Thomas William Babson (born July 15, 1945) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

coach and actor.

Early life

Tom Babson graduated from Gloucester High School, where he was the captain of the

team in 1963. After graduating, he played one season at the Northwood School. He played college hockey at St. Lawrence University and the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

. Babson earned a bachelor's degree in theatre from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Smith College.

Acting

Since the mid-1970s, Babson has been a "writer, teacher, actor and director of theatre, film and television". One of his first jobs in Hollywood was helping Paul Newman learn to play hockey for the film '' Slap Shot''. Also, since the early 1980s, he has made appearances in more than 250 films and television series, such as portraying a recurring character Tom, an aspiring lawyer in the television sitcom '' Cheers''. He also wrote a book ''The Actor’s Choice'', published by Heinemann in 1996.

Coaching

He served as a training coach for the

United States women's national ice hockey team The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in international play, having medaled in every major tournament. In 1998, the women's Olympic ...

, especially during Olympics, from 1996 to 1998. He was a camp director for the United States National Women’s Hockey Festival from 1997 to 1999. He served the coach of the Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey from 1999 to 2003, where he compiled a record of 33–84–9. He was a coach "for several junior Olympic Development Program teams in Lake Placid."

Personal life

He has a wife and a son. They reside in Gloucester, Massachusetts and the Beacon Hill section of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Babson, Tom Living people American ice hockey coaches American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Massachusetts Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey coaches Ice hockey people from Boston Sportspeople from Gloucester, Massachusetts Smith College alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey players UMass Minutemen ice hockey players People from Beacon Hill, Boston 1945 births Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts