Rob Lowe is promoting his new memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. We heard last week that Rob called his sex tape, made when he was 21 years old and which co-starred a 16 year-old teen (who misrepresented her age to Lowe), the best thing that ever happened to him. He explained on Oprah that the scandal over the tape helped set him on the path to sobriety. Rob was on Good Morning America today to promote the book and I really liked what he had to say. He gave advice to a mom who tweeted to ask if she should let her daughter go into show business given all the high profile trainwrecks we’ve witnessed lately (Lindsay, Charlie Sheen, etc.). Lowe said that at least her daughter had a passion but added that he believes that alcoholics and addicts are drawn to show business. Lowe also talked about a fanboy moment he had with Liza Minelli as a child that made a big impression on him.

On meeting Liza Minelli when he was eight
She was kind to me, and it made a mark on me in that celebrities can really make a difference in people’s life just by being nice. How hard is it to be nice?

Advice for a mom of a 11 year-old with aspirations of being an actress
It is such a blessing and such a curse, but I would choose kid with a dream over kid who doesn’t know what they want to do any day of the week. I would say if… that’s the passion let them go at it full speed ahead, they’re lucky to have a passion.

On how addicts are drawn to show business
The other thing is, the sort-of pitfalls of fame. Honestly I really believe that alcoholics and drug addicts are drawn to the business for certain reasons. I don’t think it’s business-driven, I really don’t. I just think a lot of us [addicts] are drawn to this business.

On if he wants his boys to follow in his footsteps
I hope they become lawyers and doctors… for some reason my kids are scholars, they’re academics… That makes me really proud because it’s a life I really didn’t get to live.

[Transcribed from Lowe’s appearance on Good Morning America, 5-5-11, video above]

So which came first, the starlet or the Ketel One? Lowe says it’s the (former) starlet and in some of these high profile cases I have to agree. You can’t argue that Lohan would have been a sober college student in another life.

I really like Lowe and I enjoy seeing him in interviews and on TV. He seems so grounded now and like he’s a great family man. Lowe is 47 and he’s been sober for 20 years! He looks about 10 years younger. He’s been married for nearly twenty years to makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff and they have two boys together Matthew, 17, and John, 15. I kind of hate that his memoir came out around the same time as Jesse James and, to a lesser extent, Shania Twain. Lowe deserves some more press. It must be memoir season so that we have all these juicy celebrity stories to read over the summer.

Here’s a clip of Rob on The View earlier this week:

Here he is on Vanity Fair:

And here’s Lowe shirtless on Men’s Fitness from last year. It’s well worth revisiting.

Lowe is shown at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on 2/27/11 with his wife. Credit: WENN.com