About
"I think the legacy of That Girl is the fact that, as Billy Persky always says, we threw the grenade into the bunker. We opened up the window for young women. You did not have to be the wife or the daughter of somebody or the secretary of somebody. You could be the somebody. The story could be about you and what you wanted in life. Once that happened, I think that really paved the way for a lot of other shows."
In her nearly two-and-a-half-hour interview, Marlo Thomas speaks about growing up as Danny Thomas' daughter. She explains the close relationship she enjoyed with her father and how that affected her early years as an actress. She chronicles the events that led up to starring in and producing That Girl and discusses the then-burgeoning women's movement and its influence on both the show and her life. She describes the impetus for the children's classic Free to Be…You and Me and details the numerous television movies she produced and/or in which she acted. Thomas also speaks about her appearances on Friends, her marriage to Phil Donahue, and her production companies. Karen Herman conducted the interview on March 26, 2003 in Beverly Hills, CA.
Highlights
Marlo Thomas on her advice to aspiring actors and producers
Marlo Thomas on producing Free to be... You and Me
Marlo Thomas on the legacy of That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the impact her father Danny Thomas' passing had on her
Marlo Thomas on how she would like to be remembered
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On her early years and childhood; on growing up as the daughter of TV legend Danny Thomas
On wanting to be an actress; on majoring in English at USC; on going to New York to act and being on the stage
On her first television appearances; on being compared to her father; on guest appearances on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Bonanza and McHale's Navy, on friend Barry Diller
Chapter 2
On Two's Company; on the genesis and pilot episode of That Girl
On ABC wanting to change things in That Girl; on there being an audience for That Girl; on network changes between the original pilot episode and the first episode that aired; on her character's name
On Daisy Productions and becoming a producer; on being the sole female voice on the That Girl creative team; on mail she recieved and how it informed the show
Chapter 3
On Groucho Marx being considered for the role of her father on That Girl; On a typical workweek on That Girl; on the theme song; on her favorite episodes
On the fashions in That Girl; on reviews of the show; on merchandising; on not changing the title of That Girl to "The Marlo Thomas Show"
On guest actors on the series; on why the show went off the air; on the legacy of That Girl; on producing Free to be... You and Me
Chapter 4
On the children's album "Free to be... You and Me", and how it came to be a television special on ABC; on censorship issues; on global family issues
On her television special It Happened One Christmas and forming a production company to produce shows for women; on her marriage to Phil Donahue; on hosting The Body Human and producing and starring in Act of Passion: The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck
On her turn as a dramatic actress in Nobody's Child, Taken Away, Wish You Were Here, Held Hostage, Ultimate Betrayal; on the death of her father, Danny Thomas
Chapter 5
On her role on Friends as a recurring character; on her character "Sandra Green"; on producing sitcoms; on Two Against Time
On writing her book The Right Words at the Right Time; on the growth of cable; on current projects
On her advice to aspiring actors and producers; on how audiences have changed; on her biggest career achievement; on how she would like to be remembered
Shows
Act of Passion: The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck
Marlo Thomas on producing the TV movie and starring in Act of Passion: The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck
Bonanza
Marlo Thomas on her guest appearance as a Chinese war bride on Bonanza in the episode "A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay" (airdate: April 12, 1964)
Danny Thomas Show, The aka Make Room for Daddy
Marlo Thomas on her father Danny Thomas' fame and her thoughts on his television show, Make Room for Daddy
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
Marlo Thomas on winning an Emmy for her dramatic role on Nobody's Child
Free to be... You and Me
Marlo Thomas on producing Free to be... You and Me
Marlo Thomas on bringing Free to be... You and Me to television; on the use of satellites; on television's responsibility to children
Friends
Marlo Thomas on guest-starring on Friends; on positing that "Rachel" is a modern "That Girl"
Held Hostage
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie Held Hostage
It Happened One Christmas
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas
Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The
Marlo Thomas on appearing on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
McHale's Navy
Marlo Thomas on appearing on McHale's Navy
Nobody's Child
Marlo Thomas on Nobody's Child
That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the premise of That Girl
Marlo Thomas on how the title of That Girl came about
Marlo Thomas on the structure and filming schedule on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the That Girl theme song, written by Earle Hagen with lyrics by Sam Denoff
Marlo Thomas on her favorite episodes of That Girl; on the pilot episode and fashions
Marlo Thomas on why That Girl went off the air and how her character changed over the years
Marlo Thomas on what would have happened to "Ann Marie" and where That Girl would be today
Marlo Thomas on the legacy of That Girl
Wish You Were Here
Marlo Thomas on Wish You Were Here
Topics
Advice
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Censorship / Standards & Practices
Marlo Thomas on ABC wanting to change things in That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on bringing Free to be... You and Me to television and issues of censorship with "William Wants a Doll"
Characters & Catchphrases
Marlo Thomas on the relationship between "Ann" and "Donald" on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on guest-starring on Friends -- she posits that "Rachel" is a modern "That Girl"
Marlo Thomas on guest-starring on Friends as "Sandra Green"
Emmy Awards
Marlo Thomas on winning an Emmy for her dramatic role on Nobody's Child
Historic Events and Social Change
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas
Pop Culture
Marlo Thomas on the relationship between "Ann" and "Donald" on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on guest-starring on Friends -- she posits that "Rachel" is a modern "That Girl"
Marlo Thomas on guest-starring on Friends as "Sandra Green"
Representation on Television
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas
Television Industry
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Marlo Thomas on ABC wanting to change things in That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on bringing Free to be... You and Me to television and issues of censorship with "William Wants a Doll"
Women
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Marlo Thomas on the rules for sexuality on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas
Professions
Actress
Marlo Thomas on her advice to aspiring actors and producers
Performers
Marlo Thomas on wanting to be an actress
Marlo Thomas on her advice to aspiring actors and producers
Producers
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Marlo Thomas on her advice to aspiring producers
Genres
Children's Programming
Marlo Thomas on bringing Free to be... You and Me to television; on the use of satellites; on television's responsibility to children
Comedy Series
Marlo Thomas on her father Danny Thomas' fame and her thoughts on his television show, Make Room for Daddy
Marlo Thomas on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on That Girl
Marlo Thomas on guest-starring on Friends; on positing that "Rachel" is a modern "That Girl"
TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials
Marlo Thomas on bringing Free to be... You and Me to television; on the use of satellites; on television's responsibility to children
People
Danny Arnold
Marlo Thomas on working with producer/her father Danny Arnold
Lucille Ball
Marlo Thomas on the advice she received from Lucille Ball regarding being a producer
Milton Berle
Marlo Thomas on guest actors on That Girl
Ted Bessell
Marlo Thomas on her That Girl boyfriend "Donald," played by Ted Bessell
Marlo Thomas on how audiences didn't like "Donald" being her character's agent in the pilot episode of That Girl
James L. Brooks
Marlo Thomas on James L. Brooks writing an episode of That Girl
Sid Caesar
Marlo Thomas on guest actors on That Girl
Sam Denoff
Marlo Thomas on the premise of That Girl and how Sam Denoff and Bill Persky came on board
Marlo Thomas on Daisy Productions
Marlo Thomas on the That Girl theme song, written by Earle Hagen with lyrics by Sam Denoff
Barry Diller
Marlo Thomas on Barry Diller acting as her agent
Phil Donahue
Marlo Thomas on meeting and marrying Phil Donahue
David Dortort
Marlo Thomas on her guest appearance as a Chinese war bride on Bonanza in the episode "A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay" (airdate: April 12, 1964)
Betty Friedan
Marlo Thomas on the premise of That Girl
Lee Grant
Marlo Thomas on producing the TV movie and starring in Act of Passion: The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck
Earle Hagen
Marlo Thomas on the That Girl theme song, written by Earle Hagen with lyrics by Sam Denoff
Sheldon Leonard
Marlo Thomas on her interactions with Sheldon Leonard on the set of Make Room for Daddy
Groucho Marx
Marlo Thomas on Groucho Marx being considered for the role of her father on That Girl
Sanford Meisner
Marlo Thomas on her guest appearance as a Chinese war bride on Bonanza in the episode "A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay" (airdate: April 12, 1964)
Ethel Merman
Marlo Thomas on guest actors on That Girl
Mike Nichols
Marlo Thomas on working with Neil Simon and Mike Nichols in the play "Barefoot in the Park"
Margaret O'Brien
Marlo Thomas on wanting to appear with her father in movies and TV shows when he was starring with child actress Margaret O'Brien
Bill Persky
Marlo Thomas on the premise of That Girl and how Sam Denoff and Bill Persky came on board
Marlo Thomas on Daisy Productions
Wayne Rogers
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas
Edgar J. Scherick
Marlo Thomas on Two's Company
Fred Silverman
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas
Neil Simon
Marlo Thomas on working with Neil Simon and Mike Nichols in the play "Barefoot in the Park"
Peter Tewksbury
Marlo Thomas on Two's Company
Danny Thomas
Marlo Thomas on her father Danny Thomas' fame and her thoughts on his television show, Make Room for Daddy
Marlo Thomas on her father, Danny Thomas
Marlo Thomas on being recognized and being compared to her father
Marlo Thomas on the impact her father Danny Thomas' passing had on her
Orson Welles
Marlo Thomas on the TV movie remake of It's a Wonderful Life -- It Happened One Christmas