Danny Thomas

For other people named Danny Thomas, see Danny Thomas (disambiguation).

Danny Thomas
Thomas and co-star Marjorie Lord, 1957.
Born	Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz (later Anglicized to Amos Jacobs Kairouz) January 6, 1912(1912-01-06) Deerfield, Michigan, U.S.
Died	February 6, 1991(1991-02-06) (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Amos Jacobs
Years active	1947–1991
Spouse	Rose Marie Mantell Thomas (m. 1936–1991) «start: (1936)–end+1: (1992)»"Marriage: Rose Marie Mantell Thomas to Danny Thomas" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Thomas)his death

Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an Lebanese American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy (also known as The Danny Thomas Show). He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He was the father of Marlo Thomas, Terre Thomas, and Tony Thomas.

Early life

As "Amos Jacobs" at WMBC radio in Detroit.

Thomas was born in Deerfield, Michigan, to Charles Yakhoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Christen in 1912. His parents were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon. Thomas was raised in Toledo, Ohio, attending St. Francis de Sales Church (Roman Catholic), Woodward High School and finally The University of Toledo, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Thomas was confirmed in the Catholic Church by the bishop of Toledo, Samuel Stritch. Stritch, a native of Tennessee, was a lifelong spiritual advisor for Thomas, and urged him to locate the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis. He married Rose Marie Cassaniti in 1936, a week after his 24th birthday.

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." After he moved to Chicago in 1940, Thomas did not want his friends and family to know that he went back into working clubs where the salary was better, so he came up with the pseudonym "Danny Thomas" (after two of his brothers).

Career

Thomas as Jerry Dingle, 1945.

Radio

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, co-hosted by 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, and appearances on the popular NBC variety program, The Big Show, hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead.

Films

In films, he starred in The Jazz Singer, a 1952 remake of the 1927 original and played songwriter Gus Kahn opposite Doris Day in the 1951 film biography I'll See You in My Dreams.

Make Room For Daddy

Thomas enjoyed a successful 13-year run (1953–1965) on Make Room for Daddy, later known as The Danny Thomas Show. On January 1, 1959, Thomas appeared with his Make Room for Daddy child stars, Angela Cartwright and Rusty Hamer, in an episode of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Danny plays house with television daughter Linda.

Cartwright played the role of Danny Williams's stepdaughter, Linda Williams, between 1957 to 1964, for 170 episodes. The on-and off-screen chemistry of Thomas and Cartwright was largely responsi ble for the success of the show. The show was produced at Desilu Studios, where Lucille Ball was doing I Love Lucy. The show featured several guest stars that went on to star in their own series, including Andy Griffith, Joey Bishop, and Bill Bixby.

Thomas and Cartwright

Producer

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, 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, Jack Benny, and Bob Hope in a March 1968 Jack Benny special.

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. He 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

In the early seventies, 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 on a long business assignment, the show lasted one season. He then starred in an NBC sitcom, The Practice for two seasons.

The last series in which Thomas was a headlining star was One Big Family, which aired in syndication during the 1986–87 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.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

As a "starving actor" Thomas made a vow: If he found success, he would open a shrine dedicated to St Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. In 1962, Thomas founded the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, with help from Dr. Lemuel Diggs. The hospital has treated thousands of children for cancer. In 1996, Dr. Peter Doherty of St. Jude's, was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on how the immune system kills virus-infected cells.

Personal life

Thomas's children are also performers, the most famous being his daughter Marlo. His son Tony Thomas is a television producer, and his daughter Terre Thomas is a former actress. He was also the son-in-law of Marie "Mary" Cassaniti (1896–1972), a drummer and percussionist for "Marie's Merry Music Makers."

A devout Roman Catholic, 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. 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 sold his share soon after purchase. He was an avid golfer, claimed a ten golf handicap, and competed with Sam Snead in a charity event. Two PGA Tour tournaments bore his name: the Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic in south Florida in 1969 and 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.

Death

Thomas died on February 6, 1991, of heart failure at age 79. He had filmed a commercial for St. Jude Hospital a few days before his death, which aired posthumously. He is interred in a mausoleum on the grounds of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He was a posthumous recipient of the 2004 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

On February 16, 2012, the United States Postal Service issued a first class forever stamp honoring Danny Thomas. It has a portrait of Mr. Thomas in the foreground and a picture of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in the background.

External links

• Danny Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• Danny Thomas at Find a Grave
• Biography at the Museum Broadcast Communications
• "Danny Thomas Story" at St. Jude
• Lebanese lobby site
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital