If everyone in showbiz was lined up one a pole–and there is no evidence they are not–one would find Tom Hanks and Jim “The Poorman” Trenton at polar opposites.
And yet, on live television this morning, the Hollywood mega-star namechecked Newport Beach's most famous sad sack, who in January pulled the plug on his pay-to-play Poorman's Bikini Beach because he could not afford to pay anymore.
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It happened during the end of Hanks' in-studio appearance around 8:15 a.m. on the KTLA Morning News, which was heavily promoted because after years of playful interview bantering with entertainment reporter Sam Rubin at remote movie press junkets, this was the first time anyone could remember Hanks actually setting foot on the Channel 5 set. Hanks was doing some promoting himself, for Friday's opening of Larry Crowne, which he directed, co-wrote and stars in.
That comedy is about something of a lovable loser, so perhaps that explains Hanks' frame of mind as the interview was wrapping.
“Which one of you is Malibu Dan?” Hanks jokingly asked the news anchors and weatherman Mark Kriski sitting to the right of Rubin.
“Malibu Dan used to be my radio sidekick,” Rubin informed. “. . . He's a realtor in Orange County.”
To which, Hanks shot back while holding a tumbler of water like a cocktail, “He's doing reviews of taco
stands with Poorman of KROQ.”
Considering the lengths Hanks has gone to to promote his small movie–including dancing to salsa music with the weather girl on a Spanish-language infotainment program on Univision (see below)–it would not be surprising to see him turn up at Poorman's latest stop: KCAA 1050 AM of San Bernardino, where the Loveline creator hosts an afternoon talk show.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.