Thomas Adrian Sands (born August 27, 1937) is an American pop music singer and actor. Working in show business as a child, Sands became an overnight sensation and instant

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...

when he appeared on ''

Kraft Television Theater ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

'' in January 1957 as "The Singin' Idol". The song from the show, "

Teen-Age Crush "Teen-Age Crush" is a song written by Audrey Allison and Joe Allison and performed by Tommy Sands. It reached #2 on the U.S. pop chart and #10 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1957. The song ranked #33 on ''Billboard's'' Year-End top 50 singles of 1 ...

", reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 1 on Cashbox.

Early life

Sands was born into a musical family in Chicago, Illinois; his father Ben, born in Russia, was Jewish and was a pianist, and his mother, Grace Dickson, a

big-band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

singer. He moved with the family to

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, Louisiana. He began playing the guitar at eight and within a year had a job performing twice weekly on a local radio station. At the beginning of his teen years, he moved to Houston, Texas, where he attended Lamar High School and joined a band with "Jimmie Lee Durden and the Junior Cowboys", consisting of Sands, Durden, and Billy Reno. They performed on radio, at county fairs, and did personal appearances. He was 15 when

Colonel Tom Parker Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997) was a Dutch people, Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. Parker was born in the Netherlands and Il ...

heard about him and signed him to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

Career

In 1957 Sands was featured on ''Hometown Jubilee'' on

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

television in Los Angeles.

''The Singin' Idol''

Sands's initial

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

achieved little in the way of sales but in early 1957 he was given the opportunity to star in an episode of ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

'' called "

The Singing Idol ''Sing Boy Sing'' is a 1958 American musical drama film released by 20th Century-Fox and starring newcomers Tommy Sands and Lili Gentle. The film was an expansion of the January 1957 ''Kraft Television Theatre'' episode "The Singin' Idol," also ...

". He played the part of a singer who was very similar to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, with guitar, pompadour hair, and excitable teenage fans. On the show, his song presentation of a

Joe Allison Joe Marion Allison (October 3, 1924 – August 2, 2002) was an American songwriter, radio and television personality, record producer, and country music business executive. Allison won five BMI performance awards for hit singles he wrote and a ...

composition called "

" went over big with the young audience and, released as a single by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, it went to No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

and No. 1 on the '' Cashbox'' chart. It became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. His track, "The Old Oaken Bucket", peaked at No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart in 1960. He released his debut album ''

Steady Date with Tommy Sands ''Steady Date with Tommy Sands'' is the 1957 debut album by American singer Tommy Sands. A double page advertising spread in the April 13, 1957 issue of ''Billboard'' magazine described Sands as the "Hottest singer in the nation" and ''Steady D ...

'' (1957). Sands' sudden fame brought an offer to sing at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

show. He did another episode of ''Kraft Television Theatre'', "Flesh and Blood" (1957), playing the son of a gangster. He also made "The Promise" for ''

Zane Grey Theatre ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956 until May 18, 1961. Synopsis Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star Films held ...

'' (1957), playing the son of a character played by

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

20th Century Fox

Sands'

looks landed him a

motion-picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

contract with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

to star in a 1958 musical drama called ''

Sing, Boy, Sing ''Sing Boy Sing'' is a 1958 American musical drama film released by 20th Century-Fox and starring newcomers Tommy Sands and Lili Gentle. The film was an expansion of the January 1957 '' Kraft Television Theatre'' episode "The Singin' Idol," als ...

'', the feature film version of "The Singin' Idol". Fox had enjoyed success with films starring other teen idols such as

and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

but ''Sing, Boy, Sing'' was a financial failure. Sands appeared on

CBS Television CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

on January 9, 1958, in an episode of ''

Shower of Stars A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers are set up to have adjustable temperature, spray pressure and showerhead nozzle angle. The sim ...

'', and played another singing star in "The Left-handed Welcome" for ''

Studio One in Hollywood ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on Sept ...

'' (1958). Sands supported Pat Boone in a musical for Fox, ''

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

'' (1958), which was a moderate hit. He also released the albums '' Sands Storm'' (1958), '' This Thing Called Love'' (1959), and '' When I'm Thinking of You'' (1959). His later albums included '' Sands at the Sands'' (1960) and ''

Dream with Me ''Dream with Me'' is the second full-length album (first on a major label) by American singer Jackie Evancho. It was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format, and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format.United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Reserves.

Later films

Sands' second lead role in a feature was in the teen comedy ''

Love in a Goldfish Bowl ''Love in a Goldfish Bowl'' is a 1961 teen film directed by Jack Sher starring singing idols Tommy Sands and Fabian. Plot Gordon Slide and Blythe Holloway are two platonic best friends at a college, both from single-parent families. They are so ...

'' (1961) with

Fabian Forte Fabian Anthony Forte (born February 6, 1943), professionally known as Fabian, is an American singer and actor. Forte rose to national prominence after performing several times on ''American Bandstand''. He became a teen idol of the late 1950s ...

, which was not a success. More popular was a fantasy musical he made at Disney, '' Babes in Toyland'' (1961), co-starring

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. She began her professional career at age 12, becoming one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original ''The Mickey Mouse Club, Mickey Mouse Cl ...

. That year he and Funicello sang the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of brothers Robert Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard Sherman (June 12, 1928 – May 25, 2024). Together they received ...

' title song from the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

release of '' The Parent Trap''. Sands guest starred on "The Inner Panic" for ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. ...

'' and was one of several pop stars who played US Rangers in Fox's '' The Longest Day'' (1962). Sands had married

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

whose father Frank offered Sands a role in ''

Come Blow Your Horn ''Come Blow Your Horn'' is Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Simon rewrote the script more than two dozen times over several years, resulting in a hit ...

'' but he turned it down. Sands studied acting in New York. Sands appeared alongside

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

in "Blow High, Blow Clear" for ''

Alcoa Theatre ''Alcoa Theatre'' is a half-hour American anthology series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation and telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on Monday nights from September 30, 1957 to May 23, 1960. For its first four months on the air, the title ''Turn o ...

'' (1963). On May 14, 1963, Sands appeared, along with

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor. He played Sonny Pruit in '' Movin' On'', a 1974–1976 American drama series about a trucking team; Sheriff Lobo on '' The Misadventures of Sheriff Lob ...

and Jim Davis, in "Trapped", one of the last episodes of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Laramie''

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series. In the story line, series character Slim Sherman ( John Smith) finds an injured kidnap victim in the woods, portrayed by Joan Freeman.

Dennis Holmes Charles Dennis Holmes (born October 3, 1950) is a retired American film and television child actor, best-known for playing Mike Williams in the American western television series '' Laramie''. Life and career Holmes was born in Encino, Califo ...

, as series regular Mike Williams, rides away to seek help, but the kidnappers reclaim the hostage. Slim pursues the kidnappers but is mistaken as a third kidnapper by the girl's father, played by

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

. Sands played the girl's boyfriend, who had been ordered by her father to stop seeing her. Sands made several appearances on ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'' including "The Davey Baxter Story", "The Larry Hanify Story," "The Gus Morgan Story" (with

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...

), and "The Bob Stuart Story". Sands had a support role in the feature film ''

Ensign Pulver ''Ensign Pulver'' is a 1964 American Technicolor comedy drama film in Panavision and a sequel to the 1955 film '' Mister Roberts''. The film stars Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands and features Millie Perkins, Larry H ...

'' (1964) at Warners. He guest starred on ''

Slattery's People ''Slattery's People'' is a 1964–65 United States, American television series about local politics starring Richard Crenna as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring Ed Asner and Tol Avery, and featuring Carroll O'Conno ...

'' ("Question: Why the Lonely?... Why the Misbegotten?") and had a support role in the war feature '' None But the Brave'' (1965), starring and directed by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. Sands guest starred on ''

Kraft Suspense Theatre The ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC.Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers ...

'' ("More Than a Soldier"), ''

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

'' ("For Me and My Sal"), ''

Mr. Novak ''Mr. Novak'' is an American television drama (film and television), drama television series starring James Franciscus in the title role as a high school teacher. The series aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965. It won a Peabody Award ...

'' ("Let's Dig a Little Grammar", "And Then I Wrote..."), '' Branded'' ("That the Brave Endure"), ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' ("The Debt"), and ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'' ("No Blue Skies").

Career decline

Sands divorced Nancy Sinatra in 1965. "The doors to Hollywood seemed to slam shut after the divorce from Nancy", he said. "I couldn't get acting roles, my singing career on TV and in films was over." His last feature to date was ''

The Violent Ones ''The Violent Ones'' is a 1967 film directed by and starring Fernando Lamas. The story was written and created by Charles Davis, Fred Freiberger, Herman Miller, and Doug Wilson. The film was shot in the Alabama Hills, Mojave Desert and Lone Pin ...

'' (1967) in which Sands had a supporting role. He moved to Hawaii in 1967.

Hawaii

In Hawaii, Sands operated the Tommy Sands Nightclub Tour for five years, and performed at the Outrigger Hotel in Waikiki. His later appearances included episodes of ''

'' ("No Blue Skies", "Hit Gun for Sale", "A Sentence to Steal"), and ''

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (re-titled ''The Hardy Boys'' for season three) is an American television mystery series based on the '' Hardy Boys'' and ''Nancy Drew'' juvenile novels. The series, which ran from January 30, 1977, to Ja ...

'' ("Mystery on the Avalanche Express"). He occasionally returned to the mainland to work, appearing in dinner theatre. Sands returned permanently to the mainland of the US in 1981, settling in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. He toured regularly performing concerts.

Personal life

Nancy Sinatra and Tommy Sanda Stump the Stars 1962

Tommy Sands and singer

married in 1960 and divorced in 1965. His career had declined significantly by 1965, triggering speculation that

had him "blacklisted" in the entertainment industry after their divorce. Such reports were denied by both Sands and Sinatra. In 1974, Sands married Sheila Wallace, a secretary, in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, where he had relocated in an attempt to revive his career.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

US singles discography

* Love Pains / Transfer – RCA 1953 * Life Is So Lonesome / A Dime and a Dollar – RCA 1954 * Don't Drop It / A Place For Girls Like You – RCA 1954 * Something's Bound To Go Wrong / Kissin' Ain't No Fun – RCA 1955 *

/ Hep Dee Hootie (Cutie Wootie) – Capitol 1957 (U.S. No. 2, 2 wks.; No. 10 R&B; Cashbox #1) * My Love Song / Ring-A-Ding-Ding – Capitol 1957 No. 62 U.S. A-Side, No. 50 U.S. B-Side * Love Paris / Don't Drop It – RCA 1957 * Goin' Steady / Ring My Phone – Capitol 1957 No. 16 U.S. * Let Me Loved / Fantastically Foolish – Capitol 1957 * Man, Like Wow! / A Swingin' Romance – Capitol 1957 * Sing Boy Sing / Crazy 'Cause I Love You – Capitol 1957 No. 24 U.S. * Teen-Age Doll / Hawaiian Rock – Capitol 1958 No. 81 U.S. * After The Senior Prom / Big Date – Capitol 1958 * Blue Ribbon Baby / I Love You Because – Capitol 1958 No. 50 U.S. * The Worryin' Kind/Bigger Than Texas – 1958 No. 69 U.S. * Is It Ever Gonna Happen / I Ain't Gittin' Rid of You – Capitol 1959 * Sinner Man / Bring Me Your Love – Capitol 1959 * I'll Be Seeing You / That's The Way I Am – Capitol 1959 No. 51 U.S. * You Hold The Future / I Gotta Have You – Capitol 1959 * That's Love / Crossroads – Capitol 1960 * The Old Oaken Bucket / These Are The Things You Are – Capitol 1960 No. 73 U.S. No. 25 U.K. * On And On / Doctor Heartache – Capitol 1960 * The Parent Trap / Let's Get Together – Buena Vista 1961 (Annette Funicello And Tommy Sands) * I Love My Baby / Love in a Goldfish Bowl – Capitol 1961 * Remember Me (To Jennie) / Rainbow – Capitol 1961 * Jimmy's Song / Wrong Side of Love – Capitol 1961 * A Young Man's Fancy / Connie – ABC-Paramount 1963 * Only Cause I'm Lonely / Cinderella – ABC-Paramount 1963 * Ten Dollars and a Clean White Shirt / Won't You Be My Girl – ABC-Paramount 1964 * Kisses (Love Theme) / Something More – ABC-Paramount 1964 * Love's Funny / One Rose Today, One Rose Tomorrow – Liberty 1965 * The Statue / Little Rosita – Liberty 1965 * It's The Only One I've Got / As Long As I'm Travellin'- Imperial 1966 * Candy Store Prophet / Second Star to the Left – Imperial 1967 * Seasons in the Sun / Ain't No Big Thing – Superscope 1969

U.S. LP discography

* ''

'',

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

848, 1957 * '' Sing Boy Sing'', Capitol 929, 1958 * '' Sands Storm'', Capitol 1081, 1958 * '' This Thing Called Love'', Capitol 1123, 1959 * '' When I'm Thinking of You'', Capitol 1239, 1959 * '' Sands at the Sands'', Capitol 1364, 1960 (live) * ''

Dream with Me ''Dream with Me'' is the second full-length album (first on a major label) by American singer Jackie Evancho. It was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format, and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format.Official Tommy Sands Web Site
at Rockabilly Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sands, Tommy 1937 births Living people American male pop singers American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana RCA Victor artists Capitol Records artists Liberty Records artists Singers from Los Angeles ABC Records artists Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Shreveport, Louisiana Singers from Louisiana American rockabilly musicians