Yahoo Movies Tom Hanks pays tribute to 'That Thing You Do!' songwriter Adam Schlesinger
Tom Hanks has memorialised Fountains of Wayne musician Adam Schlesinger, who died this week aged 52 following complications from coronavirus, calling him “a One-der”.
The songwriter worked with Hanks on his 1996 music comedy That Thing You Do!, which the Forrest Gump star wrote, directed, and starred. Schlesinger wrote, produced and performed on the title song, performed in the film by the fictional band The One-ders and released by faux-label Playtone. Hanks’ production company Playtone took its name from the film.
The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 1997 Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
“There would be no Playtone without Adam Schlesinger,” Hanks wrote on Twitter.
There would be no Playtone without Adam Schlesinger, without his That Thing You Do! He was a One-der. Lost him to Covid-19. Terribly sad today. Hanx
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) April 2, 2020
“He was a One-der. Lost him to Covid-19. Terribly sad today.”
Hanks himself recently recovered from coronavirus in Australia, before returning home to America.
The song That Thing You Do went on to be a bona fide real world chart hit, released on Playtone, reaching number 22 in the UK singles chart in 1996.
Ethan Embry, who played One-der T.B. Player in the film, also paid tribute to Schlesinger on Twitter, recalling hearing his title song for the first time.
I remember the day all the Oneders, @LivTyler and @tomhanks sat in a room and played about 6 submitted tracks from different bands for That Thing You Do. When we heard Adam Schlesinger’s cassette it was instantly clear which track we would need to learn.
— Ethan Embry (@EmbryEthan) April 2, 2020
Schlesinger had a successful career writing music for films, contributing songs to Ice Age: Continental Drift, Music and Lyrics, and his music has also been featured in films such as Shallow Hal (which he scored), Robots, There's Something About Mary, Me, Myself & Irene, Josie and the Pussycats, Scary Movie, Art School Confidential, Fever Pitch, The Manchurian Candidate, Because of Winn-Dixie, Orange County, Two Weeks Notice, and more.
Band of Brothers, Mamma Mia!, Cast Away and The Polar Express are just some of the projects released under Hanks’ Playtone banner.
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A statement from his family on Tuesday said Schlesinger was in hospital in New York fighting COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.
Chris Carrabba, from the band Dashboard Confessional, confirmed his death.
