Tom Petty Age, Wife, Family, Biography, Death Cause & More

Bio
Real Name	Thomas Earl Petty
Profession	Singer, Musician, Songwriter, Record Producer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet inches- 5’ 9”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 70 kg in pounds- 154 lbs
Eye Color	Light Blue
Hair Color	Blonde
Personal Life
Date of Birth	October 20, 1950
Birth Place	Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Date of Death	October 2, 2017
Place of Death	Santa Monica, California
Age (at the time of death)	66 Years
Death Cause	Cardiac Arrest
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Libra
Signature/Autograph
Nationality	American
Hometown	Gainesville, Florida
School	Gainesville High School
College	Not Known
Educational Qualification	Not Known
Singing Debut (Album)	With the Heartbreakers: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976) With the Traveling Wilburys: Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988) Solo: Full Moon Fever (1989)
Family	Father- Earl Mother- Kitty Brother- Bruce (younger) Sister- None
Religion	Not Known
Favorite Things
Favorite Singers/Bands	Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Ventures, The Kinks, The Animals
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Jane Benyo Dana York Epperson
Wife/Spouse(s)	Jane Benyo (m. 1974-1996) Dana York Epperson (m. 2001-his death)
Marriage Date	June 3, 2001 (with Dana York Epperson)
Children	Son- Dylan (stepson) Daughters- Adria, Director (elder), Anna Kim
Money Factor
Net Worth	$95 million

Some Lesser Known Facts About Tom Petty

A huge fan of The Beatles, Tom Petty’s musical journey began as part of the band- Epics, which later came to be known as “Mudcrutch”. Though the band was popular locally, it failed to make a mark outside the city of Gainesville. ‘Depot Street’ remains perhaps their only single to have gained some global recognition.

In an interview, Tom revealed that before becoming a singer-songwriter, he briefly worked as a gravedigger.

It was none other than Don Felder, the lead guitarist of The Eagles, who taught Tom the basics of playing the guitar.

Back in 1981, he got into a tussle with his record company – MCA Records – over the pricing of his album, titled “Hard Promises.” Reportedly, the company wanted to release the album at a price of $9.98; however, Tom was against the decision and wanted it to be released at $8.98. He even threatened to change the name of the album if his demand wasn’t met. As expected, the record label surrendered and the album was issued at the latter price.

Various notable Hollywood celebrities were part of the video songs released by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. While Johnny Depp was featured in the video of the 1991 song “Into the Great Wide Open”, Kim Basinger was seen in the song “Into the Great Wide Open.” In addition, the band also wrote and recorded the complete soundtrack for Jennifer Anniston‘s “She’s the One” (1996).

Despite enjoying record sales, he took over 40 years to achieve the #1 spot on the Billboard charts. Better late than never, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Hypnotic Eye” did the job for them in 2014.

He received 12.5% of the royalties from singer Sam Smith’s song – Stay With Me – after it was found that the song had been plagiarised from Tom’s “I Won’t Back Down”.

During his time with the Traveling Wilbury band, Tom performed under different stage names, viz. Charlie T. Wilbury and Muddy Wilbury.

Not many people know that the opening music of the 2006 NBA Playoffs & Finals was composed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

As far as his acting career is concerned, Tom is best remembered for his role of a city Mayor in the 1997 flick- Postman.

He also lent his voice to Luanne Platter’s husband, a character in the American Sitcom- King of the Hill.