| Tom Starr | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Clint Howard as Tom Starr | |||||||
| The Bold and the Beautiful | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Clint Howard | ||||||
| Current status | Former, Recurring | ||||||
| Duration | 2024 | ||||||
| First appearance | April 11, 2024 | ||||||
| Last appearance | July 1, 2024 | ||||||
| Cause/reason | Death | ||||||
| Introduced by | Bradley Bell | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||
| Died | July 1, 2024 | ||||||
| Cause of death | Poisoning | ||||||
| Occupation | Delivery Man at Il Giardino Independent musician Independent Justice of the Peace | ||||||
| Residence | Los Angeles, California (formerly homeless) | ||||||
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Tom Starr was a fictional character on The Bold and the Beautiful, portrayed by celebrity guest Clint Howard from April 11, 2024 to July 1, 2024.
Introduced as a homeless man sleeping in an alley near a convenience store, Tom was discovered by Deacon Sharpe and Dr. John Finnegan, to whom he provided a clue on the then-missing Sheila Carter's whereabouts. Tom was recruited to the Il Giardino restaurant team, prior to his death.
Storylines[]
Background[]
Tom Starr was a well-known Los Angeles musician, most famous for the song "H.O.T.T.", whom toured California alongside a band of roadies. It was at a music festival in San Francisco that he met Poppy Nozawa, whom he cared deeply for. During the night of the festival, Tom and Poppy slept together, conceiving Luna Nozawa.
Tom engaged in a "rocker's lifestyle", including affairs with multiple women, and heavy drug use, the latter of which led to financial distress and eventual long-term homelessness. Poppy was made aware of this, and promised not to let Luna know her father or fall victim to his habits.
Meeting Deacon Sharpe and Assisting to Locate Sheila Carter[]
When Deacon Sharpe and Dr. John Finnegan went searching for a missing Sheila Carter, otherwise believed deceased at the time, they were led to Barnes' Convenience Store in a 'rough' part of Los Angeles - the place of the last transaction on Sheila's bank account. Deacon questions an employee outside the store, whom directs them to ask Tom, a homeless recovering drug addict whom camps near an abandoned warehouse next door.
Deacon shows Tom a picture of Sheila, and he immediately recognises her, citing that he does not forget a face, "especially not one as beautiful as hers". Tom recalls that she entered the warehouse after he saw her, and shortly thereafter heard a loud scream. Amidst a lot of searching, Finn and Deacon found a near-death, dehydrated Sheila.
Deacon's Debt of Gratitude and Tom's New Life[]
Deacon feels indebted to Tom and his crucial role in locating Sheila, and wishes to give Tom a better life. Deacon first requests that Tom be their wedding officiant, as Tom was a licenced Justice of the Peace, and Tom was compensated enough money to secure short-term accommodation. Deacon later offers Tom a role at his restaurant, Il Giardino, much to Tom's astonishment. Tom promised Deacon that he no longer uses drugs, and showed he still had a valid driver's licence - in need of a deliveryperson, Deacon recruits him to the role.
Tom thoroughly enjoyed his role at Il Giardino, and made good friends with senior waiter/bartender Paul "Hollis" Hollister. Whilst grateful to have been of assistance to Sheila, Tom discovered information on Sheila's criminal history and expressed his concern to Deacon, which Sheila overhears. A disgruntled Sheila assured Tom that she has reformed, as he had, and reminded Tom that nobody was perfect. Tom accepted the statement and, in Deacon's words, became "like a brother" to both him and Sheila.
A Blast from the Past and Tom's Death[]
During his work, waiting tables at Il Giardino, Tom was surprised when he saw former flame Poppy Nozawa. He stared at her from afar, but upon waiting her table, it was clear that they recognised one another. When asked about his past life, Tom told Deacon and Hollis that he was a musician, and explained that music has been a constant in his life. Tom would tour with a group of people (one of which being Poppy) during the early 2000s, and perform at concerts and festivals. Deacon asked Tom to perform a show at Il Giardino; the first in a supposed series. Tom was elated at this news and flyers were presented with each carryout order.
Tom created a pizza delivery to the Spencer Estate, where Poppy was residing, in an attempt to confront her. After a period of argument, her daughter, Luna Nozawa, showed up. Tom became emotional and hastily left the property without the pizza. Opening the box, Luna noticed the flyer advertising Tom's performance and showed it to Poppy.
Deacon allowed Tom to use his apartment above Il Giardino to prepare on the day of his performance. Whilst upstairs, Tom received a confrontational visit from Poppy, requesting him to leave her alone. Tom told Poppy he would not, knowing Luna was his daughter, and reminding Poppy of the letters they had returned one another. This infuriated Poppy, whom had seen paternity test results stating that Bill Spencer, Jr. was Luna's father. Tom did not relent, and told Poppy that he would seek Luna out and tell her that he, not Bill, is Luna's father. This was later presumed to be true, with the reveals of Luna interfering with said paternity test, and knowing her paternity all along via the letters.
Before the performance commenced, a mysterious cloaked figure with black leather gloves (later revealed to be Luna) located Tom's ice blue electrolytes drink in a "backstage" cavity at the front of the restaurant, and poured in crushed granules of the narcotics which Poppy would use, before stirring the drink and quickly leaving. Tom went backstage a few minutes before the performance and took a large sip of the drink. He then brought it out to the stage, and would take further sips between songs. After performing his ensemble, Tom thanked his audience before passing out and collapsing. Despite transporting to hospital, Tom could not be revived and died later that night.
Aftermath and Associated Death of Paul Hollister[]
Deacon, Sheila and Hollis were all distraught and devastated over Tom's death, but became even more shocked when Dr. John Finnegan informed them that Tom had died of a drug overdose. Deacon and Sheila knew of Tom's past drug addiction, although confused as to why he would relapse, but Hollis refused to believe it and began obsessing over clues and information.
Whilst searching the closet room at Il Giardino, Hollis found Tom's backpack, containing dozens of letters he had received from Poppy over the years. Hollis read through them and understood that Tom was Luna's father. Hollis initially showed the backpack to Sheila, but it was disregarded and Hollis was asked to dispose of it. Hollis held onto the backpack and returned to Il Giardino after hours, where he met with Luna, whom he had recently (supposedly) befriended.
Hollis showed Luna the backpack and some of the letters, concluding that Tom, not Bill, was her father. Hollis felt proud to have given the situation some closure. Luna pretended to be interested, and thanked Hollis, but then told him one of Deacon's staff needed to speak with him. Whilst Hollis was distracted and searching for Deacon, Luna poured crushed narcotics into Hollis' coconut water bottle. Hollis returned, having not found Deacon, and began drinking from the bottle. Hollis shortly began slurring his words and stumbling around, with pain and an elevated heartrate; Luna pretended to show concern and told Hollis that drinking more may help. Hollis began to hallucinate, before Luna told him that nobody would find out Tom was her father. A shocked Hollis deduced that Luna killed Tom, before collapsing on the floor behind the bar. Luna zipped up and carried Tom's backpack, then watched as Hollis suffocated and died.
Sheila was mortified to find Hollis' body behind the bar the following morning, and called Deacon down from his apartment. Hollis' body was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased and stored within the hospital morgue. An autopsy on Hollis' body was run and presented similarly to Tom's - high amounts of narcotics were found in his system, concluding death by overdose. Nobody understood why, as Hollis was never known to take or support illegal substances, and many people became gravely concerned that the deaths were connected and not coincidental.
Justice and Legacy[]
A police investigation was commenced and Sheila Carter Sharpe was initially suspected. Steffy Forrester Finnegan spoke with Deputy Chief Bradley Baker on the phone and requested that he arrest Sheila on suspicions; whilst she was not arrested, she was restrained at the apartment and taken in for questioning. Sheila was shortly thereafter released on the conclusion that she had zero involvement with the murders.
Poppy's strange and erratic behaviour led to suspicion of her own involvement, mostly deduced by Katie Logan, Bill's ex-wife, whom took a disliking to Poppy. Katie researched the music festival at which Bill and Poppy had met, but was alarmed to see Tom Starr as a performing artist. Noting the benefits Poppy would face if Tom was eliminated, and after police raided Poppy's apartment and located a sample of the narcotics used in the murders, Poppy was arrested and imprisoned on the false conclusion that she killed Tom and Hollis.
Poppy's arrest came to a lot of confusion from others, primarily from Bill, Finn, and Li Nozawa, all of which could not fathom Poppy having the morals nor the intellect of a murderer. Luna, however, pretended to grieve but then accept the situation for how it is, and increasing her apparent gratitude for Bill. Katie called for another paternity test to be conducted, to which Bill reluctantly complied - revealing no biological chance of Luna being his daughter. Bill apologised and sympathised with Luna, having wanted to love her as his own. Luna expressed her gratitude to Bill once more, and kissed him. Although Bill was shocked, and had scolded Luna for kissing him, it did not stop her from doing it again - the second kiss of which was witnessed by Steffy.
Steffy concluded that Luna was taking advantage of her mother being absent, and followed her to their old apartment. Steffy confronted Luna and berated her for using Bill. Luna played dumb and aloof, then offered Steffy a glass of iced tea, which she took multiple sips from. Steffy muses Luna about her 'rise' from the apartment and R.J.'s beach house, to living on the Spencer Estate, silently accusing Luna of being a gold-digger. When Luna responded and asked what Steffy was implying, she responded:
Yeah, I guess Poppy had so much to lose if Tom Starr was your father. You had so much to lose too, right. Look at the life you have now. Your future’s set. Everything’s fine, you’re living at Bill Spencer’s house.
Oh my God, it’s all starting to make sense. That’s why you kissed Bill. You want him all to himself. Is that who you are? The kind of person who will do anything it takes to get what you want… money, power, even if it means murder?
I’m right. You did it. You killed Tom and Hollis.
Luna smiled at Steffy, confirming the theory, before Steffy collapsed and Luna placed her in a large cage. Steffy spent days within the cage, isolated with Luna, whom offered her food and water but were rejected at the risk of being drugged. Luna eventually came clean to Steffy, showing no remorse for her actions. Steffy tried reasoning with Luna, attempting to sympathise with her and promising to help her, to which Luna considered but refused. Luna had the full intent of leaving Steffy within the building until it was demolished.
Steffy had expressed her need to take a break from Finn, after a kiss he received from Hope Logan, and had intended on revisiting a psychiatric clinic in Monaco. However, it had alarmed Finn that he received a call from the clinic, stating that Steffy was nowhere to be seen. Finn spoke to several people to gather clues as to where she could be, and was even more alarmed to locate her phone at the Spencer Estate, which Steffy would never leave without. When Finn began further questioning, Bill's and R.J.'s testimonials on Luna's recent behaviour led Finn to believe Steffy's disappearance had something to do with Luna.
Finn began distrusting Luna and confronted her, to which he was given very vague and scattered responses to his direct questions about her behaviour. Finn and Li eventually followed Luna to the apartment, where Finn located and released Steffy. Li confronted Luna, and tackled her to the ground when she tried to escape - citing, "Nozawa power.". Luna was promptly arrested and later admitted to her crimes in front of Bill and Poppy. All charges against Poppy were dropped, and Luna was subsequently placed in custody.
A set of hanging portraits of Tom and Hollis, which Sheila gifted Deacon, sit on the wall at the entrance to Il Giardino to honour their memory, dedication, and friendship.
Crimes and Misdeeds[]
- Became addicted to alcohol and illicit substances whilst touring with a band, eventually leading to homelessness (pre-2024).
- Stole Bill Spencer's address from Deacon's client database to pay Poppy Nozawa an unexpected visit. (June 2024)
Maladies and Injuries[]
- Became addicted to alcohol and illicit substances whilst touring with a band, eventually leading to homelessness (pre-2024).
- Poisoned by his own daughter Luna Nozawa, leading to collapse on-stage at Il Giardino and his eventual death (2024).