12 Facts About Pinky Tomlin

Truman Virgil "Pinky" Tomlin was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and actor of the 1930s and 1940s.

Pinky Tomlin came to national attention in the 1930s due to a song he had written while attending the University of Oklahoma, one he composed for a student at the school, Joanne Alcorn, whom he would later marry.

Pinky Tomlin preferred to concentrate on his musical career and allowed his MGM contract to lapse.

Pinky Tomlin continued to work in Hollywood through 1938, appearing in such films as Paddy O'Day, Don't Get Personal, and Down in 'Arkansaw'.

Pinky Tomlin recovered from that professional setback by organizing his own swing band in 1938.

The band was successful, but Pinky Tomlin disliked the constant travel, as he was devoted to his family.

Largely retired from show business by the mid-1950s, Pinky Tomlin pursued his longtime interest in geology, which he had studied as an undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma.

Pinky Tomlin sold the successful enterprise in 1970, although he remained peripherally involved in the oil and gas businesses until a few years before his death.

Pinky Tomlin occasionally performed after his retirement at charity events in Los Angeles, being especially active in the Beverly Hills Rotary Club.

On February 27,1958, for example, Pinky Tomlin competed as a contestant on an episode of Groucho Marx's televised quiz program You Bet Your Life.

Pinky Tomlin sang on that episode, at Groucho's request, "The Object of My Affection".

Pinky Tomlin was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.