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Tom Battista '55 Proud To Be A La Salle Boy
Tom Battista ’55 says his memories of school were “the pride of being a La Salle ‘boy’ and I loved all the preparations I was involved in for the various social activities like playing trombone in the band and the orchestra without reading a note of music!”
“I also loved being on the swim team with its camaraderie and challenge to do your best. My favorite subject was geometry: At first I was totally lost and then, as if a light went on in my head, I got it and breezed through the year carrying my theorems under my arm!”
“My favorite teacher was Brother Christian, even though I flunked algebra and had to go to summer school, he was one of the men who inspired me throughout my life,” continued Tom. “He always made sure my hair was the correct length, even when I returned to La Salle as an adult, he came up from behind me, and as he always did, tugged at the back of my hair-line and said “Hey Battista, it’s getting a little long!”
Tom Battista ’55 says his memories of school were “the pride of being a La Salle ‘boy’ and I loved all the preparations I was involved in for the various social activities like playing trombone in the band and the orchestra without reading a note of music!”
“I also loved being on the swim team with its camaraderie and challenge to do your best. My favorite subject was geometry: At first I was totally lost and then, as if a light went on in my head, I got it and breezed through the year carrying my theorems under my arm!”
“My favorite teacher was Brother Christian, even though I flunked algebra and had to go to summer school, he was one of the men who inspired me throughout my life,” continued Tom. “He always made sure my hair was the correct length, even when I returned to La Salle as an adult, he came up from behind me, and as he always did, tugged at the back of my hair-line and said “Hey Battista, it’s getting a little long!”
“My closest friends among my classmates were Joe DiBiase (trumpet player in the band), who later was a member of “The Imperials,” a regionally successful cleaned-up “doo wopp” group that we founded together. Another of my close friends was Tony Esposito (trombone player in the band), whom I would watch and try to memorize the song and the slide positions. And there was Hank Bissonnette — he was the ‘Ivy League’ student I wanted to be. He had a great laugh and we took our little comedy and music act to various charity events in Providence.”
Tom said that the extra-curricular activities that he took part in were band and swimming. He was also on the student counsel and was the DJ at lunch spinning oldies but goodies and started the Friday night dances. “Among the brothers whom I best remember were once again Brother Christian and Brother Anthony who was taller than everyone and he had compassion for his athletes. He once threw me into the Olneyville Boys Club pool because I didn’t feel like practicing,” said Tom.
Concerning academics, Tom said that he wasn’t much of a student — “In fact, I was lucky to make it all the way!”
“After La Salle, I went to PC for one year and a semester. It was like going into the 13th grade. There was no college spirit as I envisioned it,” said Tom. “I quit and went into the wonderful world of entertainment, which one might have guessed by reading between the lines above.”
Tom says that his career, his entire working life has been in television. He started at Channel 10 in Providence, then to San Diego, then to CBS, leaving there as executive-vice president to start his own production and syndication company.
“Then I came out of retirement and went to Russia and the Ukraine for four years as president of StoryFirst Communications which built and managed a network in both countries,” said Tom. “CTC, our network in Russia, is the ‘Fox’ of Russia and is still most successful. I also just published my first book, The Company’s Man. It is a fictional story about a guy from Providence who leads two lives.”
Tom and his wife Elaine have four children, Jamie, Lisa, Dana and Gina. They have five grandchildren, Alex, Lily, Liza, Isabelle and Phoebe.
La Salle Academy is a high school rich in history and grounded in the person and teachings of Jesus and the Catholic faith, which are core to the school's life and culture. The De La Salle Middle School provides a strong holistic foundation for students to transition into high school. The high school and middle school provide students of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds, a community to foster growth in the tradition of St. John Baptist de La Salle’s ideals of faith, service, and community.
