Marlo Thomas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Marlo Thomas

Thomas at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, September 17, 1989
Born Margaret Julia Thomas
November 21, 1937 (1937-11-21) (age 74)
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Occupation Actress, producer, activist
Years active 1960–present
Spouse Phil Donahue (1980–present)

Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl (1966–1971). She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She is currently appearing in the Broadway production of "Relatively Speaking" in a one-act play by Elaine May called "George Is Dead."[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Thomas was born in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest child of Lebanese-American comedian Danny Thomas (1912–1991) and his wife, the former Rose Marie Cassaniti (1914–2000). On her mother's side, she is also the granddaughter of drummer and percussionist, Marie "Mary" Cassaniti (1896–1972). Her brother, Tony Thomas, is a television and film producer, and her sister, Terre Thomas, is a former actress.

Marlo Thomas was raised in Beverly Hills, California. Her parents called her Margo as a child, though she soon became known as Marlo, she told The New York Times, because of her childhood mispronunciation of the nickname. She attended Marymount High School in Los Angeles. Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a teaching degree; "I wanted a piece of paper that said I was qualified to do something," she said. She was also a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta.[2]

[edit] Career

With Les Brown, Jr. as "Margaret Thomas" on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, 1960.

Thomas was a regular on The Joey Bishop Show from 1961 to 1962, playing Joey's star-struck sister, Stella Barnes. She followed the series with guest appearances on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Ben Casey, My Favorite Martian, and Bonanza. But not until 1966 did she achieve the role for which she is still known today: New York actress Ann Marie on the ABC sitcom That Girl.[3] The series ran until 1971, garnering her a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy nominations. In 1967, she and her father Danny Thomas provided the voices of Caleb and his daughter Bertha in the Rankin-Bass animated adaption of Charles Dickens classic novella The Cricket on the Hearth.

After That Girl, Thomas released a children's book, Free to Be... You and Me, which was inspired by her young niece Dionne Thomas. She went on to create multiple recordings and television specials of and related to that title: Free to Be... You and Me (1972 and 1974) and Free to Be... A Family (1987), with Christopher Cerf.

In 1973, Marlo Thomas joined Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, and Letty Cottin Pogrebin as the founders of the country’s first women’s fund, the Ms. Foundation for Women. The organization was created to deliver funding and other resources to organizations that were presenting women’s voices in communities nationwide.

Adept at drama as well as comedy, Thomas appeared in the television movies It Happened One Christmas (1977) (a remake of It's a Wonderful Life with Thomas in the rewritten James Stewart role),[4] Nobody's Child (1986) , and The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck (1984) while she starred in films Jenny (1970) and Thieves (1977).

Thomas's Broadway theatre credits include Thieves (1974), Social Security (1986, in which she also toured), and The Shadow Box (1994). In 1993 she toured in Six Degrees of Separation. In 2007, she starred as Doreen in Elaine May's comedy Roger Is Dead at George Street Playhouse. She returned to George Street Playhouse in the spring of 2008 in Arthur Laurents's play New Year's Eve with Keith Carradine and Natasha Gregson Wagner.

Thomas with her father on an episode of Zane Grey Theatre, 1961.

Thomas appeared as Margaret (as the client with a vicious dog) in an uncredited role in the film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999).

Marlo Thomas is also active with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where she serves as the national outreach director. She is donating all royalties from her 2004 book and CD, Thanks & Giving: All Year Long (also produced with Cerf), to the hospital, which was started by her late father, Danny Thomas. The organization helps gravely ill young children.

Thomas has further supported charity through her publications of the two volumes of The Right Words at the Right Time.[5][6]

In recent years, Thomas has made guest appearances on Ally McBeal, Friends (as Rachel's mother, Sandra Green), as well as on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (she played Judge Mary Conway Clark, a mentor of former ADA Casey Novak). She also appeared in the 2000 comedy Playing Mona Lisa.

Thomas is currently starring in a Broadway play called "George is Dead" written by Elaine May. The play is billed in the Broadway production "Relatively Speaking", which also features plays written by Ethan Cohen ("Talking Cure") and Woody Allen ("Honeymoon Motel").

Thomas is a contributor to Web site wowOwow.com.

[edit] Honors

Thomas is the recipient of four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and the George Foster Peabody Award.

In 1996, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.[7]

[edit] Personal life

She had a rhinoplasty procedure between the time of her appearing on her father's television show and the debut of That Girl.[8] In 1968, she began going braless on the television show. "God created women to bounce," Thomas said. "So be it."[9] After her relationship with playwright Herb Gardner, Thomas married talk show host Phil Donahue in 1980.[10] Through the marriage, she gained five stepchildren.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Matthew Blank (22 November 2011). "Relatively Speaking Star Marlo Thomas". Playbill (Playbill.com). http://www.playbill.com/news/article/156831-PLAYBILLCOMS-CUE-A-Relatively-Speaking-Star-Marlo-Thomas. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  2. ^ Judy Stone (4 September 1966). "And Now—Make Room for Marlo". The New York Times (NYTimes.com). http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C17F83455117B93C6A91782D85F428685F9. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  3. ^ Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh (12 October 1981). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345295880. 
  4. ^ Leonard Maltin, ed. (October 1990). TV Movies Video Guide 1991 Edition. Signet Books. ISBN 0451167481. 
  5. ^ Thomas, Marlo (2002). The Right Words at the Right Time. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 074344650X. 
  6. ^ Thomas, Marlo (2006). The Right Words at the Right Time (Volume II ed.). New York: Atria Books. ISBN 0743497430. 
  7. ^ "Past Recipients". Women in Film. http://wif.org/past-recipients. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
  8. ^ "Marlo Thomas Biography". Starpulse.com. http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Thomas,_Marlo/Biography/. Retrieved 2012-01-0. 
  9. ^ Riordan, Teresa (2002-10-28). "Patents; In bra technology, an incremental improvement can translate into comfort". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. http://www.webcitation.org/5gHMwNkFs. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
  10. ^ Katie Kelly (11 March 1973). "Marlo Thomas: 'My Whole Life I've Had My Dukes Up". The New York Times (NYTimes.com). http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2071FFD3F54137A93C3A81788D85F478785F9. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 

[edit] External links
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marlo_Thomas&oldid=473209016"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages