Lowe had just secured his first professional part at age 12. The story under the headline “Boy, 12, sets his cap for stardom as actor,” included information that Lowe landed his first professional part by himself.
“You just call any place and ask them if there’s a part for a kid,” Lowe said of his process for getting the part in “Sherlock Holmes” at the Wright State University summer theater in 1976. “I called Wright State and they said, ‘Yes.’”
Lowe admitted that he and his parents kept copies of the publication.
“I was so proud of that you would have thought that was the cover of TIME magazine for me,” Lowe said.
Lowe had just finished sixth grade at Longfellow Middle School. The story said he signed up for an acting class at the Dayton Playhouse at 8 years old after seeing a play he enjoyed.
The story noted he would be moving to Malibu, Calif., with his mother that fall to pursue commercials.
“And when the people in Dayton get great big jobs, I think they’ll remember me and give me a break,” he said.
Less than six years later, the Dayton Daily News published a story headlined “Rob Lowe offered movie role,” which covered his casting in the movie “The Outsiders” at age 17. The movie was released in 1983.
The Dayton-raised actor is famous for roles on TV’s “The West Wing” and “Parks and Recreation” and a list of movies that include “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Behind the Candelabra,” “Wayne’s World, “How to be a Latin Lover,” and several others.
During “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Lowe talked about a new movie on Netflix that he is in called “Dog Gone.” He said he also has a new show coming out on Netflix that he co-created with his son, John Owen. He said his other son, Matthew, is in the finance world.
“Now I’m really learning about their work lives,” Lowe said. “It’s a whole different phase where you get them through childhood, and then all of sudden it’s like, “How’s work? It’s super cool.”
He said he is very close with his sons and shared a story about scaring them as Bigfoot during a camping trip years ago.
Grammy Award-winning artist Kelly Clarkson is in season four of her one-hour daytime talk show. According to NBCUniversal, in each episode, audiences will experience an hour full of remarkable stories, celebrity guests, spontaneous surprises, humor, heart and, of course, good music.
“The Kelly Clarkson Show” airs at 4 p.m. on WKEF. For more information, visit www.kellyclarksonshow.com.
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