To many, Tom Arnold is a 1990s footnote, best known for his tumultuous marriage to Roseanne Barr and his comic sidekick role to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1994 hit film "True Lies."
But Arnold never really went away. He's continued to stay in a more muted spotlight over the years, hosting a sports show for four years, a silly CMT reality series "My Big Redneck Wedding" for three and acting in films with choice titles such as "The Stupids," "National Lampoon's Barely Legal" and "Homo Erectus."
He also remains active in the stand-up circuit, stopping at the Atlanta Improv Sept. 18 to 20, spinning tales of his wacky life. (Buy tickets here.)
In a recent phone interview, Arnold said he's much happier now with his fourth (and hopefully final) wife Ashley Groussman.
"I think I got very lucky," he said. "The first time [with Roseanne], I married my buddy. Second time, I married the opposite, a 21-year-old college student who I thought I could make happy."
This time, Arnold said he has a beautiful woman by his side who has his back "98 percent of the time." And that's good enough for him.
Plus, being a dad for the first time at age 55 has changed his view on life. After his now 16-month-old son Jax was born, Arnold lost 100 pounds.
"I hadn't had a drink in 25 years, hadn't touched cocaine or any of those drugs. But food was my thing. I ate what I wanted. But when I looked at my baby, I realized this relationship is permanent. I'm his dad. I'm all he's got. So I stopped eating gluten and processed sugar. I go to Whole Foods. I try to do organic." Plus, he now does 100 minutes of cardio exercise a day.
Not that it was easy at first. He said he felt horrid the first month of his diet: "The detox was worse than alcohol or cocaine!"
The ultimate result: "I feel a lot better. No more sleep apnea. I don't need blood pressure meds."
When NBC offered him to be part of a new reality show "Running Wild With Bear Grylls," he jumped aboard. Grylls takes celebrities such as Ben Stiller, Channing Tatum and Deion Sanders on two-day wilderness trips. NBC wanted someone with an average Joe body and even skinnier, Arnold fit the bill.
You can watch the entire episode here:
On his episode, which aired last month, Arnold hung off a helicopter, slid down a muddy hill, rappelled a cliff and walked a log 50 feet above the ground like a tightrope. "I was shocked it wasn't fake!" he said, adding, "I wanted it to be more fake. It could have saved so much time!"
The one thing that he was okay with: grabbing bear feces in his bare hands. "I grew up on a farm. That didn't bother me."
This interview happened right after news Joan Rivers had died. Arnold said he'd known her for three decades and was honored to be part of her Comedy Central's roast in 2009.
"She was a muckraker," he said. "A trouble maker. That was her brand of comedy. She knew even at age 81 how to be outrageous and say something funny and absurd."
A sampling of his stand up from 2011:
Comedy preview
Tom Arnold
8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19; 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20
$20-$25, depending on the show
Atlanta Improv
56 E. Andrews Dr. NW, Atlanta
www.theimprovatlanta.com, 678-244-3612
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