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45-420: The Don Rickles Show focused on an advertising agency executive, and his "life and endless problems" with his job and his family. Don Robinson, the main character, encountered difficulties both at work and at home. His battles apparently did not appeal to audiences, leading to the series's four-month run. Sheldon Leonard and Joseph Sandore were executive producers, Hy Averback was the producer, and Sam Denoff

90-517: A 1952 remake of the 1927 original . 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 . 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

135-549: A Big Girl Now , which aired on ABC from 1980 to 1981. 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

180-495: A character actor into a successful TV producer (often in partnership with Danny Thomas ), and also a frequent TV episode director. Leonard's hits as a producer included The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy ) (1953–64), where midway through that series run, he had a recurring role as Danny's agent, Phil Brokaw; The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68); Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964–69); and I Spy (1965–68). Thanks to his many years in show business, Leonard had cultivated

225-509: A lengthy search through photos and records. 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,

270-618: 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 pediatrics 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

315-472: A minute."), ask Benny what he was about to do, and then proceed to try to argue him out of his course of action by resorting to inane and irrelevant racing logic. As "The Tout", he never gave out information on horse racing, unless Jack demanded it. One excuse the tout gave was, "Who knows about horses?" Leonard was part of the cast of voice actors on the Damon Runyon Theatre radio show (1948–1949). He

360-537: 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

405-530: A quick, shrewd capacity for pinpointing strengths and flaws in prospective projects. It was Leonard who recognized that a sitcom pilot, Head of the Family , was structurally sound but miscast. He felt that actor–writer Carl Reiner was too overbearing as the lead, and insisted that the script be refilmed with up-and-coming comic Dick Van Dyke . The result was The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66). Sheldon Leonard also directed several TV series episodes, including four of

450-573: A television producer, and Terre as an accomplished singer-songwriter. Thomas was initiated to Freemasonry in Prudence Lodge No. 958, Chicago, passed, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason at Gothic Lodge No. 270 F&AM. A devout 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

495-509: 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). 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

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540-464: Is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC during the 1967–1968 television season . 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

585-653: The Television Hall of Fame . 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, 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. A park in Toledo, Ohio, bears Thomas' name and

630-578: The Clancys," the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem appeared as Marjorie Lord's Irish cousins and sang " Brennan on the Moor ." 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

675-554: The TV movie Side by Side (1988), opposite Milton Berle and Sid Caesar . 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. Thomas, like many actors prominent in television, endorsed commercial products, including Maxwell House coffee. According to Thomas,

720-440: The adventure movie The Iroquois Trail (1950), Leonard played against type in the significant role of Chief Ogane, a Native American warrior, who pursues and fights the frontiersman Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler ( George Montgomery ) in a climactic duel to the death with knives. Though he never entirely abandoned acting, by the mid-1950s Leonard was much more likely to be found behind the camera than in front of it, as he transitioned from

765-676: 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." 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 . The Danny Thomas Hour

810-658: The community. He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California . 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

855-534: The dawn of life." 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. In 1996, Dr. Peter C. Doherty of St. Jude's Immunology Department,

900-561: The distinction (along with author Mickey Spillane ) of being one of the first two Miller Lite spokesmen. Using his trademark accent, he told the audience, "I was at first reluctant to try Miller Lite, but then I was persuaded to do so by my friend, Large Louis." One of his last acting roles was a guest appearance on the TV series Cheers , in which he played Sid Nelson, the proprietor of "The Hungry Heifer", Norm Peterson 's favorite eating establishment. Leonard died at his home in Beverly Hills, California , on January 11, 1997, at age 89. He

945-453: The eighth episode of the second season of The Monkees , a character named Leonard Sheldon, and speaking with Leonard's accent, approaches Peter Tork on the street, much like "The Tout" and persuades Tork to trade his guitar for a treasure map. Leonard's name served as an eponym for the characters Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory because

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990-471: The first eight episodes of the TV series Lassie (1954). Leonard also provided the voice of Linus the Lionhearted in a series of Post Crispy Critters cereal TV commercials in 1963–64, which led to a Linus cartoon series that aired on Saturday (and later, Sunday) mornings on CBS (1964–66) and ABC (1967–69). He also was briefly the star of his own television show Big Eddie (1975), where he played

1035-594: The intention of using this character as the basis for a new show. Leonard introduced the Andy Griffith spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. as the summer replacement for the Griffith show, so it would have a pre-sold audience during the regular season. He was the executive producer on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. , and had an appearance on the show as a Hollywood producer who has to do 34 takes on a movie scene before Sergeant Carter gets it right ("A Star Is Not Born"). Leonard also has

1080-664: 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

1125-609: 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 . One of 10 children, Danny Thomas was born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz ( Arabic : أموس مزيد يعقوب كيروز ) on January 6, 1912, in Deerfield, Michigan , to Charles Yaqoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Taouk. His parents were Maronite Catholic immigrants from Bsharri , Lebanon. Thomas

1170-556: The money he earned from those commercials was used to establish St. Jude Children's Hospital. 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. 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 . He fervently believed: "No child should die in

1215-518: 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

1260-417: The owner of a large sports arena. The show lasted for only ten episodes. The character of Andy Taylor was introduced in a 1960 episode of The Danny Thomas Show , which led to the series The Andy Griffith Show . Leonard is informally credited with developing the practice of using an episode of a series as a backdoor pilot episode for new series, in which a guest star is introduced as a new character with

1305-663: 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. In 1990, Danny Thomas was inducted into

1350-475: The show lasted one season. 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. Subsequently, he co-starred in I'm

1395-457: The son of middle-class Jewish parents Frank Bershad and Anna Levit. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1929. As an actor, Leonard specialized in playing supporting characters, especially gangsters or "heavies". His trademark was his especially thick New York accent , usually delivered from the side of his mouth. (He would often pronounce th as t and would say er as oi , thus he would pronounce earth as oit .) His breakthrough role

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1440-504: The writers were fans of his work. Actor Producer Director Danny 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

1485-792: 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. 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. 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. Danny Thomas

1530-594: 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

1575-531: Was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California . Bill Cosby , whom Leonard cast in I Spy , described Leonard as "my last father" when he dedicated an episode of Cosby to both Leonard and his slain son Ennis Cosby . Bill Cosby included an impersonation of Sheldon Leonard in one track of his 1966 hit comedy album Wonderfulness . The track "Niagara Falls" describes Sheldon Leonard's honeymoon at Niagara Falls . In "Monkees Marooned",

1620-470: 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

1665-526: Was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard . Thomas was a posthumous recipient of the 2004 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award . 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

1710-573: Was in Another Thin Man (1939), in which he played a soft-spoken but dangerous murder suspect. From then on he was typecast as smooth gangsters or streetwise guys in such movies as It's a Wonderful Life (1946; as bartender Nick), To Have and Have Not (1944), Guys and Dolls (1955), and Open Secret (1948). He was a favorite of director Frank Capra , who asked him to play an executive mobster in his 1961 movie Pocketful of Miracles . Leonard became so associated with tough-guy parts that he

1755-496: Was occasionally cast against type, as a law-enforcement officer, in movies like Street of Chance (1942) and Decoy (1946). He even played a pirate in Captain Kidd (1945). On radio from 1945 to 1955, Leonard played an eccentric racetrack tout on The Jack Benny Program and later in the TV series of the same name. His role was to hail Benny in railroad stations, on street corners, or in department stores ("Hey, Bud. C'mere

1800-516: Was on ABC from 1942 to 1943 and on CBS from 1947 to 1948. 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 ,

1845-581: Was part of the ensemble cast of the Martin and Lewis radio show. He also appeared frequently on Dragnet and The Adventures of the Saint , often playing gangsters and heavies, but also sometimes in more sympathetic roles. Leonard was also a regular on the radio comedy series The Adventures of Maisie in the 1940s. During the 1950s, Leonard provided the voice of lazy, fat cat Dodsworth in two Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoons directed by Robert McKimson . In

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1890-537: 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,

1935-621: 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. 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". In 1936,

1980-556: 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

2025-479: Was the creator and executive consultant. This article relating to a comedy television series in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sheldon Leonard Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan , New York City,

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