That Girl's Marlo Thomas was tired of talking about her dad in interviews
Marlo Thomas may have learned a thing or two from her famous father, Danny Thomas, who had been acting since she was born, but he wasn’t her only inspiration for her career path.
However, like her father, Marlo Thomas had a successful television series, That Girl. She also ran her own production company and famously navigated show business and acting with grace and ease, much like her dad.
According to a 1967 interview with The Argus, Marlo Thomas acknowledged that she owed much to her father but became tired of discussing him in nearly every interview. Journalists and interviewers frequently compared her success to his, which made her uncomfortable.
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"Yes, I know the business," Thomas said. "You would, too, if you sat in your own father's business conferences since you were six."
While Thomas credited her father with teaching her the ins and outs of show business, she gave the most credit to her lesser-known mother, who taught her some of the most valuable lessons she carried throughout her career.
"She held us together not just by being there, but by growing with daddy," Thomas said. "Both had only high school educations, but daddy grew with travel and meeting people. Mother made certain she grew with him so we'd always have a family."
"You people always ask me if my father helped me," Thomas added. "Why don't you ask me if my mother helped? I'd tell you she did."
According to the interview, Thomas became sensitive about several topics in interviews: not being married at 28, using her father’s influence to break into the industry, and people frequently bringing up her dad in her conversations.
"I turned down roles offered to me because I was Danny Thomas' daughter," Thomas said. "I knew from him that I would have to work hard to get anything, and anything I got I got that way."
There is no doubt that Thomas loved both her mom and dad equally; she just wished her mom received more credit for her success. Thomas had no fear when it came to believing her career would continue long after That Girl ended.
She was rarely scared, but if she did start to feel that way, she would think of her mom's advice—not her dad's. One lesson came from her childhood: As a child, she remembered being frightened of the dark, and her mom’s guidance helped her through it.
"My mother would bring fresh daisies into my room and arrange them around my bed," Thomas said. "'Now, don't be frightened. The daisies will watch over you all night.' After that I wasn't frightened... I like daisies."
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