Early life

Thomas ("Thom") Steinbeck was born on 2 August 1944 in Manhattan, New York, to John and Gwyndolyn Steinbeck. He had a good relationship with his famous father, stating that he would rate him, "an eight-and-a-half or a nine" on a ten-point scale.

Military service

Steinbeck went to Vietnam in the 1960s, serving as a helicopter door gunner. After his service there, he returned in the late 1960s as a combat photographer.

Later life

Along with his writing and producing obligations, Steinbeck lectures on American literature, creative writing, and the communication arts. He serves as an honorary board member at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood and as a board member of the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California and the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University.

Thomas Steinbeck has been an active and verbal proponent of authors' rights. In 2009, he worked closely with his friend, Arlo Guthrie, in a successful initiative to implement an extension to the settlement negotiations between Google and the Author's Guild.

Steinbeck contributed to the My California Project, a collaboration of short stories written by twenty-seven of California's most important authors, in an attempt to save the floundering California Arts Council. "My California" is in its third print run.

Mr. Steinbeck is an uncle to the well-known singer, songwriter, Johnny Irion. He lives with his wife in Santa Barbara, California