Frankie Thomas (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), also billed as Frank M. Thomas, Jr and as Frankie Thomas, Jr, was a versatile actor who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

He was born in New York City to actors Mona Bruns and Frank M. Thomas. He liked to say that his whole family was always in the acting business, including his uncle Calvin Thomas and wife. Frankie was only 11 when he accompanied his mother to a casting office, where he stood in the background while his mother asked about possible openings in new Broadway shows. The agent replied, "I have nothing that suits you, Mona, but I can use the boy." Frankie wound up in a small part in Carry Nation (1932) playing with Jimmy Stewart. He went on to appear in six other Broadway plays between 1932 and 1936, including Little Ol' Boy (with Burgess Meredith), Thunder on the Left, Wednesday's Child, The First Legion, Remember the Day (in which he appeard with his father), and Seen But Not Heard. In Wednesday's Child he played the role of Bobby Phillips, the longest stage part ever written for a child performer. Thomas also developed a life-long fascination with the character of Sherlock Holmes during this period, when he saw William Gillette perform the part during his "farewell tour." Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Jimmy Stewart, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own personality. ... Meredith in 1972s Probe Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor. ... Sherlock Holmes as imagined by the seminal Holmesian artist, Sidney Edward Paget, in The Strand magazine. ... William Gillette as Sherlock Holmes William Hooker Gillette ( July 24, 1853, Hartford, Connecticut; April 29, 1937, Hartford, Connecticut) was an American actor, playwright and stage-manager; recognized as one of the greatest actors in United States history. ...

When Wednesday's Child was filmed in 1934, Thomas and his parents travelled to Hollywood where both parents found character parts in films, while Thomas again essayed the role of Bobby Phillips for the cameras. The next year Thomas played the role of Nello Daas in the film version of Dog of Flanders, based on the famous Ouida novel. However, subsequently Thomas missed out on a couple of key juvenile starring roles, and eventually wound up in the serial Tim Tyler's Luck in 1937, based on the comic strip by Lyman Young. The role was a step down for Thomas, but, according to him in later years, one of the greatest experiences of his life, and the source of many of the stories he subsequently told with great gusto. He often said that for him, the serial was the equivalent of attending college, because he got to meet so many notable silent-film stars who were in the large cast, and hear long, detailed accounts of their careers. When not kept busy in Hollywood, Thomas had been returning to Broadway; the serial also marked the end of his Broadway appearances for five years. 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Caricature of Ouida (Punch, August 20, 1881) Ouida (January 7, 1839 – January 25, 1908) was the pen name of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lyman W. Young (1893-1984) was an American cartoonist who created the strip Tim Tylers Luck. ...

Thomas's last "A" film was Boys' Town (1938) with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Thomas was far down in the cast as Freddy Fuller. From then on until he left Hollywood in 1942, Thomas was confined to "B" films such as Little Tough Guys in Society and Nancy Drew, Detective (both 1938), Nancy Drew, Reporter, Code of the Streets, Nancy Drew, Troubleshooter, Angels Wash Their Faces, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, On Dress Parade, and Invisible Stripes (all 1939). In 1941 he appeared in small parts in Flying Cadets and One Foot in Heaven. His last film roles were again small parts in Always in My Heart and The Major and the Minor (1942) where he significantly played a military cadet. 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Spencer Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor who appeared in 74 films from 1930 to 1967. ... Actor Mickey Rooney speaks at the Pentagon in 2000 during a ceremony honoring the USO. Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule, Jr. ... This article is about the year. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... This article is about the year. ...

His last appearance on Broadway was in Your Loving Son which closed after two performances in April of 1941. He joined the US Navy in 1942 and was assigned to the US Coast Guard, served as a Third Officer on patrol in the Atlantic, and was discharged in Philadelphia in 1944. After the war he and his parents lived in Manhattan and at first all three found work in the hundreds of radio daily and weekly series originating in the studios of the four major radio networks in New York. By 1948 all three Thomases were moving into early television broadcasting. In 1949 Thomas worked on two pioneering TV soap operas, A Woman to Remember and One Man's Family. In the fall of 1950 he became the idol of millions of children when he took the part of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, beginning on CBS and transferring to ABC in January of 1951. The series continued its three-a-week 15-minute broadcasts until the spring of 1952. Kinescopes were rebroadcast on NBC during the summer of 1951. During the spring of 1952 the TV cast of Tom Corbett also performed a two-a-week 30-minute broadcast on ABC radio. The next fall the TV series reappeared on DuMont alternating every Saturday with Secret Files of Captain Video for 30 minutes, going off the air again in May of 1954. Thomas then took a role on another soap opera, First Love, but in December of 1954, Tom Corbett blasted off again on NBC, running until June, 1955. By this time Tom's interplanetary rivals Captain Video and Commander Buzz Corry of Space Patrol had been off the air for several months. None of the three series were ever revived. Tom Corbett had the distinction of appearing on all four Golden-Age TV networks, and during the summer of 1951 actually running on two different networks simultaneously. Like the majority of child stars, Thomas never quite made the transition to adult roles. Tom Corbett, despite the fact that Thomas was 34 at the end, was supposedly a teenager attending Space Academy, training to become a member of the Solar Guard. For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... This article is about the year. ... Coast Guard shield The United States Coast Guard is the coast guard of the United States. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... A Woman to Remember was a soap opera which ran on the DuMont Network from February 21, 1949 - July 15, 1949. ... One Mans Family was an American dramatic television series which ran on NBC off and on from 1949-1955. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books, and View-master reels in the 1950s. ... CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... NBC, the National Broadcasting Company, is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books, and View-master reels in the 1950s. ... DuMont Televisions Logo The DuMont Television Network was an American television network, beginning operation in 1946. ... Captain Video and His Video Rangers was the first of the American outer space television shows, beginning on the DuMont network on June 27, 1949. ... Clarence Doores cover painting for Space Patrol, a Ziff-Davis comic book tie-in with the radio series Space Patrol was an old-time radio science fiction serial aimed at juvenile audiences. ... Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books, and View-master reels in the 1950s. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books, and View-master reels in the 1950s. ...

In 1956, Thomas and his now-retired parents returned to California, where Thomas appeared in a few of the still-surviving radio series such as Suspense, and wrote soap-opera scripts. With characteristic energy, Thomas turned his hobby of bridge into a career, becoming editor of several bridge-related periodicals, and one-time president of the American Bridge Teachers' Association, as well as author of several books on bridge. In the late 1970s he also began to write and publish novels and short-story collections featuring Sherlock Holmes, a number of which are still in print. Among the titles are Sherlock Holmes and the Golden Bird (1979), Sherlock Holmes and the Sacred Sword (1980), Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes (1984), Sherlock Holmes and the Treasure Train (1985), Sherlock Holmes and the Masquerade Murders (1986, 1996), Sherlock Holmes and the Bizarre Alibi (1989), Sherlock Holmes and the Panamanian Girls (2000), Sherlock Holmes Mystery Tales (2002), and Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes (2002). Sherlock Holmes as imagined by the seminal Holmesian artist, Sidney Edward Paget, in The Strand magazine. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ...

During the last decade of his life he relished appearing as celebrity guest at conventions devoted to old-time radio, to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and to the Golden Age of Television. Particularly during the last five years of his life he often appeared at such gatherings wearing his original Tom Corbett dress uniform, into which he still fit quite well.

He died at a Sherman Oaks, California hospital of respiratory failure, following a stroke, at the age of 85 years and one month. Sherman Oaks is a district of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ...

Reference

Goldrup, Tom and Jim Goldrup, Growing Up on the Set, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2002. ISBN 0-7864-1254-2.

External Links

• Introduction to Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

• Frankie's last public appearance as Tom Corbett at the Williamsburg Film Festival 2006

• Roaring Rockets page on Tom Corbett

• Space Hero Files on Tom Corbett

• Some of Frankie Thomas' favorite stories about early TV

• Interview with Frankie Thomas about early TV appearances

• Video of an interview with Frankie Thomas from March, 2006

• Entry on Frankie Thomas at IMDb