Thomas Knight Slater, who also goes by the name of Michael Hawkins, filed legal papers in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday, accusing his son and ex-wife, Mary Jo Slater, of slander, libel and defamation. “He’s always had trouble-he was a fantastic actor and extraordinarily charismatic and very, very good looking, but he had a really hard time working with directors, collaborating with people”, Slater told Interview past year.
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Due to the alleged statements made by his son and former wife, Hawkins claims he’s not only suffered problems with his acting career, but the comments also caused him to become depressed and humiliated.
In his papers he claims his son’s comments resulted in him being “blacklisted” in Hollywood and he fears he’ll struggle to find work following the allegations suggesting he’s schizophrenic. He has worked as an actor on a variety of shows, including As The World Turns, Search for Tomorrow and Ryan’s Hope.
Actor Christian Slater speaks onstage during the 4th Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on June 19, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. “And that made his life very challenging”, Christian Slater said in the interview.
The 80-year-old claims that he doesn’t have a mental illness and that his son doesn’t have “a medical credential or the ability to diagnose manic-depressive schizophrenia”. A jury trial is reportedly being demanded for the suit by Slater’s father. “My father actually reached out to me and wanted to reconcile and reconnect”, Slater says.
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It is known that 46-year-old Slater and his father do not have a close relationship; however, when asked about a reconciliation, he stated, “I haven’t seen him in a few years”. While he described their relationship at the time as having been back and forth and even quite tumultuous, he felt that they were rebuilding.
