Marlo Thomas

Actress / Producer

"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, but that 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."

About This Interview

In her interview for the Archive of American Television, 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 acted in. Thomas also speaks about her appearances on Friends, her marriage to Phil Donahue, and her production companies. Karen Herman conducted the two-and-a-half hour interview in Beverly Hills, CA on March 26, 2003.