Tommy Sands

Vocation

Notable

Family

American professional singer since the age of nine, who became an overnight sensation playing the lead TV role in "The Singin' Idol." Because they wanted a down-home, country boy who could sing and play guitar with slicked-back dark hair, he was recommended for the role by Colonel Tom Parker, who had originally wanted Elvis for the part. Almost overnight, he was being sought after by shrieking fans, and he landed a contract with 20th Century Fox. He went on to star in "Mardi Gras," "Babes In Toyland" and "None But The Brave," but never really made it big. He left Hollywood and became an executive for a hotel chain in Hawaii and went through a period of heavy drug use. The son of musical parents, he starting singing at the age of nine. And by the age of 12, he was a disc jockey on a local radio show. He then moved with his mother to Los Angeles. In 1960, he married Nancy Sinatra, for about five years. With his second marriage he had a daughter. By 1989, he was living in Kissimmee, near Orlando, Florida, picking up change by singing in a club on Monday nights. Link to Wikipedia biography