Danny Thomas (January 6, 1912 - February 6, 1991) was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy, or The Danny Thomas Show.
Thomas was born Amos Alphonsus Muzyad Yaqoob in Deerfield, Michigan, on January 6, 1912, to Charles and Margaret Jacobs. He was of Lebanese descent. He first performed under his Anglicized birth name, Amos Jacobs, before settling on the stage name, Danny Thomas, which were the first names of two of his brothers. He lived in various cities as a child, including Toledo, Ohio, and Rochester New York.
On the big screen, 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. After Make Room for Daddy, which was later known as the Danny Thomas Show, he became a successful television producer, working on many popular shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Mod Squad. Thomas also produced two series for Walter Brennan: The Tycoon and The Guns of Will Sonnett, both on ABC during the 1960s.
Known as a generous philanthropist, Thomas founded the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962. The hospital has treated thousands of children for childhood cancers. In 1996, two of its researchers won the Nobel Prize for medicine for their research on the immune system of children. As a "starving actor", Thomas made a vow - if he found success, he would open a hospital dedicated to St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes.
He was one of the original owners of the Miami Dolphins, along with Joe Robbie, although he sold his share soon after purchase. Thomas was also an avid golfer. He claimed a ten golf handicap and once competed with Sam Snead in a charity event.
His children are also performers, the most famous being his daughter, Marlo, who is married to Phil Donahue. His son, Tony Thomas, is a television producer, and another daughter, Terre Thomas, is a former actress.
Thomas died on February 6, 1991, of a punctured lung at the age of seventy-nine. He had completed filming a commercial for St. Jude's Hospital a few days before his death and this final commercial aired as a tribute to him.
Danny Thomas and his wife (who died in 2000) are interred in a crypt in a mausoleum on the grounds of the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He was a posthumous recipient of the 2004 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
