Tommy Hanlon Jr.(1923-2003)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Born to vaudeville performers, Tommy Hanlon Jr. was taken into his
mother and father's act at age 4 and kept performing for the rest of
his life. After two years with the Orson Welles Mercury Theatre in Los
Angeles in the 1940s, and appearing on stage alongside W.C. Fields, he
came to Australia in the early days of television in the late 1950s and
first appeared as a comedian with the popular In Melbourne Tonight. As
the program became The Graham Kennedy Show, Hanlon devised his
trademark, comic Letter From Mom segment. So popular did Hanlon become
that the Nine Network signed him to host the network's first national
daytime show, It Could Be You, which launched in 1960 and became a
ratings hit with its surprise reunions of long-separated relatives and
friends. It Could be You was the highest rating daytime TV show ever in
Australia, so it came as a shock to many when Hanlon quit TV in 1978 to
concentrate on his other great love, the circus.
He toured Australia until 2001 with Silvers Circus. He was married twice. His first marriage ended in divorce; the couple's son, Tommy, went on to invent a vertical take-off aircraft and became vice-president of Bell Helicopters. He met his second wife Muriel - whom he always called "Murphy" - while entertaining US troops in Korea. She died in 1990. He is survived by his daughter April, son Tommy, four grandsons and a great grand-daughter.
He toured Australia until 2001 with Silvers Circus. He was married twice. His first marriage ended in divorce; the couple's son, Tommy, went on to invent a vertical take-off aircraft and became vice-president of Bell Helicopters. He met his second wife Muriel - whom he always called "Murphy" - while entertaining US troops in Korea. She died in 1990. He is survived by his daughter April, son Tommy, four grandsons and a great grand-daughter.
