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| Birth Name(s) : Tommy Lee |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Full Tommy Lee Biography
Tommy Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass on October 3, 1962) is a Greek American and Welsh American Heavy Metal musician. He is best known as the drummer for hard rock/heavy metal band Mötley Crüe and ex-husband of actresses Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear.
Lee was born in Athens, Greece. His mother, Vassiliki "Voula" Papadimitriou, was Miss Greece in 1957, and his father was David Lee Thomas Bass, a Welsh AmericanUS Army serviceman. He has one younger sister, Athena Kottak (b. 1964), who is currently the drummer of KrunK. His family moved to California a year after his birth. Lee received his first drum when he was four. However he received his first real drum kit when he was a teenager. At that time, he was listening to Kiss, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Judas Priest. After transferring from South Hills High School; he joined the marching band at Royal Oak High School in Covina, California, but dropped out of school in his senior year to focus on his musical career. His first successful band Suite 19 played the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles during the late 70s. At this time he met future bandmate, Nikki Sixx. Casually, Sixx was forming a theatrical band that would specialize in anthemic heavy metal, and was impressed by Lee's playing. Sixx, Lee and Leon started jamming together, but Leon decided not to continue. At this time, he changed his name to Tommy Lee and earned the nickname "T-bone" from Sixx. He got this nickname due to his tall 6ft 2 ½ inch (189cm) skinny physique. Shortly afterwards, guitarist Mick Mars joined the band. Mars recommended a singer Tommy met at high school, Vince Neil, who soon joined the group, and the infamous Mötley Crüe was formed.
In 1995, he married actress/pinup Pamela Anderson (1995-98). They have two children, Brandon Thomas, born June 6, 1996, and Dylan Jagger, born December 29, 1997. It was with Anderson that one of Lee's most famous incidents arose when one of their private videos was stolen in 1995. The couple had videotaped their sexual activities while on vacation. The tape was widely circulated, and was one of the first examples of nude celebrities on the Internet. The couple divorced in 1998, soon after divorcing Tommy got hepatitis c then he served four months in prison after pleading no contest to kicking Anderson in the crotch. The couple legally divorced, although they reunited briefly upon his release. Shortly thereafter, Tommy Lee suffered further public embarrassment when a 1998 lawsuit exposed a swastika tattoo on his arm to public scrutiny. In 1996 Lee pled no contest to criminal charges of battery against a Jewish photographer after Lee attacked the man outside the famous Viper Room, in LA. When the photographer went on to sue Lee, the swastika tattoo, which Lee had since removed, was said to be visible in at the time, which Lee’s lawyer argued would simply inflame the jury and create unfair prejudice against him. Shortly after claiming that the introduction of the tattoo into the court record would produce prejudice, Lee went on to deny its existence. Lee’s attorney reported the swastika was a “stupid tattoo obtained several years ago.” Tommy Lee decided to leave Mötley Crüe during his stay in prison, and stuck to his promise after the completion of the Crüe's Greatest Hits tour in 1999. With the popularity of rap metal, Lee formed a band called Methods of Mayhem. The band released a self-titled album the same year and toured in support of it. Although Lee distanced himself from Mötley Crüe after splitting, he agreed to take part in their 2001 autobiography, The Dirt. In addition to Mötley Crüe and Methods of Mayhem, Lee has made guest appearances on albums by other artists, such as Stuart Hamm, Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie. He also contributed a solo song, "Welcome to Planet Boom" to the soundtrack of then-wife Pamela Anderson's 1996 movie, Barb Wire, and produced an album for the pre-Goldfinger project from John Feldmann and Simon Williams, the Electric Love Hogs. Lee parted ways with Methods of Mayhem partner Tilo and began recording with members of Incubus. He then released his first solo album. The album, 2002's Never a Dull Moment, has tones of rap metal and electronica. The song "Blue" features guest vocalist Rodleen Getsic (the credits read: "Rolleen"). In August of 2002, Tommy Lee and his solo band joined Ozzfest, mainstage. He formed a new band called Rock Star Supernova with Jason Newsted (Voivod, ex-Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N' Roses). The 2006 season of Rock Star selected Lukas Rossi as the lead singer for Supernova. Dilana, the runner-up, accepted an offer to go on tour with Supernova along with assistance in producing an album of her own. Rock Star Supernova released their debut album on November 21st, 2006.
In 2001, four-year-old Daniel Karven-Veres drowned at Lee's Malibu, California, home during a birthday party for Lee's son Brandon. On April 17, 2003, a Superior Court jury took less than three hours to reject a wrongful death claim made by Daniel's parents, German actress Ursula Karven and TV producer James Veres. The suit accused Lee of negligence for failing to have a lifeguard or someone trained in CPR present during the birthday party. |
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