Tommy Ivo
Actor turned drag racer who broke barriers in the 1960s.
Tommy Ivo, also known as 'TV Tommy' and 'Instant Ivo', was an American actor and drag racer active in the 1960s racing community. Born on April 18, 1936 in Denver, Colorado, he started acting in the early 1940s and later became a pioneering drag racer. His twin Buick nailhead dragster was the first gasoline-powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier, and he built the famous four-engine Showboat. Ivo was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005 and ranked No. 25 on the NHRA Top 50 Drivers list for 1951–2000.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 18 April 1936
- Birthplace
- Denver, Colorado, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor and Drag racer
- Years active
- 1944-73
Facts from the source article.
Acting
Tommy Ivo got his start in acting during the early 1940s. His early film roles included Cousin Arne in I Remember Mama (1948), Joey in Prejudice (1949), David in The Lost Volcano alongside Johnny Sheffield, and William Button in Plymouth Adventure (1952). On television, he played Shelby in a 1955 episode of The Lone Ranger and appeared as Walter, Terry’s boyfriend, on Make Room for Daddy in 1958. The 1959 hot rod movie Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow featured Ivo in a small part as a drag racer and car builder. From 1959 to 1961, he portrayed Herbie Bailey on The Donna Reed Show. In 1961, he played William, the young son of a motel owner, in the neo-noir film The Cat Burglar. Ivo also made guest appearances on Rescue 8, two episodes of Leave It to Beaver (including “Wally’s Play” as “The Duke”), and the westerns Sugarfoot and The Tall Man. He was a recurring friend of Bud Anderson’s on Father Knows Best. During the 1961–62 TV season, he played Haywood Botts on the sitcom Margie. In 1963, he appeared in the “Honeymoon Hotel” episode of Petticoat Junction.
Racing
Tommy Ivo made history in the late 1950s with a twin Buick nailhead dragster, the first gas-powered car to dip under nine seconds. It set a Drag News AA/GD et record of 8.69 and was the first gas dragster to hit 170, 175, and 180 mph. That unique machine won many races, including NASCAR’s first National Drag Race. Ivo later built the four-engine, four-wheel-drive Showboat, but the NHRA classified it as an exhibition car, so he couldn’t compete. In 1963, his nitro-burning 392 Hemi slingshot, the Barnstormer, was one of only two seven-second Top Fuel dragsters, prompting a match race against Don Prudhomme’s car; Prudhomme won. The next year, Ivo joined Don Garlits and others in England for the First International Drag Festival. During 1972 and 1973, he attended 100 race meets, a feat matched only by Jungle Jim Liberman and Ed McCulloch. He retired in 1982. Ivo was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005 and ranked No. 25 on the NHRA’s Top 50 Drivers list for 1951–2000.
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