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Danny Thomas: The child of immigrants with a dream
Every immigrant family shares a story. They understand the struggle for a better life, the passionate desire to contribute their talents and the need to keep their unique legacy alive.
Danny Thomas’s family is no exception. The founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of nine children of immigrant parents who arrived in this world during a snow storm in Deerfield, Michigan on January 6, 1912.
At the age of 10, Danny was already helping his parents selling newspapers in his community, and became a candy maker at a popular theater when he was 11 years old. He slowly started saving so he could travel to Detroit and live his dream of becoming an artist.
His first years in the entertainment world weren’t any easier, but Danny never lost hope. Once in Detroit he worked as a singer for a radio show called “The Happy Hour Club,” where he met his future wife.
His future changed with a promise
Rose Marie Mantell was a beautiful, dark-haired Italian girl who worked on the show, and Danny offered to walk her to the train for three years before he proposed. From that love, his daughter Margaret (later Marlo) was born, but his new family lived under very difficult economic circumstances.
With seven dollars on his pocket and faced with the inability to pay the hospital where Marlo was born, he knelt before the statue of St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes, and asked to be shown his way in life.
His prayer was answered and very soon he moved with this family to Chicago to continue his career as an entertainer. Danny continued to seek St. Jude’s guidance in life and promised to build him a sanctuary in return.
A successful career and a promise kept
In less than a year, Danny was making $500 dollars a week at Club 5100 in Chicago and became a beloved celebrity during his time, starring in shows in New York and Chicago, Hollywood movies and in the television series “Make Room for Daddy.”
During his success, Danny never forgot his promise to St. Jude and decided that the best way to make a tribute was to establish a children’s hospital in his name. He wanted a place where patients could be treated regardless of their race, religion or financial situation.
Danny used his resources, talent and influence in the entertainment world to make it possible. Thanks to that, ALSAC was born, one of the most successful fundraising organizations in the United States, responsible for providing financial support to his new hospital: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
