteran actor Tom Alter dies at 67".
20. (28 August 2005). "Telling a story in different ways".
21. Veena. (2017-09-30). "Tom Alter: A greater performer than Bollywood's dependable 'firang'".
22. (30 April 2012). "Tom Alter". [[The Times of India]].
23. (11 September 2017). "Tom Alter diagnosed with skin cancer". The Hindu.
24. (11 September 2017). "Tom Alter Battling Stage 4 Skin Cancer, Confirms Son Jamie". NDTV.
25. (30 September 2017). "Actor Tom Alter dies of skin cancer at 67". [[Hindustan Times]].
26. (30 September 2017). "Tom Alter, Padma Shri actor and writer, dies aged 67". [[Times of India]].
27. (2012-11-14). "Tom's encounters with icons who Altered his life". The Times of India.
28. (2012-11-06). "IFFK: Seven films in 'Indian Cinema Now' section".
29. "Welcome : Daptar the Movie".
30. (2014-11-04). "IFFK to screen seven films in 'Indian Cinema Now' section".
31. "Latest Entertainment News: Celebrity News, Latest News on TV Reality Shows, Breaking News & Trending Stories".

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