Thomas, Bob, 1922-2014

Robert Joseph Thomas was born January 26, 1922 in San Diego, Calif. He grew up in Los Angeles where his publicist father, George Thomas, worked for Mary Pickford and a number of movie studios, including Warner Bros., MGM, Paramount and Columbia. Thomas attended the University of California, Los Angeles (graduated 1943), where he wrote an entertainment column for the UCLA humor magazine, The Claw, which he edited. He joined The Associated Press in Los Angeles with the hope of becoming a war correspondent; however, he was assigned to a correspondent post in Fresno before being assigned as a Hollywood correspondent in Los Angeles at the age of twenty-two. Prior to his Hollywood post, Thomas signed his news stories Robert J. Thomas, but changed his byline to Bob Thomas with the new assignment. Since 1944, he has written thousands of Hollywood syndicated columns for the Associated Press. At one time his byline appeared in the Associated Press more than any other writer in the new agency's history. He has also written numerous magazine articles about the Hollywood scene. Over the course of his career, Thomas has written (or co-written) numerous books. In 1967, Thomas published his first biography, King Cohn, and has followed with at least thirty books, both fiction and non-fiction. Two of his books, Howard, the amazing Mr. Hughes and Bud and Lou: the Abbott and Costello story, were made into television movies: The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977) and Bud and Lou (1978). Thomas has written, produced and appeared in five television specials about the Academy Awards. He has made appearances on various television programs including the Johnny Carson Show, the Merv Griffin Show, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and Nightline. Thomas co-produced and narrated, Hollywood Stars, a weekly syndicated television show devoted to interviews and film clips. On December 1, 1988, Thomas became the first author-reporter to have a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. In 2003, Thomas marked 60 years as a reporter for The Associated Press.

From the description of Papers, 1914-2004 1930-ca. 1985. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 80562520

Biography

Robert Joseph Thomas was born January 26, 1922 in San Diego, CA. He grew up in Los Angeles where his father, George Thomas, was a publicist who worked for Mary Pickford and a number of movie studios including Warner Bros., MGM, Paramount and Columbia. Thomas attended the University of California, Los Angeles (graduated 1943), where he wrote an entertainment column for the UCLA humor magazine, The Claw, which he edited. He joined The Associated Press in Los Angeles with the hope of becoming a war correspondent; however, he was assigned to a correspondent post in Fresno before being assigned as a Hollywood correspondent in Los Angeles at the age of twenty-two. Prior to his Hollywood post, Thomas signed his news stories Robert J. Thomas, but changed his byline to Bob Thomas with the new assignment. Since 1944, he has written thousands of Hollywood syndicated columns for the Associated Press. At one time his byline appeared in the Associated Press more than any other writer in the new agency's history. He has also written numerous magazine articles about the Hollywood scene.

Over the course of his career, Thomas has written (or co-written) numerous books. In 1967, Thomas published his first biography King Cohn, and has followed with at least thirty books, both fiction and non-fiction. Two of his books Howard, the Amazing Mr. Hughes and Bud and Lou: the Abbott and Costello Story were made into television movies, The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977) and Bud and Lou (1978). Thomas has written, produced and appeared in five television specials about the Academy Awards. He has made appearances on various television programs including the Johnny Carson Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and Nightline . Thomas co-produced and narrated Hollywood Stars, a weekly syndicated television show devoted to interviews and film clips.

On December 1, 1988, Thomas became the first author-reporter to have a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. In 2003, Thomas marked 60 years as a reporter for The Associated Press.

From the guide to the Bob Thomas Papers, 1914-2004, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Performing Arts Special Collections.)