Acclaimed artist
and author Thom Bierdz won awards in multiple categories
for his self-published autobiography, Forgiving
Troy: The Art-o-Biography of Thom Bierdz,
including the Indie Excellence Book Award for Best
Autobiography, and the USA Book News awards for
Best True Crime and Best Audio-Book.
The book, which
is only available through www.ThomBierdz.com, chronicles the
disturbing and tragic history of Bierdz's family.
After playing the
role of Phillip Chancellor III on The Young and the
Restless for three years, Bierdz suffered an
unspeakable tragedy, sending his career and his life
into a vicious tailspin. In July 1989, his mother was
brutally murdered at the hands of his younger paranoid
schizophrenic brother Troy. What had been a
promising Hollywood career suddenly came to a crashing halt.
Bierdz spent his late 20s and 30s in silent catharsis.
Motivated by a desire to make sense of the matricide,
he labored intensively over an art film that utilized
thrift-shop dolls to portray his family members;
the film went on to win Best Experimental Film (PhilaFilm,
1997) and Best Experimental Film (Golden Calf Award in
Davis, Calif., 1997).
In 2000, Bierdz
experienced another tragedy when his other brother,
Gregg, in a paranoid depression committed suicide. Bierdz
turned to the canvas to keep sane. "Each
painting became an earnest attempt to make sense out
of the senseless, to make something beautiful out of
something tragic."
His art (where he
paints live in front of crowds) has raised over
$100,000 for various charities, and it was his affiliation
with the Art Of Elysium (a charity that teams artists
with hospitalized kids) that launched his West Coast
art gallery premiere, hosted by Scarlett Johannson.
(The Advocate)
