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HOLMES FAMILY IS 'VERY EXCITED FOR KATIE' Originally published in The Blade on Aprili 29, 2005

By RYAN E. SMITH BLADE STAFF WRITER

It's got to be pretty cool to be Katie Holmes' dad.

Or should we say Tom Cruise's father-in-law?

OK, OK. Way too premature. But news reported earlier this week that the two stars are dating was still pretty exciting for Marty Holmes.

"We're very excited for Katie," said the Notre Dame Academy graduate's father.

Marty Holmes said the relationship is relatively new. He hasn't had a chance to meet Cruise yet, but he's happy about the match. Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise in Rome yesterday. "She's a very mature young lady with a good head on her Cruise was there to accept a film award. shoulders. From all we have read and heard about him, (INFGOFF.COM) he's a humanitarian and a real class act," he said. "From the perspective of being a parent, we're very excited for both of them."

It's unclear how the couple met. The two have never worked together, though that's how Cruise - the star of megahits like Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, and Jerry Maguire - got involved in past long-term relationships with Penelope Cruz and ex-wife Nicole Kidman. He also was married to actress Mimi Rogers.

"I know in that business you meet a lot of people in a lot of different ways," Marty Holmes said.

Cruise is 42, making him 16 years older than Katie Holmes, who is 26. Still, Marty Holmes, a local attorney, has no worries on this front. He said his work in matrimonial law has helped him appreciate how relationships with age differences like this can succeed.

"I've seen a lot of unconventional relationships flourish," he said. "From my perspective as an attorney, this is not a factor."

Plus, his daughter's boyfriend is Tom Cruise.

"Anybody that has been breathing for the last 20 years knows about Tom Cruise," Marty Holmes said. "It's a very exciting time for everybody. It's an exciting time for Toledo."

Katie Holmes, who rose to fame on the TV show Dawson's Creek and whose movie Batman Begins opens in June, announced a split in March with fiance Chris Klein, of American Pie, and had been spotted later with Josh Hartnett.

Meghann Birie, who has known Katie Holmes since kindergarten and is her best friend, said she's seen news of the relationship everywhere.

"I'm really happy for her that she's out and dating again and having a good time," she said.

The two haven't had a chance to talk yet about Katie Holmes' new beau, but she expects they will when the actress returns from Italy, where she's been photographed with Cruise. He's there to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Italian equivalent of the Academy Awards.

"We'll have a lot to discuss," she said.

Contact Ryan E. Smith at: [email protected] or 419-724-6103.

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