Rob Lowe tells Dayton audience about his favorite Dayton pizza, pie and sledding hill

“The West Wing” star, “Parks and Recreation” icon and six-time Golden Globe nominee performed at  Dayton’s Schuster Center on Sunday, June 2.

Lowe, who was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, was raised in Dayton, where he began his acting career in local television and theater when he was 8 years old. His dad still lives in the area and practices law.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Lowe told the crowd. “For me to come back here right where it started... I feel so emotional to be here… We know each other. We share the same history and I’ve tried to carry it on with me through my work and through my life. It’s been a process of starts and stops and mistakes and failures and successes and at the bottom of it is always a need to try to be a good Midwestern son.”

Lowe’s love for his hometown shined through during his performance.

“I’ve been praying for Dayton,” Lowe told the crowd. “The Dayton Foundation is in the lobby. If on your way out, you can give, that would be great. I wanted to bring everything together to help our neighbors.”

>> List of celebrities donate money to help Dayton following 14 tornadoes

Donations for the Dayton Foundation’s Greater Dayton Disaster Relief Fund were collected in the lobby during the show.

>> Greater Dayton Disaster Relief Fund established to help those affected by tornadoes

Credit: Victoria Theatre Association

Credit: Victoria Theatre Association

During the show, Lowe fielded questions from the audience and shared film clips and photos.

He also shared some of his favorite things about life in Dayton, including his first show at Hara Arena, seeing Sandy Duncan as “Peter Pan” at Memorial Hall, sledding on Julienne hill and performing with his group Peanut Butter and Jelly at places like Courthouse Square.

>> PODCAST: Rob Lowe on growing up in Dayton

He also shared where he likes to eat when he’s home. He enjoys the old-fashioned cream pie from The Spot in Sidney, which was once owned by grandfather for 30 years. He also said he had Cassano’s pizza before the show and maybe would get Marion’s pizza after the show. He said one of his favorite things about Marion’s is looking at the photos on the wall.

>> Rob Lowe came home to eat burgers and pie at an iconic Dayton-area diner that his grandpa owned for 30 years

Credit: Joe Robbins

Credit: Joe Robbins

Inspired by the success of his two The New York Times best-selling memoirs, Stories I Only Tell My Friends and Love Life, Rob has created a live rendition of his book that gives fans a sneak-peek behind the curtain at Hollywood, fame, fatherhood, marriage and and a life lived at the forefront of culture for four decades.