Tommy Hanlon Jr. (14 August 1923 – 9 October 2003) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born actor, comedian, television host and circus ringmaster, notable for his career in Australia after emigrating there in 1959, where he became a

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

-award-winning

media personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

, in 1962. Hanlon was notable for his early television appearances on daytime television and as host of the Australian version of United States game show ''

It Could Be You ''It Could Be You'' is a television game show produced by Ralph Edwards, Ralph Edwards Productions in the late 1950s in the United States, broadcast daily in the weekday daytime schedule for five years 1956–1961, and weekly in the evening on-and ...

''.

Biography

Early life

He was born Tommy Gene Thomason in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and ...

in 1923, to

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performers Homer Emmons Thomason (whose stage name was "Tommy Hanlon") and Ruth Dorothy Manning. He appeared in his parents' act at the age of four, and later took the stage name Tommy Hanlon Jr. after his father's stage name.

Professional career

Hanlon first appeared on his own as a magician as a teenager and was an entertainer for the rest of his life. After two years with

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also ...

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in the 1940s, and appearing on stage alongside

W.C. Fields WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connection, former hi ...

, he came to Australia in 1959, first as a club act, then appearing on television. Hanlon became a major TV celebrity in Australia in the early 1960s, especially as host of the popular daytime program "It Could Be You" on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

, operating out of the

GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. History GTV-9 was amongst the first television stations to begin regular ...

studios in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The program was a mixture of game show, human interest and humour. It featured tearful reunions of long separated families or friends. He typically closed each program sitting on a stool with a social commentary presented as a ''Letter from Mom''. After GTV-9 purchased radio station 3AK in April 1961, all GTV-9 personalities were expected to present programs on the new acquisition. Hanlon hosted a Saturday morning show with Jack Little as his ''sidekick''.

Awards

He won two

Logie awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

, including the Gold Logie in 1962, opposite Australian entertainer

Lorrae Desmond Lorrae Desmond (2 October 1929 – 23 May 2021) born as Beryl Hunt, was an Australian Gold Logie-award-winning singer, recording artist, radio and television presenter, character actor, and playwright, with a career that spanned over 55 years ...

, and became one of the highest-paid entertainers in Australia.

Circus career

In 1967, he bought into

Ashton's Circus Circus Joseph Ashton, formerly trading as Ashton's Circus, is the longest-surviving circus in Australia, pre-dating most others in the English-speaking world. The circus was founded in Hobart, Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, in 1847 by Thomas Moll ...

.Obituary
at MilesAgo.com In the 1970s, he hosted talent show '' Pot of Gold'', with resident judge

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors ...

who mocked most entrants mercilessly, to the consternation of the more kind-hearted Hanlon. Hanlon quit television in 1978 and toured Australia as a ringmaster with

Silvers Circus Silver's Circus, the original, was an (Australian) circus started by Mervyn King and entrepreneur David Hardie Snr. and his two sons Les and David Jnr. History Original Silvers The original Silver's Circus was founded by Mervyn King and David H ...

Personal life

He was honoured in an episode of '' This is Your Life'' filmed in August 2003. Hanlon died from cancer in Melbourne on 9 October 2003, only weeks after suffering a heart attack. He was predeceased by his wife, Muriel (whom he always called Murphy), and survived by his daughter April Bell from that marriage and her son Jeff Almond. He was also survived by his first wife, Jean Gregory, his son by that marriage, Tommy Hanlon Thomason, three grandchildren and two great-grand children. Despite his love for Australia, he never relinquished his United States citizenship.

References

''TV legend found his calling under the big top'', "The Age", 11 October 2003.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanlon, Tommy Jr. 1923 births 2003 deaths Australian male comedians Australian magicians Australian male television actors Australian television personalities People from Parkersburg, West Virginia Ringmasters Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) Gold Logie winners American emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian comedians