Tom Alter Death Anniversary: Lesser known facts about the Padma Shri awardee

Actor Tom Alter, who was known for his works in Hindi cinema, died in 2017. On his death anniversary, here are some interesting facts about the Padma Shri awardee

He was educated in Woodstock School and studied Hindi among other subjects in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand

He was occasionally referred to as the 'Blue-eyed saheb with impeccable Hindi'

At the age of 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

Before taking interest in acting., Tom worked as a teacher and a cricket coach in St. Thomas School, Jagadhri, Haryana and Woodstock School, Mussoorie

While working at Jagadhri, he began to watch Hindi films. He saw the film 'Aradhana' and drifted towards a career in acting

In 2017, he was diagnosed with stage IV skin cancer. His thumb had been amputated a year earlier because of the condition

His parents James and Barbara Alter started 'Massihi Dhyaan Kendra' an ashram in Rajpur

He was also a sports journalist