danny thomas st jude quotes to guest stars

The latter was already a board member of several Memphis hospitals, and an expert fundraiser. They were both Stritch’s friends: local attorneys John Ford Canale and Edward Barry. Two Memphians also played key roles in bringing the new hospital here. Later, when he met Stritch again - now serving as the archbishop of Chicago - and told him his plans to honor St. Jude, Stritch persuaded the entertainer to locate his new hospital in Memphis. While living in Toledo, Thomas was confirmed by Roman Catholic Bishop Samuel Stritch, who was a native of Tennessee.

The very next morning, he got a call to do a radio commercial for Maytag washing machines. Later, he prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, and asked him to return the money tenfold.

Not only was the new moniker easier to spell and pronounce, but the young man wanted a pseudonym so that his friends and family wouldn’t know if his showbiz aspirations didn’t work out.Īs a struggling performer, Thomas one day gave away his last six bucks to a church needing funds for missionary work. That was his first glimpse of the exciting world of show business, and when Amos Jacobs decided to try his hand at it, he borrowed the names of his two brothers to come up with his stage name: Danny Thomas. The boy’s first job was as a “candy butcher,” selling soda and sweets in the Empire Burlesque Theatre in Toledo. One of nine children born to Lebanese immigrants living in Deerfield, Michigan, the family later moved to Toledo, Ohio, and anglicized Alphonsus’ first name to Amos. He wasn’t always “Danny Thomas.” Alphonsus Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz Jacobs came into this world on January 6, 1912.

Danny thomas st jude quotes to guest stars