MARLO THOMAS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Marlo Thomas was born on November 21st, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan with the birth name Margaret Julia Thomas. She was raised in a life on entertainment as the daughter of show business legend Danny Thomas. She graduated from college at the University of Southern California with a teaching degree and began her adult life as a school teacher as her father wanted her to pursue other career goals and not follow in his footsteps of acting.
However, growing up around acting, she always had an interest in pursuing a career as an actress. She began with making television appearances on such series as, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959), "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater" (1956) and "Thriller" (1960). When she was cast in the sitcom series "The Joey Bishop Show" (1961) her career began to take off.
Thomas followed with appearances on such shows as "Bonanza" (1959), "McHale's Navy" (1962), "The Donna Reed Show" (1958) and "Ben Casey" (1961). She then got the chance at her own sitcom and won a Golden Globe and four Emmy nominations during the shows five year run.
She had a problem after her show as being type cast as a innocent character and tried to get away from that by starring in a film which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer but it still did not do much for her career.
She decided to lay low in her acting for a bit and put her focus towards her love for children and education. Marlo became a producer of a children's show called, "Free To Be You & Me" (1974) and "Free To Be Family" (1988). When she was able to outgrow her typecast character she made a name for herself in television movies in such films as, "It Happened One Christmas" (1977), "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck" (1984).
She also earned quite a name for herself as a stage actress performing in such productions as, "Social Security" (1986), "The Shadow Box" (1994), "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" (1990) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1992).
Some of her later work was on the television series, "Friends" (1994) portraying Jennifer Aniston's mother and on the drama, "Law & Order" (1990). She has also always been actively involved in continuing the tradition of her late father as both spokesperson and humanitarian for St. Jude's Children's Hospital for cancer research.
Marlo Thomas married quite late in life and only once to Phil Donahue in 1980 and they remain together today and she is the mother to five step children.
Filmography
2011 LOL
2010 The Fran Drescher Show
2007 Ugly Betty
2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
2004 Deceit
1996-2002 Friends
2002 Two Against Time
2000 Ally McBeal
2000 Playing Mona Lisa
1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
1999 Frasier
1998 Starstruck
1997 The Real Blonde
1996 Roseanne
1994 Reunion
1994 Ultimate Betrayal
1991 Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story
1990 In the Spirit
1986 Nobody's Child
1985 Consenting Adult
1984 The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck
1977 It Happened One Christmas
1977 Thieves
1976 The Practice
1973 Acts of Love and Other Comedies
1973 The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie
1966-1971 That Girl
1970 Jenny
1967 Cricket on the Hearth
1965 Ben Casey
1965 The Donna Reed Show
1965 Valentine's Day
1964 McHale's Navy
1964 Wendy and Me
1964 My Favorite Martian
1964 Bonanza
1964 Arrest and Trial
1961-1962 The Joey Bishop Show
1962 Insight
1961 The Danny Thomas Show
1961 Thriller
1961 Zane Grey Theater
1960 77 Sunset Strip
1960 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
