American actor and comedian (1912?1991)
Danny Thomas
|
---|
Thomas in 1957
|
Born
| Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz
(
1912-01-06
)
January 6, 1912
|
---|
Died
| February 6, 1991
(1991-02-06)
(aged 79)
Los Angeles, California
[1]
|
---|
Other names
| Amos Jacobs Kairouz, Amos Jacobs
"Eggs"
|
---|
Years active
| 1932?1991
|
---|
Spouse
|
Rose Marie Cassaniti
(
m.
1936)
|
---|
Children
| 3, including
Tony
and
Marlo Thomas
|
---|
Danny Thomas
(born
Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz
; January 6, 1912 ? February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in the
Danny Thomas Show
. In addition to guest roles on many of the comedy, talk, and musical variety programs of his time, his legacy includes a lifelong dedication to fundraising for charity. Most notably, he was the founder of
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
in
Memphis, Tennessee
, a leading center in
pediatric medicine
with a focus on
pediatric cancer
. St. Jude now has affiliate hospitals in eight other American cities as of early 2020.
Already a successful entertainer, Thomas began his film career in 1947, playing opposite child actress
Margaret O'Brien
in
The Unfinished Dance
(1947) and
Big City
(1948). He then starred in the long-running television sitcom
Make Room for Daddy
(later,
The Danny Thomas Show
from the fourth season onwards) from 1953 to 1964, in which he played the lead role of Danny Williams. He was the father of
Marlo Thomas
, Terre Thomas, and
Tony Thomas
.
[2]
Early life
[
edit
]
One of 10 children, Danny Thomas was born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob
Kairouz
(
Arabic
:
???? ???? ????? ?????
) on January 6, 1912, in
Deerfield, Michigan
, to Charles Yaqoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Taouk.
[3]
His parents were
Maronite Catholic
immigrants from
Bsharri
, Lebanon.
[4]
Thomas was raised in
Toledo, Ohio
, attending St. Francis de Sales Church,
Woodward High School
.
Bishop
Samuel Stritch
of Toledo
confirmed
Thomas in the Catholic Church in 1921.
Stritch, a native of Tennessee, was a lifelong spiritual advisor for Thomas, and would later advise him to locate the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.
[7]
[8]
In 1932, Thomas began performing on radio in Detroit at
WMBC
on
The Happy Hour Club
. Thomas first performed under his
anglicized
birth name, "Amos Jacobs Kairouz".
[9]
In 1936, a week after his 24th birthday, Thomas married Rose Marie Cassaniti.
In 1940, after he moved to Chicago, Thomas did not want his friends and family to know he had gone back into working clubs where the salary was better, so he came up with the pseudonym "Danny Thomas" (after two of his brothers).
[9]
Careers other than television
[
edit
]
Radio
[
edit
]
Thomas first reached mass audiences on network radio in the 1940s playing shifty brother-in-law Amos in
The Bickersons
, which began as sketches on the music-comedy show
Drene Time
, starring
Don Ameche
and
Frances Langford
. Thomas also portrayed himself as a scatterbrained Lothario on this show. His other network radio work included a stint as Jerry Dingle the postman on
Fanny Brice
's
The Baby Snooks Show
. In the early 1950s he made several appearances on the popular NBC variety program,
The Big Show
, hosted by stage legend
Tallulah Bankhead
.
Thomas also had his own radio program,
The Danny Thomas Show
. The 30-minute weekly variety show was on
ABC
from 1942 to 1943 and on
CBS
from 1947 to 1948.
[11]
Films
[
edit
]
After his two late 1940s films with
Margaret O'Brien
, Thomas appeared with
Betty Grable
in the musical
Call Me Mister
(1951). He portrayed songwriter
Gus Kahn
opposite
Doris Day
in the 1951 film biography
I'll See You in My Dreams
.
He then starred in
The Jazz Singer
opposite the popular contemporary vocalist
Peggy Lee
, a 1952 remake of
the 1927 original
.
Music
[
edit
]
In 1952, Thomas recorded several Arabic folk songs with Toufic Barham for a
Saint Jude Hospital
Foundation fundraiser record. The songs later appeared on the re-issue album
The Music of Arab-Americans: A Retrospective Collection
.
[12]
[13]
Television career
[
edit
]
Make Room for Daddy
(
The Danny Thomas Show
)
[
edit
]
Thomas enjoyed a successful 11-year run (1953?1964) on
Make Room for Daddy,
later known as
The Danny Thomas Show
.
Jean Hagen
,
Sherry Jackson
, and
Rusty Hamer
were his first family. The Hagen character died offscreen in 1956 and was replaced by
Marjorie Lord
;
Angela Cartwright
also joined the cast at this time playing Danny's stepdaughter. Sherry Jackson left the series in 1958, and Penney Parker replaced her in the 1959?1960 season. Parker was written out of the series with her marriage to the character Patrick Hannigan, played by comedian
Pat Harrington, Jr.
On January 1, 1959, Thomas appeared with his other
Make Room for Daddy
child stars,
Angela Cartwright
and
Rusty Hamer
, in an episode of
NBC
's
The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
.
The show was produced at
Desilu Studios
, where
Lucille Ball
was appearing alongside
Desi Arnaz
in
I Love Lucy
,
and it featured several guest stars who went on to star in their own shows, including
Andy Griffith
(
The Andy Griffith Show
,
Mayberry RFD
),
Joey Bishop
, and
Bill Bixby
(
My Favorite Martian
and others). He also scored a major success at the London Palladium, in the years when many big American stars appeared there. In 1963, in an episode called "Oh, the Clancys," the
Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
appeared as Marjorie Lord's Irish cousins and sang "
Brennan on the Moore
."
[14]
In 1970, the program was revived for a season under the title
Make Room for Granddaddy
.
Angela Cartwright (who spoke about her on- and off-camera relationship with her television stepfather, Danny Thomas, on a groundbreaking ABC TV show,
Make Room for Daddy
) had said: "I thought Danny was hilarious and he was always cracking me up. He was loud and gregarious, nothing like my real dad who is far more reserved than that. So, it was fun to be able to make smart remarks and get away with it. I would never have talked to my real parents that way, but in the make-believe world of the Williams family I got away with that." Cartwright also added that by the time Thomas' show had ended, she wanted to join the cast of
The Sound of Music
: "I went on an interview for the part of Brigitta. I was still filming
The Danny Thomas Show
, but I knew the series was coming to an end. After several auditions, I was the first von Trapp cast. I asked Danny Thomas if he would let me out of my contract so I could be in the movie and he was very gracious to let me out of the last show of the season. He didn't have to do that and I am very grateful he did."
[15]
The Wonderful World of Burlesque
[
edit
]
In 1965 and 1966, Thomas presented
The Wonderful World of Burlesque
, featuring
Lucille Ball
,
Jerry Lewis
,
Don Adams
,
Carol Channing
,
Andy Griffith
,
Sheldon Leonard
, and
Shirley Jones
.
[16]
The Danny Thomas Hour
[
edit
]
The Danny Thomas Hour
is an American
anthology television series
that was broadcast on
NBC
during the
1967?1968 television season
.
Producer
[
edit
]
Thomas became a successful television producer (with
Sheldon Leonard
and
Aaron Spelling
among his partners) of
The Dick Van Dyke Show
,
The Andy Griffith Show
,
That Girl
and
The Mod Squad
. Thomas also produced three series for
Walter Brennan
:
The Real McCoys
,
The Tycoon
, and
The Guns of Will Sonnett
on ABC during the late 1950s and 1960s. Thomas often appeared in cameos on shows he produced, including his portrayal of the tuxedoed, droll alien Kolak, from the planet Twilo, in the
Dick Van Dyke Show
science-fiction spoof, "It May Look Like a Walnut".
Thomas was responsible for
Mary Tyler Moore
's first "big break" in acting. In 1961, Carl Reiner cast her in
The Dick Van Dyke Show
after Thomas personally recommended Moore. Reiner had remembered her as "the girl with three names" whom he had turned down earlier, but rediscovered her after a lengthy search through photos and records.
Return to television
[
edit
]
In the early 1970s, Thomas reunited most of his second
Daddy
cast (
Marjorie Lord
,
Rusty Hamer
, and
Angela Cartwright
) for a short-lived update of the show
Make Room for Granddaddy
. Premised around Danny and Kathy Williams caring for their grandson by daughter Terry, who was away with her husband who was serving in the Military, and stationed in Japan, the show lasted one season.
[17]
By the mid-
1970s
, Thomas' son
Tony
had become an accomplished television producer. Tony, along with
Paul Junger Witt
, formed
Witt/Thomas Productions
in 1975, and was responsible for his father's next three (and ultimately final) starring vehicles. Thomas returned to series TV in the NBC sitcom
The Practice
, airing from January 1976 to January 1977.
[18]
Subsequently he co-starred in
I'm a Big Girl Now
, which aired on ABC from 1980 to 1981.
[19]
Thomas was guest of honor in
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
that aired on December 15, 1976, on
NBC
. He guest-starred in "In Full Command" (S05 E22), the March 18, 1978,
series finale
of the long-running detective drama
Kojak
, as a corrupt superior officer in the police department, in an episode directed by series star
Telly Savalas
. He also appeared in the TV movie
Side by Side
(1988), opposite
Milton Berle
and
Sid Caesar
.
[20]
The last series in which Thomas was a headlining star was
One Big Family
, which aired in
syndication
during the 1986?1987 season. The situation comedy's premise was set around a semi-retired comedian whose grandchildren were orphaned after their parents were killed in a car accident.
[21]
Commercials
[
edit
]
Thomas, like many actors prominent in television, endorsed commercial products, including
Maxwell House
coffee. According to Thomas, the money he earned from those commercials was used to establish St. Jude Children's Hospital.
Philanthropy
[
edit
]
As a "starving actor", Thomas had made a vow: If he found success, he would open a shrine dedicated to
St. Jude Thaddeus
, one of the patron saints of hopeless causes.
[23]
In the early 1950s, after becoming a successful actor, his wife joined him and began traveling the United States to help raise funds to build
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
.
[24]
He fervently believed: "No child should die in the dawn of life."
[25]
In 1962, with help from Dr.
Lemuel Diggs
and close friend Anthony Abraham, an auto magnate in Miami, Florida, Thomas founded the
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
in
Memphis, Tennessee
. Since its inception, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world, continuing the mission of finding cures and saving children.
[26]
In 1996, Dr.
Peter C. Doherty
of St. Jude's Immunology Department, was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for key discoveries on how the immune system works to kill virus-infected cells.
[26]
St. Jude's has grown to include eight affiliate hospitals across the United States. It is a
501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization with annual expenses, as of 2018, of over US$1.4 billion funded by nearly US$1.5 billion in donations.
[27]
Further, the
World Health Organization
has named St. Jude's as its first "Collaborating Center for Childhood Cancer" to help increase survival rates on rare
pediatric cancer
from 20% to as much as 60% by 2030.
[27]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Danny Thomas was a struggling young comic when he met Rose Marie Mantell (born Rose Marie Cassaniti), who had a singing career with her own radio show in Detroit, Michigan, and was the daughter of Marie "Mary" Cassaniti, a drummer and percussionist for "Marie's Merry Music Makers". They were married on January 15, 1936, and had three children, Margaret Julia ("Marlo"), Theresa ("Terre"), and Charles Anthony ("Tony") Thomas. The Thomas children followed their parents into entertainment in various capacities?
Marlo
as an actress and producer,
Tony
as a television producer,
and Terre as an accomplished singer-songwriter.
Thomas was initiated to the Freemasonry
[30]
in Prudence Lodge No. 958, Chicago,
[31]
[32]
passed, and raised to the sublime degree of
Master Mason
at Gothic Lodge No. 270 F&AM.
[33]
A devout
Roman Catholic
,
[9]
Thomas was named a Knight Commander of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre
by
Pope Paul VI
in recognition of his services to the church and the community. He was a member of the
Good Shepherd Parish
and the
Catholic Motion Picture Guild
in
Beverly Hills, California
.
[34]
In 1983, President
Ronald Reagan
presented Thomas with a
Congressional Gold Medal
honoring him for his work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Thomas was one of the original owners of the
Miami Dolphins
, along with
Joe Robbie
, but he sold his share soon after the purchase. In addition, he also played golf regularly since his youth.
Two
PGA Tour
tournaments bore his name: the
Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic
in south Florida in 1969 and, along with co-founder Vernon Bell, the
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
from 1970 to 1984. He was also the first non-Jewish member of the
Hillcrest Country Club
in Los Angeles.
[36]
In 1990, Danny Thomas was inducted into the
Television Hall of Fame
.
[37]
Death
[
edit
]
In 1991, Thomas died after a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills, a hospital spokesman said. Two days previously he had celebrated St. Jude Hospital's 29th anniversary and filmed a commercial,
[38]
which aired posthumously. He is interred in a
mausoleum
on the grounds of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in
Memphis, Tennessee
, alongside his wife.
[39]
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
A park in Toledo, Ohio, bears Thomas' name and a monument.
A stretch of roadway in Memphis is locally known as Danny Thomas Boulevard. The road, built in the 1960s to partially reroute
U.S. Highway 51
around downtown, runs from E.H. Crump Boulevard (U.S. 70/79/64) to North Parkway/A.W. Willis Avenue (Tennessee State Route 1), passing through St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's campus on a viaduct.
For Thomas' contribution to the television industry, in February 1960 he was honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
located at 6901
Hollywood Boulevard
.
[40]
Thomas was a
posthumous
recipient of the 2004
Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
.
[41]
In 1965, Danny Thomas was appointed as a Special Deputy Sheriff by Ben Clark, who was a long standing Riverside County Sheriff and a recognized "trail blazer" in terms of professionalizing the law enforcement profession in California and the United States.
[42]
On February 16, 2012, the
United States Postal Service
issued a first-class
forever stamp
honoring Thomas as an entertainer and humanitarian. The Danny Thomas Forever Stamp shows an oil-on-panel painting depicting a smiling,
tuxedo
-clad Thomas in the foreground and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the background.
[25]
Filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"Danny Thomas Story."
St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital
.
- ^
Obituary
Variety
, February 11, 1991.
- ^
Thomas, Danny (1992).
Make Room for Danny
. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated.
ISBN
978-0-425-13394-1
.
- ^
"Danny Thomas, 79, a Comedian Who Championed a Cause"
.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
. February 7, 1991. Archived from
the original
on October 9, 2013.
- ^
"Danny's Dream"
. Stjude.org. Archived from
the original
on December 28, 2012
. Retrieved
January 14,
2011
.
- ^
Sanderson, Jane (April 30, 1979).
"St. Jude Children's Hospital Was Danny Thomas' Dream, but Dr. Alvin Mauer Makes It Come True"
.
People
. Retrieved
January 14,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
Rothstein, Mervyn (February 7, 1991).
"Danny Thomas, 79, the TV Star of 'Make Room for Daddy', Dies"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
September 29,
2011
.
- ^
Sies, Luther F. (2014).
Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920?1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1
. McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN
978-0-7864-5149-4
. P. 177.
- ^
The Music of Arab-Americans: A Retrospective Collection
. allmusic.com
- ^
Kligman, Mark (2001).
Reviewed Work: The Music of Arab Americans: A Retrospective Collection
. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 45, No.1. pp 186?187.
- ^
"On This Day: Liam Clancy of The Clancy Brothers passes away in 2009"
.
IrishCentral.com
. December 4, 2022
. Retrieved
December 6,
2022
.
- ^
"Classic Film and TV Cafe"
.
- ^
*
DiMona, Joseph; Corio, Ann (July 1, 2014).
This Was Burlesque
. Open Road Media.
ISBN
9781497659070
– via Google Books.
- "Wonderful World of Burlesque I, The (1965) - Overview - TCM.com"
.
Turner Classic Movies
.
- "Wonderful World of Burlesque II-Danny Thomas Speci"
.
Television Academy
.
- "A Nose For Show Biz"
. January 6, 1991.
- Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (January 21, 2018).
Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America
. Psychology Press.
ISBN
9780415938532
– via Google Books.
- Robinson, Dale; Fernandes, David (August 24, 2012).
The Definitive Andy Griffith Show Reference: Episode-by-Episode, with Cast and Production Biographies and a Guide to Collectibles
. McFarland.
ISBN
9781476601878
– via Google Books.
- "Danny Thomas, 79, the TV Star Of 'Make Room for Daddy,' Dies"
.
The New York Times
. February 7, 1991.
- "Medalists Database"
.
www.neco.org
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- "Guideposts Classics: Danny Thomas on Keeping His Promise"
. November 24, 2014. Archived from
the original
on January 21, 2018
. Retrieved
January 21,
2018
.
- "Fifty Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About St. Jude"
. January 1, 2012.
- ^
Crenna, Richard
(August 8, 1970).
"
'Make Room for Grandaddy' Sequel Previewed by Series Producer Richard Crenna"
.
Corvallis Gazette-Times
. p. 19. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024
. Retrieved
June 3,
2024
– via
Newspapers.com
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Smith, Cecil
(January 25, 1976).
"Comic Danny Thomas Back in TV as Medic"
.
Richmond Times Dispatch
.
Los Angeles Times
. p. 107. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024
. Retrieved
June 3,
2024
– via
Newspapers.com
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Rogers, Helen W. (August 31, 1980).
"But I'm a Big Girl Now sure to please"
.
Tacoma News Tribune
. p. 104. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024
. Retrieved
June 3,
2024
– via
Newspapers.com
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Witbeck, Charles (March 6, 1988).
"Aging sidekicks turn old to gold"
.
Wisconsin State Journal
. p. 119. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024
. Retrieved
June 3,
2024
– via
Newspapers.com
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999).
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946?present
. 20th Anniversary Edition. New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 758?759.
- ^
Good Catholic (January 4, 2021).
"The 4 Patron Saints of Impossible Causes"
.
Good Catholic
. Retrieved
April 24,
2024
.
- ^
"Danny Thomas Story"
. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Archived from the original on July 6, 2007
. Retrieved
July 9,
2016
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
a
b
"Danny Thomas Forever Stamp"
. USPS. February 16, 2012
. Retrieved
July 9,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1996"
.
- ^
a
b
"St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital 2018 Annual Report"
.
- ^
"Famous masons"
.
Dalhousie Lodge F. & A.M., Newtonville, Massachusetts
.
Archived
from the original on September 3, 2018.
- ^
"List of notable freemasons"
.
freemasonry.bcy.ca
.
Archived
from the original on October 4, 2001
. Retrieved
October 4,
2018
.
- ^
Craig Heimbichner; Adam Parfrey (March 6, 2012).
Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society: A Visual Guide
. Feral House. pp.
340
.
ISBN
9781936239153
. Retrieved
October 13,
2018
.
Danny+Thomas+Freemasonry.
- ^
Steve L. Harrison (2014).
Freemasons: Tales From the Craft
. Lulu.com. p. 16.
ISBN
9781312344488
. Retrieved
October 13,
2018
.
- ^
"Our History"
.
Church of the Good Shepherd
.
- ^
Baum, Gary (June 23, 2011).
"L.A.'s Power Golf Clubs: Where the Hollywood Elite Play"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
May 11,
2013
.
- ^
"Television Hall of Fame Honorees: Complete List"
.
- ^
stjude.org
Danny's Promise
[1]
accessed December 25, 2014
- ^
St Jude Children's Research Hospital
- ^
"Danny Thomas"
.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
. October 25, 2019
. Retrieved
October 23,
2020
.
- ^
"Emmys make room for Danny Thomas with a Bob Hope Humanitarian Award"
.
Los Angeles Times
. September 20, 2004
. Retrieved
October 23,
2020
.
- ^
Riverside County Sheriffs Department Museum Archives
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Awards for Danny Thomas
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1952?1975
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1976?2000
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2001?present
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International
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National
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Academics
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Artists
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Other
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