Tom Ilich was born in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn in 1942.

He attended elementary school (PS 39) and junior high school (PS 51) in Brooklyn before moving with his family to upstate New York where he finished high school.

Tom returned to his home borough to attend college at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1964.

A Christmas present of a Brownie Hawkeye camera in 1949 began a life-long love of photography. Sixty-plus years of looking through many different viewfinders at a variety of subjects have translated nicely into Tom's cinematic work.

Tom's love of motion pictures began with the classics: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), This is Cinerama (1952), The Robe (1953), and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). The 1970 Maysles Brothers production of Gimme Shelter remains a major influence. Favorite films of a more current nature include Chinatown, Ragtime, Burn After Reading, Standing in the Shadow of Motown, No Direction Home, and almost anything else by Martin Scorcese.

Tom's work as an engineer has taken him around the world: He has lived and worked in Singapore; London; Vicenza, Italy and on the island of Saipan.

He is currently a member of the adjunct faculty of Northern Virginia Community College where he teaches structural engineering and environmental systems.

Tom lives in Falls Church, Virginia with his wife and and a large Yellow Lab, named Murphy.