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Tom Poston
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Born: Oct 21, 1921
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Tom Poston was born in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
By age nine, he was appearing with an acrobatic troupe. He was attending Bethany College in West Virginia when World War II broke out and he joined the US Army Air Corps.
He won medals for his courage under fire, and rose to the rank of captain (while he never returned to Bethany College, he would later receive an honorary doctorate from the institution). Following military duty, he went to New York and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, training with acting guru Sanford Meisner, among others. Making his Broadway debut in 1947 in José Ferrer's production of "Cyrano de Bergerac", Tom had the makings of a serious dramatic actor, also appearing in such classic plays as "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" and "King Lear", but comedy would be his forte. Hosting the daily TV show "Entertainment" led to his biggest break on Steve Allen's TV variety series The Steve Allen Plymouth Show. He, Louis Nye, Don Knotts and other members of Allen's stock company became famous for their hilarious characters in Allen's famed sketch sequences. Tom himself would be best remembered as the "Man on the Street" interviewee who could never remember his name. Winning an Emmy during those four seasons with the Allen show (1956-1960), Tom went on to host another show -- this time a game show -- entitled Split Personality. From this, he developed a real affinity for parlor games and appeared as a panelist on other quiz shows as well, notably To Te...[MORE]
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