Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas's on-screen appearances in the TV series were developed by Britt Allcroft. The first series of 26 stories premiered in October 1984 on the ITV Network in the UK, with former Beatles drummer/vocalist Ringo Starr as storyteller. The stories were featured as segments as part of Shining Time Station in the US beginning in 1989 with Starr as the show's Mr. Conductor character. From 1991 to 1993, George Carlin replaced Starr as both the storyteller and as Mr. Conductor for Shining Time Station. Carlin also told the Thomas stories for Shining Time Station in 1995.
Danny Thomas
Thomas first reached mass audiences on network radio in the 1940s playing shifty brother-in-law Amos in "The Bickersons", which began as sketches on the music-comedy show "Drene Time", starring Don Ameche and Frances Langford. Thomas also portrayed himself as a scatterbrained Lothario on this show. His other network radio work included a stint as Jerry Dingle the postman on Fanny Brice's "The Baby Snooks Show". In the early 1950s he made several appearances on the popular NBC variety program, "The Big Show", hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead.