Tommy Hanlon Jr. (14 August 1923 – 11 October 2003) was an American-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 due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

, 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-an ...

''.

Biography

Early life

He was born Tommy Gene Thomason in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's List of municipalities in West Virginia ...

in 1923, to

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

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 director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

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 r ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in the 1940s, and appearing on stage alongside W.C. Fields, 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 Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...

, 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. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...

studios in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. 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 TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The event is telecast live and ...

, including the Gold Logie in 1962, opposite Australian entertainer

Lorrae Desmond Lorrae Desmond (born Beryl Hunt; 2 October 1929 – 23 May 2021) 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 bot ...

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

Circus career

In 1967, he bought into Ashton's Circus.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 Warrior ...

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.

Personal life

He was honoured in an episode of '' This is Your Life'' filmed in August 2003. Hanlon died from cancer in Melbourne on 11 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-grandchildren. 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 (state) Gold Logie winners American emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian comedians Comedians from West Virginia