The Thomas Family Legacy


	Tell me more about Partner in Hope
	The Complete Danny Thomas Story
	Back to Message from Marlo

Thomas Family Legacy

One of nine children born to immigrant parents, Danny Thomas entered the world during a blizzard in Deerfield, Mich., on Jan. 6, 1912. He began to help support the family at age 10 by selling newspapers, and at 11 he became a candy maker in a burlesque theater, a job he held for seven years.

Danny saved enough from jobs as a bus boy, punch-press operator's assistant, and a lumber yard watchman to buy a couple of suits and several pairs of shoes so he could go to Detroit to look for a job in show business. One of his first jobs in Detroit was that of a singer on a radio show called "The Happy Hour Club."

Click here for the complete Danny Thomas story.

All About Terre Thomas
Terre Thomas has been a member of the ALSAC/St. Jude Board of Directors and Governors since 1980. During those years, she has participated fully in the decisions that have led to the hospital's current expansion.

Terre has been a spokesperson for the hospital before many groups across the nation. It is a role that comes to her quite naturally since she grew up learning about St. Jude at her father's knee.

Although she grew up in California and has strong connections to Memphis and Nashville, she is truly at home all over America.

Terre is an accomplished singer-songwriter. She made her professional debut at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, played Harrah's Club in Lake Tahoe, sang on “The Tonight Show” and made a series of television commercials.

Terre writes country music, sings frequently on behalf of St. Jude and appears across the nation for the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids® radiothons, which were started by Randy Owen of the group, Alabama, in 1989.

Like to learn more about Danny and St. Jude? Purchase these books.


	'Make Room For Danny' and 'From His Promise'

All About Marlo Thomas
Actress, producer and social activist, Marlo Thomas has for three decades been a role model for women and children. Marlo blazed the trail as television’s first single woman living alone in the hit series “That Girl” and has since produced numerous inspiring projects such as the best-selling television special, book and record “Free to Be…You and Me” and the New York Times best seller "The Right Words at the Right Time," all royalties from which were donated to St. Jude.

Marlo began her career performing in regional theaters around the country, when Mike Nichols cast her as the lead in the London production of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park.” She then went on to star in and produce the long-running hit television series “That Girl.” Marlo has appeared in several Broadway productions, television films and feature films. She has made guest appearances on the hit television shows “Friends” and “Ally McBeal.”

Over the course of her ground-breaking career, Marlo has received a GRAMMY® award, four Emmys, nine Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe, the George Foster Peabody Award for Television Excellence, the American Women in Radio and Television Satellite Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for exceptional humanitarian efforts and outstanding contributions to our country.

The eldest child of Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas proudly serves as the National Outreach Director of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and hosts "Fighting for Life ," the hour-long television special that documents the life-saving work of St. Jude. Marlo, along with her brother and sister, also hosts the annual Runway for Life Celebrity Fashion Show in Hollywood, which raises $1 million a year for St. Jude and attracts many of Hollywood’s brightest stars. Marlo attends events around the country to promote St. Jude with corporations, individual donors and other celebrities. She has been actively involved in solidifying support for St. Jude with such partners as Target Stores, Northwest Airlines and the Wall Street community, and was responsible for bringing more than 100 of corporate America’s top executives and business leaders to St. Jude for a day of innovative thinking, including Ann Moore, CEO of Time Inc., and Barry Diller of USA Interactive.

All About Tony Thomas
Tony Thomas, the only son of Danny Thomas, is a member of the ALSAC/St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors and is actively involved in fund-raising efforts for St. Jude.

Formerly a partner in Witt-Thomas Productions and Witt-Thomas-Harris Productions, Thomas is one of Hollywood's most successful television producers. Thomas and his partners were responsible for many top television series, including "Soap," "Benson," "The Golden Girls," "Empty Nest," "The John Larroquette Show" and "Brotherly Love." Thomas and Witt also produced the feature film "Dead Poet's Society," a Touchstone Pictures release that met with resounding critical success and captured an Oscar for Best Screenplay.