Tommy Steele is an English singer and actor, known for appearing in She Stoops to Conquer, in which he played the title role of Hans Christian Andersen. Regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock 'n' roll star, he also recreated his stage role in Half a Sixpence and played Og in Finian's Rainbow.
For Disney, he portrayed John Lawless in the 1967 film The Happiest Millionaire.
Early life and career[]
He was born "Thomas Hicks" in London, England to a racing tipster father and factory worker mother. He worked in various jobs, including a brief period as a merchant seaman but was not eligible for national service because of his cardiomyopathy. He also tried many more odd jobs before he turned up at the famous "2 I's" coffee bar in London. There, he was "discovered" by Larry Parnes and became one of Britain's first manufactured pop stars.
