Danny Thomas was an entertainer struggling to make it big in show business. He often had difficulty securing gigs, and the news that there was a baby on the way in the Thomas household didn’t make things easier. As the story goes, one day the devoutly Catholic Thomas made a vow to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes: “Show me my way in life, and I will build you a shrine.” The man born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz in Deerfield, Michigan on this date in 1912 was as good as his promise. After achieving success in radio, movies, and television, he formulated plans to fund and build a hospital that ultimately became the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which opened its doors in Memphis, Tennessee in 1962. So, in addition to leaving us a legacy of laughter with such small screen classics as Make Room for Daddy (later retitled The Danny Thomas Show), Danny was responsible for founding one of the leading centers in pediatric medicine, with a sharp focus on eradicating pediatric cancer.

Danny Thomas was born the fifth of ten children (eight brothers and one sister) to Margaret Taouk and Charles Yaqoob Kairouz. His formative years were spent in Toledo, Ohio, where he attended St. Francis de Sales Church (a Roman Catholic school) and later Woodward High. His lifelong mentor was Bishop Samuel Stritch, who would later advise Danny to build his St. Jude’s center in Memphis. Thomas attended the University of Toledo after graduating high school...but show business was already in Danny’s blood by the time he enrolled.That began for him when he served as a “candy butcher” in a local burlesque theatre at the age of eleven. It continued into his twenties when he worked at Detroit’s WMBC, performing on radio’s The Happy Hour Club in 1932. Thomas–who was calling himself “Amos Jacobs” at this point in his career–also occupied his evenings perfecting his comedy and singing in nightclubs (at the phenomenal sum of $2 a night).

After Danny Thomas (his new stage moniker borrowed the first names of two of his brothers) worked himself up to $50 a night, he decided he had it made. So he proposed to (and married) Rose Marie Mantell, a girl who had worked as a singer at the same Detroit radio station. The couple moved to Chicago in 1940 so that Danny could secure bigger and better nightclub bookings, while he continued to work in radio as an actor on daytime dramas like Stepmother. In the fall of 1944, Thomas was appearing on CBS’ Post Toasties Time (later retitled The Baby Snooks Show) as “Jerry Dingle,” a milquetoast postman who succumbed to daydreams to escape his postal existence. Thomas later became a regular on NBC’s The Drene Show in 1946, portraying “Amos,” the brother of Blanche Bickerson (Francis Langford) and brother-in-law to John Bickerson (Don Ameche). During his radio career, Danny Thomas headlined two self-titled variety series: one of them was heard over ABC in 1942-43 and the second was broadcast over CBS in 1947-48. Rounding out Thomas’ radio resume are appearances on such shows as The Big Show, Command Performance, The Doris Day Show, Family Theatre, Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood, Joan Davis Time, Mail Call, The Martin and Lewis Show, Philco Radio Time, The Radio Hall of Fame, and The Texaco Star Theatre (with Tony Martin).

Danny Thomas made his motion picture debut in 1947’s The Unfinished Dance alongside MGM child star Margaret O’Brien. The two would reunite for Big City (1948) the following year, but Thomas’ film career failed to catch fire. Danny would try again at Warner Brothers a few years later playing opposite Betty Grable in Call Me Mister (1951) and Doris Day in I’ll See You in My Dreams(1951). In addition, he starred in The Jazz Singer (1952), a remake of the 1927 Al Jolson smash. The medium of television would bring the entertainer his greatest success. After a stint as one of the rotating hosts of All Star Revue (1950-52), Thomas found the perfect vehicle for his talents in a situation comedy that premiered in the fall of 1953 over ABC-TV: Make Room for Daddy. On this long-running series, Danny played Danny Williams, a nightclub entertainer (there’s a stretch) who may have thought he was king of the castle when he was “off the road,” but moreoften than not played second fiddle to his wife (Jean Hagen) and two smart-alecky kids (Sherry Jackson, Rusty Hamer). (The title of the series was inspired by a situation in real life when Thomas, exhausted from having returned home from a gig, would hear his wife Rose Marie telling their three sleepy kids to “make room for Daddy.”)

Make Room for Daddy ran on ABC for four seasons and then moved to CBS in 1957, where it was retitled The Danny Thomas Show and became one of that network’s most popular programs until 1964. Thomas would later revive the series in 1970 (back on ABC) as Make Room for Granddaddy after a segment (“Make More Room for Daddy”) on his 1967-68 anthology/variety series The Danny Thomas Hour proved popular. Granddaddy only lasted a season, and while his subsequent TV vehicles never matched the success of The Danny Thomas Show the entertainer still maintained a small screen presence with offerings like The Practice (1976-77), I’m a Big Girl Now (1980-81), and One Big Family (1986-87). (All three of these sitcoms were produced by Danny’s son Tony, who would also make use his father’s talents in his other productions like It’s a Living and Empty Nest.)

Danny Thomas would enjoy even bigger success behind the scenes in television. He partnered with actor Sheldon Leonard to produce multiple TV hits in The Real McCoys, The Andy Griffith Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Bill Dana Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Mod Squad. (Fans of The Dick Van Dyke Show know Thomas from the classic outing “It May Look Like a Walnut,” in which he played the alien “Kolak.”) For his tireless television efforts, Danny Thomas was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1990. He left this world for a better one in 1991 at the age of 79.

To celebrate Danny Thomas’ natal anniversary, Radio Spirits invites you to check out one of his signature roles on The Drene Show in The Bickersons collections The Honeymoon is Over! and Put Out the Lights! There’s a classic Drene Show broadcast (from February 9, 1947) on our potpourri set of old-time radio mirthmakers, Great Radio Comedy, and a March 18, 1948 outing (“Talent for Living”) on Family Theatre: Every Home. Happy birthday, Danny!