Danny Thomas (Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 - February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, comedian, producer, and philanthropist.

With a long, varied career working in nightclubs and on radio, Thomas became an early star of US network TV, fronting The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) (1953-1964). He also starred in the 1952 remake of The Jazz Singer, and the later followup to his earlier show, Make Room For Granddaddy (1970-1971). But he was also very prolific behind the scenes as a producer, most famously with The Andy Griffith Show (which debuted via a Poorly Disguised Pilot episode of Make Room for Daddy in which Thomas's character Danny Williams gets arrested in Mayberry, North Carolina for running a stop sign).

His other major legacy is as the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in 1962, named by the devoutly Catholic Thomas after his favorite saint (the patron saint of desperate causes).

A lesser-known fact is that he was co-founder of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, which started play in the 1960s version of the American Football League and would join the NFL when the two leagues finalized their merger in 1970. He sold his ownership stake after the team's inaugural 1966 season.

He was married to Rose Marie Mantell Thomas and had three children, including actress Marlo Thomas and producer Tony Thomas.

Thomas died in 1991 at the age of 79 after suffering a heart attack.

Filmography

Film Roles

• 1947: The Unfinished Dance as Mr. Paneros
• 1948: Big City as Cantor David Irwin Feldman
• 1951: Call Me Mister as Stanley
• 1951: Ill See You In My Dreams as Gus Kahn
• 1952: The Jazz Singer as Jerry Golding
• 1964: Looking For Love as Danny Thomas
• 1966: Dont Worry Well Think Of A Title as Diner Customer (Uncredited Role)
• 1972: Journey Back to Oz as The Tinman
• 1978: Three On A Date as Man in Airport (uncredited) (also producer)
• 1988: Side By Side as Charlie Warren

Television Roles

• 1953-1964: The Danny Thomas Show as Danny Williams/Robert Browning
• 1953-1959: The Jack Benny Program as Danny Thomas (2 episodes)
• 1958: The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour as Danny Williams
• 1959-1961: Zane Grey Theatre as Ed Dubro/Gino Pelletti (2 episodes)
• 1961: The Joey Bishop Show as Danny Williams
• 1963: The Dick Van Dyke Show as Kolak
• 1965: The Lucy Show as Danny Thomas
• 1967: The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour as Cameo
• 1967: Get Smart as Man on Street
• 1969-1971: That Girl as Danny Thomas/Priest (2 episodes)
• 1970-1971: Make Room For Granddaddy as Danny Williams (also producer)
• 1971: The Mod Squad as The Good Friend
• 1973: Here's Lucy as Danny Gallupi
• 1974: McCloud as Marcus Rubin
• 1976-1977: The Practice as Dr. Jules Bedford
• 1978: Happy Days as Sean Cunningham
• 1978: Kojak as Assistant Chief Howard Brokaw
• 1980-1981: Im A Big Girl Now as Dr. Benjamin Douglass
• 1982-1984: Benson as Albert Breyer/Charlie Rosano (2 episodes)
• 1986-1989: It's a Living as Mr. Dee/Dr. Jacobs (2 episodes)
• 1991: Empty Nest as Dr. Leo Brewster

Shorts

• 1952: Screen Snapshots Hollywood On The Ball as Danny Thomas

Himself

• 1967-1968: The Danny Thomas Hour As Himself (also producer)

Producer

• 1957-1963: The Real Mc Coys
• 1959: Love And Marriage
• 1961-1964: The Joey Bishop Show
• 1961-1966: The Dick Van Dyke Show
• 1963: The Andy Griffith Show
• 1963-1964: The Bill Dana Show
• 1964: The Tycoon
• 1967: Rango
• 1967: Cricket on the Hearth
• 1967-1968: The Guns Of Will Sonnett
• 1968-1973: The Mod Squad
• 1969: The New People
• 1969: The Over The Hill Gang
• 1969: Wake Me When The War Is Over
• 1969: The Monk
• 1969: The Pigeon
• 1969: The Ballad Of Andy Crocker
• 1970: The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
• 1970: Carters Army
• 1972: Second Chance
• 1974: Remember When
• 1979: Samurai
• 1979: The Return Of The Mod Squad
• 1979: Starting Fresh (short)
• 1979: Featherstones Nest (short)
• 1979: The Unbroken Circle A Tribute To Mother Maybelle Carter

Director

• 1962-1964: The Danny Thomas Show (35 episodes)
• 1964: The Bill Dana Show
• 1967: The Danny Thomas Hour
• 1970: Make Room For Granddaddy

Writer

• 1950: All Star Revue
• 1960-1968: The Andy Griffith Show

Tropes pertaining to Thomas' works:

• Premature Aggravation: The "jack story", popularised by him. A travelling salesman gets a flat tire on a country road, and he starts walking along the road looking for a house to borrow a jack from. He gets increasingly aggravated during the troublesome journey, and starts imagining various reasons he's going to get rejected—they don't have a jack, he looks too suspicious, etc.—and after he finally reaches a house and knocks, as soon as the door is opened he just shouts "Keep your damn jack!" and storms off.