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SUNDAY'S CHILD
Sunday's Child "Christopher" 2/7/10
Just in time for the Winter Olympics, CBS 7’s Tatum Hubbard hit the ice with a very athletic 15-year-old for a little "speed skating."
Just in time for the Winter Olympics, CBS 7’s Tatum Hubbard hit the ice with a very athletic 15-year-old for a little "speed skating."
"Twilight" Star's Midland Roots 11/19/09
CBS 7 News
November 19, 2009
Midland, Texas - Many "Twilight" fans are counting down the hours until the next movie in the series "New Moon" opens tonight at midnight, but one local family has already seen it because their son, Jackson Rathbone, is one of the stars.
He’s got numerous fan sites, paparazzi following nearly his every move and even a budding music career, but his family says, he's just the same old guy whose proud of his west Texas roots.
Jackson Rathbone plays Jasper Hale, one of the Cullen’s, a clan of vampires in the “Twilight” series, but his humble beginnings were on the local stage.
Randee Rathbone, Jackson’s mom, says, “He started in 8th grade, started performing in Midland Community Theatre, he was a Pickwick Player.”
But despite his parents wished he attended an arts academy for high school.
Rathbone says, “We were not thrilled with the idea, we wanted him to stay and graduate from high school in Midland, TX.”
He later moved to LA to pursue acting as a career.
Jack Rathbone, Jackson’s dad, says, “He started getting some commercials, getting some Disney spots and it took 4-5 years, maybe 4 years and then he started getting some real roles.”
Like the Twilight series.
Rathbone says, “It just sort of exploded… Nobody really knew what Twilight was… I have to admit it is kinda crazy, but its fun, these are just ordinary people who made it in the film industry. I think they all know its a little bit crazy.”
They got a first-hand look at just how crazy Twilight-mania is at the premiere of “New Moon”, on Monday night.
Rathbone says, “I guess its still not really real to us, to me... he's still my son, he's not a movie star…Something that was really crazy was just last Monday night, or Sunday when we were in LA and he just came to our hotel to meet us for dinner and there was paparazzi at the hotel when he walked in and when he walked out.”
But away from the hype of Hollywood, they know he's still grounded.
Rathbone says, “He sees himself as just Jackson Rathbone, and so many people see him as bigger than life, he's just a good kid that's done well.”
A good kid that remembers where he came from.
“He's proud to be from Midland, Texas... he brags about being from Texas.”
“It's fun to watch someone who’s gone after a dream and achieved it, and when its your son, its a little extra special.”
His parents say that Jackson’s band "100 Monkeys" is about to start a 100-city tour and right now, they have a scheduled stop in Midland.
No word yet on the date of the concert.
