Marlo Thomas
Encyclopedia
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl
(1966–1971). She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
. She is currently appearing in the Broadway production of "Relatively Speaking" in a one-act play by Elaine May called "George Is Dead."
, the eldest child of Lebanese-American comedian Danny Thomas
(1912–1991) and his wife, the former Rose Marie Cassaniti (1914–2000). On her mother's side, she is also the granddaughter of drummer and percussionist, Marie "Mary" Cassaniti (1896–1972). Her brother, Tony Thomas, is a television and film producer, and her sister, Terre Thomas, is a former actress.
Marlo Thomas was raised in Beverly Hills, California
. Her parents called her Margo as a child, though she soon became known as Marlo, she told The New York Times, because of her childhood mispronunciation of the nickname. She attended Marymount High School
in Los Angeles. Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California
with a teaching degree; "I wanted a piece of paper that said I was qualified to do something," she said. She was also a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta
.
Show from 1961 to 1962, playing Joey's star-struck sister, Stella Barnes. She followed the series with guest appearances on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
, Ben Casey
, My Favorite Martian
, and Bonanza
. But not until 1966 did she achieve the role for which she is still known today: New York
actress Ann Marie on the ABC
sitcom That Girl
. The series ran until 1971, garnering her a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy nominations.
After That Girl, Thomas released a children's book, Free to Be… You and Me
, which was inspired by her young niece Dionne Thomas. She went on to create multiple recordings and television specials of and related to that title: Free to Be… You and Me
(1972 and 1974) and Free to Be… A Family (1987), with Christopher Cerf
.
In 1973, Marlo Thomas joined Gloria Steinem
, Patricia Carbine, and Letty Cottin Pogrebin
as the founders of the country’s first women’s fund, the Ms. Foundation for Women
. The organization was created to deliver funding and other resources to organizations that were presenting women’s voices in communities nationwide.
Adept at drama
as well as comedy
, Thomas appeared in the television movies It Happened One Christmas
(1977) (a remake of It's a Wonderful Life
with Thomas in the rewritten James Stewart
role), Nobody's Child (1986) , and The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck (1984) while she starred in films Jenny (1970) and Thieves
(1977).
Thomas's Broadway theatre
credits include Thieves
(1974), Social Security
(1986, in which she also toured), and The Shadow Box
(1994). In 1993 she toured in Six Degrees of Separation
. In 2007, she starred as Doreen in Elaine May
's comedy Roger Is Dead at George Street Playhouse
. She returned to George Street Playhouse in the spring of 2008 in Arthur Laurents
's play New Year's Eve with Keith Carradine
and Natasha Gregson Wagner
.
Thomas appeared as Margaret (as the client with a vicious dog) in an uncredited role in the film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
(1999).
Marlo Thomas is also active with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
in Memphis, Tennessee
, where she serves as the national outreach director. She is donating all royalties
from her 2004 book and CD, Thanks & Giving: All Year Long
(also produced with Cerf), to the hospital, which was started by her late father, Danny Thomas
. The organization helps gravely ill young children.
Thomas has further supported charity through her publications of the two volumes of The Right Words at the Right Time.
In recent years, Thomas has made guest appearances on Ally McBeal
, Friends
(as Rachel's mother, Sandra Green), as well as on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
(she played Judge Mary Conway Clark, a mentor of former ADA Casey Novak). She also appeared in the 2000 comedy Playing Mona Lisa.
Thomas is currently starring in a Broadway play called "George is Dead" written by Elaine May. The play is billed in the Broadway production "Relatively Speaking", which also features plays written by Ethan Cohen ("Talking Cure") and Woody Allen ("Honeymoon Motel").
Thomas is a contributor to Web site wowOwow
.com.
, a Grammy Award
, and the George Foster Peabody Award.
In 1996, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
procedure between the time of her appearing on her father's television show and the debut of That Girl.
After her relationship with playwright Herb Gardner, Thomas married talk show
host Phil Donahue
in 1980. Through the marriage, she gained five stepchildren.
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
(1966–1971). She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...
. She is currently appearing in the Broadway production of "Relatively Speaking" in a one-act play by Elaine May called "George Is Dead."
Early life
Thomas was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, the eldest child of Lebanese-American comedian Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
(1912–1991) and his wife, the former Rose Marie Cassaniti (1914–2000). On her mother's side, she is also the granddaughter of drummer and percussionist, Marie "Mary" Cassaniti (1896–1972). Her brother, Tony Thomas, is a television and film producer, and her sister, Terre Thomas, is a former actress.
Marlo Thomas was raised in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. Her parents called her Margo as a child, though she soon became known as Marlo, she told The New York Times, because of her childhood mispronunciation of the nickname. She attended Marymount High School
Marymount High School
Marymount High School is a private, Roman Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in the Holmby Hills/Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. It sits across from the University of California, Los Angeles campus at 10643 Sunset Boulevard....
in Los Angeles. Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
with a teaching degree; "I wanted a piece of paper that said I was qualified to do something," she said. She was also a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
.
Career
Thomas was a regular on The Joey BishopJoey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
Show from 1961 to 1962, playing Joey's star-struck sister, Stella Barnes. She followed the series with guest appearances on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
, Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
, My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
, and Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
. But not until 1966 did she achieve the role for which she is still known today: New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
actress Ann Marie on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
. The series ran until 1971, garnering her a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy nominations.
After That Girl, Thomas released a children's book, Free to Be… You and Me
Free to Be… You and Me
Free to Be… You and Me, a project of the Ms. Foundation for Women, is a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross...
, which was inspired by her young niece Dionne Thomas. She went on to create multiple recordings and television specials of and related to that title: Free to Be… You and Me
Free to Be… You and Me
Free to Be… You and Me, a project of the Ms. Foundation for Women, is a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross...
(1972 and 1974) and Free to Be… A Family (1987), with Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf is a U.S. author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer. He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous...
.
In 1973, Marlo Thomas joined Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, Patricia Carbine, and Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Letty Cottin Pogrebin is an American writer and journalist. She graduated from Brandeis University and became a writer and feminist advocate in the early 1970s. In 1971, she was one of the founding editors of Ms...
as the founders of the country’s first women’s fund, the Ms. Foundation for Women
Ms. Foundation for Women
The Ms. Foundation for Women, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Marlo Thomas. Established at the height of the feminist movement, the Ms...
. The organization was created to deliver funding and other resources to organizations that were presenting women’s voices in communities nationwide.
Adept at drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
as well as comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, Thomas appeared in the television movies It Happened One Christmas
It Happened One Christmas
It Happened One Christmas is a 1977 made-for-television movie starring Marlo Thomas and Wayne Rogers.The film, a gender-reversal remake of the classic It's a Wonderful Life, centers on Mary Bailey Hatch, a young woman who dreams of seeing the world but is forced by circumstances to remain in her...
(1977) (a remake of It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
with Thomas in the rewritten James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
role), Nobody's Child (1986) , and The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck (1984) while she starred in films Jenny (1970) and Thieves
Thieves (film)
Thieves is a 1996 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Daniel Auteuil, Catherine Deneuve and Laurence Côte. The plot follows a cynical police officer, who comes from a family of thieves, and a lonely philosophy professor, both romantically involved with a self-destructive petty...
(1977).
Thomas's Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits include Thieves
Thieves (play)
Thieves is a play by Herb Gardner.Its focus is on Martin and Sally Cramer, whose twelve-year marriage slowly is disintegrating. He has become the stuffy headmaster of a fashionable Manhattan private school, while she clings to her dedication to the underprivileged and continues to teach in a ghetto...
(1974), Social Security
Social Security (play)
Social Security is a play by Andrew Bergman.It focuses on trendy Manhattan art gallery owners Barbara and David Kahn, whose life is upended when her Mineola housewife sister Trudy deposits their eccentric mother Sophie on the couple's doorstep while she and her husband Martin head to Buffalo to...
(1986, in which she also toured), and The Shadow Box
The Shadow Box
The Shadow Box is a play written by actor Michael Cristofer. The play made its Broadway debut on March 31, 1977. The original cast included Simon Oakland as Joe, Laurence Luckinbill as Brian, Mandy Patinkin as Mark, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Felicity, and Vincent Spano as Steve.-Plot synopsis:The...
(1994). In 1993 she toured in Six Degrees of Separation
Six degrees of separation
Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer...
. In 2007, she starred as Doreen in Elaine May
Elaine May
Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
's comedy Roger Is Dead at George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse is a theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, one of the state's preeminent professional theatres committed to the production of new and established plays....
. She returned to George Street Playhouse in the spring of 2008 in Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, stage director and screenwriter.After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S...
's play New Year's Eve with Keith Carradine
Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
and Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner is an American actress.Gregson Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Richard Gregson, a film producer, and the late actress Natalie Wood...
.
Thomas appeared as Margaret (as the client with a vicious dog) in an uncredited role in the film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a 1999 comedy film starring Rob Schneider. Other cast members include Eddie Griffin, Amy Poehler, Oded Fehr, Arija Bareikis, and William Forsythe....
(1999).
Marlo Thomas is also active with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where she serves as the national outreach director. She is donating all royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
from her 2004 book and CD, Thanks & Giving: All Year Long
Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long
Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long is an album of songs and spoken-word selections by entertainment personalities and others, and is intended as a companion to the anthology book of the same name....
(also produced with Cerf), to the hospital, which was started by her late father, Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
. The organization helps gravely ill young children.
Thomas has further supported charity through her publications of the two volumes of The Right Words at the Right Time.
In recent years, Thomas has made guest appearances on Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(as Rachel's mother, Sandra Green), as well as on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
(she played Judge Mary Conway Clark, a mentor of former ADA Casey Novak). She also appeared in the 2000 comedy Playing Mona Lisa.
Thomas is currently starring in a Broadway play called "George is Dead" written by Elaine May. The play is billed in the Broadway production "Relatively Speaking", which also features plays written by Ethan Cohen ("Talking Cure") and Woody Allen ("Honeymoon Motel").
Thomas is a contributor to Web site wowOwow
WowOwow
wowOwow is a U.S.-based website publication run by Joni Evans. The site was launched by CEO Joni Evans, Mary Wells Lawrence, Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl, and Peggy Noonan on March 8, 2008...
.com.
Honors
Thomas is the recipient of four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
, a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, and the George Foster Peabody Award.
In 1996, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
Personal life
She had a rhinoplastyRhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty , also nose job, is a plastic surgery procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose, by resolving nasal trauma , congenital defect, respiratory impediment, and a failed primary rhinoplasty...
procedure between the time of her appearing on her father's television show and the debut of That Girl.
After her relationship with playwright Herb Gardner, Thomas married talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host Phil Donahue
Phil Donahue
Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
in 1980. Through the marriage, she gained five stepchildren.