Born Thomas Smalls in
Savannah, Georgia, he attended
Savannah State College, and, after a period in the
US Coast Guard, became the first black disc jockey in Savannah in 1947 on radio station
WSAV. In 1952 he moved to New York, and became the original "Dr. Jive" on radio station
WWRL. His weekday afternoon radio shows—with the slogan "Sit back and relax and enjoy the wax / From three-oh-five to five-three-oh, it's the Dr. Jive show"—became popular with teenagers and featured vocal groups, blues, rock and roll and Latin music. In 1955, he began to present live
rhythm and blues revues from the
Rockland Palace and the
Apollo Theater, and in November 1955 presented an unprecedented 12-minute segment on the nationally-networked
The Ed Sullivan Show featuring
Bo Diddley,
LaVern Baker, the
Five Keys, and
Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson. By the end of 1955, he had purchased the
Smalls Paradise club in
Harlem, and in May 1956 he was elected to the unofficial post of "Mayor of Harlem", with a parade held through the town in his honor. In 1960, he appeared (uncredited) on the
Bobby Hendricks single "Psycho" as the voice of the psychiatrist. In the late 1950s, he married teen model Dolores De Vega, who years later in 2009, appeared on the
TV Land series, "
She's Got the Look." Their first child, a daughter, Sharon, born in July, 1950 from a previous marriage. Then in November 1955, Tommy Smalls and Dolores DeVega had another daughter, Laura. Soon following was Shawn-nee in June 1957 and finally their son, Tommy Smalls, Jr., in September 1959. In 1960, Smalls, along with fellow disc jockey
Alan Freed, was arrested and charged in the "
payola" scandal, when both were accused of taking bribes to play records on their radio shows, and his radio career ended. He later became promotions manager for
Polydor Records in New York. He was also one of the founding members of the
National Association of TV and Radio Announcers (NATRA). He died after a long illness in New York City on March 8, 1972, aged 45. ==References==