Personhood

Early Life

At birth, Danny Thomas was given the name Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz.

He was the fifth of ten children born to Charles Yaqoob Kairouz and his wife Margaret Taouk.

Charles and Magaret were Maronite Christian immigrants from Bsharri, Lebanon.

He was married to Rose Marie Cassaniti.

Stage Name

He was part of a radio team at WMBC in Detroit.

The show’s name is The Happy Hour Club.

He performed under his anglicized birth name, “Amos Jacobs Kairouz.”

Upon moving to Chicago, he returned to working clubs which was better paying than Radio.

He did not want his family and friends to know that he was working at clubs and so he came up with the pseudonym Danny Thomas.

The name Danny Thomas came about from joining the first name of two of his brothers.

 

Professional & Spiritual Life

 

Marlo, First Daughter

Upon the birth of Danny &  Rose Marie’s daughter, Marlo, the hospital sent the family a bill for $70.

The birthing mother and daughter were still at the Hospital and Danny thought to himself how am I going to pay this bill.

Danny went to the church of Saint Peter and Paul in Detriot and prayed.

His prayer was directed at St. Jude, the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes.

He asked the saint for a sign.

Upon praying and as he left the church he noticed a poor box.

Faithfully he placed in the poor box the last money he had in his name.

The amount was $7.

He said to St. Jude I need that back ten times tomorrow.

The very next day he received a call to do a commercial.

The theme is to have him be a singing toothbrush.

And, he will be paid $75.

 

Terry Thomas, Second Daughter

 

Night Club Scene?

With a budding family, he needed money.

He thus returned to the nightclub scene.

As his popularity grew, the owner of the club offered to make him a permanent act and an ownership stake.

He had a decision to make.

He went to St. Clement Church and prayed to his favorite apostle, St. Jude.

While at St. Clement Church he looked through some of the pamphlets.

He discovered that the national shrine of St, Jude was actually in the same city he was worshiping; that city is Chicago.

He made his way to the shrine.

 

Hollywood

An Agent who had seen him perform at the club in Chicago offered to be his agent.

He agreed and made his way to Hollywood.

Career

Acting

1. Make Room for Daddy
   • Run
     • Eleven seasons
   • Helping Others
     • Angela Cartwright
       • Let her out of contract so that she can be part of “Sound of Music”

Producer

1. Dyke Van Dyke Show
   • Mary Tyler Moore
     • Discovered Mary Tyler Moore
     • And, introduced her to Carl Reiner

 

Show Me the Way

He remembered his commitment to St. Jude.

Promise

His promise “Show me my way in life, and I will build you a shrine”.

Personal Experience

1. Family Unit
   • As one of ten children, no one went to the Hospital
2. NeighborHood
   • Similar experiences with others from the old neighborhood
   • Lives Lost without Healthcare

Testimonial

1. African American Youth in US South
   • A youth was hit by a car
   • The youth was taken to three hospitals but refused treatment because of his race
   • The youth bled to death

Location

Bishop Samuel Stritch

Cardinal Stritch said Memphis Tennesse will be a good place to build the hospital; as Stritch had connections in the city.

Funding

1. American-Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities ( ALSAC )
   • American Businessmen of Arabic Descent
   • Met in Chicago
   • Founded charity
   • Give back to the country that given the immigrant’s opportunity and freedom
   • Second largest health care charity in the country
2. By The Numbers
   • Number of Donors
     • 10 million donors
   • Operating Costs
     • Two Million dollars each day

 

Guiding Principle

1. Dr. Lemuel Diggs
   • The University of Tennesse in Memphis, Tenessee
   •  Specialty
     • Blood Disorders
   • Admonition
     • Don’t just build another hospital
     • Don’t just treat kids
     • Let us figure out what makes them sick
     • Let us build a research hospital that is devoted to childhood catastrophic diseases
   • Survival Rate
     • At the time
       • Childhood cancer had a survival rate of just over 20%
       • Leukemia at 4%
     • Currently
       • The childhood cancer survival rate has climbed from 20 to 80%
       • ALL climbed from 4 to 94%

Vision

1. No discrimination
   • Self
     • No discrimination in terms of race or religion
     • No segregation
   • Extended to Affiliated Business
     • If a local business want St. Jude business, they will have to accept all customers regardless of their race
2. Billing
   • No one is turned down due to the inability to pay
   • No one will receive a bill
   • Insurances can be billed
   • Forbade Billing Department for the first ten years of operation
3. Research
   • Research Findings will be shared freely with other healthcare providers
   • The most important thing is to find a cure

 

Quotes

1. Danny Thomas
   • St. Jude ( The Apostle )
     • Show me my way in life, and I will build you a shrine
     • [In 1957]: I understand you’re the patron of the hopeless. Well, that’s me. I want to know whether I should stay in showbusiness. If I shouldn’t, please make me a sign. If I do stay and if I make good in a big way, I’ll build you a shrine.
     • [When he moved to Chicago, where he worked at a small nightclub, where he was paid $50 a week before he made $500]: I got through my act at 4:30 A.M. and I went to a 5 A.M. mass to thank God. As I knelt, I saw in the pew in front of me a huge pamphlet with St. Jude’s picture mentioning a novena in honor of a national shrine. I remembered the vow I’d made and I saw why I come there. This was St. Jude’s hometown.
   • St,. Jude ( Hospital )
     • [on the hospital he was promoting]: It is my belief that St. Jude Hospital will one day announce to the world the great tidings of a cure for leukemia or cancer or even both. I am proud to beg for this project.
   • Health Care
     • No child should die in the dawn of life.
   • Life
     • There are two types of people in this world, the Givers and the Takers. The takers sometimes eat better, but the Givers always sleep better.
     • Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.
   • Story Telling
     • My people are inherently storytellers. When I was a kid, the entertainment was somebody from the old country or a big city who came and visited and told tales of where they came from.
   • National Origin
     • Nobody has anything to be ashamed of regarding his national origins – and by golly, I’m trying to prove it.

 

Videos

1. Star Quest Production Network ( SQPN )
   • Danny Thomas and St. Jude – American Catholic History
     • Profile
       • Danny Thomas was a Maronite Catholic entertainer. Tom and Noelle discuss how he turned an answered prayer through the intercession of St. Jude into a lifelong mission to bring hope and healing to sick children through St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, which continues to thrive decades after his death.
       • https://sqpn.com/2019/07/danny-thomas…
     • Videos
       • Video #1
         Channel:- SQPN
         Date Published:- 2019-July-22nd
         Date Added:- 2021-06-14
         Link
2. Richard Shadyac
   • Richard Shadyac: An Enduring Legacy
     • Profile
       • Richard C. Shadyac Sr. left an indelible mark on ALSAC during his tenure as CEO, helping to shepherd the fundraising organization through the death of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas and presiding over a four-fold increase in fundraising to support the growing needs of St. Jude.
     • Videos
       • Video #1
         Channel:- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
         Date Published:- 2009-September-23rd
         Date Added:- 2021-06-14
         Link

 

References

1. Wikipedia
   • Danny Thomas
     Link