The Jacobs Family: Becharre, Lebanon to Toledo, Ohio

Danny left his heart in Toledo

Toledo Blade Article

March 28, 2000

By: Betsy Hiel, A Blade Staff Writer

“I was born on a horse farm in Deerfield, Michigan, over Mrs. Feldman’s bakery in Toledo, Ohio.”
So begins the tale of the famous comedian Danny Thomas in his autobiography Make Room for Danny.
Danny Thomas may not have been born in Toledo, but it was the town he always called home. It was the place from which he drew much of his material for his comedy acts, and it was where he returned to ponder big decisions.
“It’s funny, but every time there was an impending change in my life, I was always irresistibly drawn back to Toledo,” he wrote. “It was the place of my roots, myhome base.”

Danny Thomas was born Amos Jacobs in 1914. He was the fifth of 10 children born to Arab immigrants from what is now Lebanon, and grew up in the north end enclave known as Little Syria.

He died in 1991 in Los Angeles at the age of 79.
Throughout his career, he told stories rich in Toledo ethnic lore.
From Mrs. Feldman, a Polish Jew, he was introduced to Yiddish humor. Schooled by Ursuline nuns at St. Francis de Sales, he took a school character of Crotchy Callahan in his comedy act.
And Uncle Tanoose, the character played by Hans Conried in the popular television series Make Room for Daddy, was based on Danny’s uncle, Tonoose Simon, who lived in Toledo’s north end.
His old standards, “Ode to a Wailing Syrian,” “The