Tommy Ivo also known as "TV Tommy", is an actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and drag racer

Drag racing

Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....

, who was active in the 1960s racing community. In the late 1950s, Ivo raced a twin (side by side) Nailhead Buick engined dragster which was the first Gasoline Powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier. The car held the Drag News Standard 1320 AA/GD et record at 8.69. The Twin Buick also was the first gas dragster to record speeds of 170, 175 and 180 mph which were Standard 1320 records as well. It was unique in appearance and won numerous races, including NASCAR's first National Drag Race. Later he designed a four-engine, four-wheel-drive dragster he called "The Showboat," but the National Hot Rod Association

National Hot Rod Association

The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...

 ruled it the first "exhibition" dragster, so he was unable to race it.

In the 1961-1962 season, Ivo played the role of Haywood Botts, boyfriend of the fictitious Margie Clayton, portrayed by Cynthia Pepper

Cynthia Pepper

Cynthia Pepper is a blonde American actress whose principal work was accomplished during the early 1960s. Born Cynthia Anne Culpepper in Hollywood, California, she was the daughter of entertainer Jack Pepper , and Pepper's second wife, Dawn...

, in the ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 sitcom Margie

Margie (TV series)

Margie is a television situation comedy starring Cynthia Pepper that was broadcast on ABC from October 12, 1961 to April 12, 1962 in the 9:30 Eastern Thursday time slot, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was adapted from a 1946 film of the same name starring Jeanne Crain.- Plot :The show...

, set during the Roaring Twenties

Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...

. In 1964 Ivo travelled to England, with Don Garlits

Don Garlits

Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. Always a pioneer in the field of drag-racing, he, with the help of T.C...

, Tony Nancy, Dante Duce and other racers to participate in the First International Drag Festival, a six-event series that did much to promote the sport of drag racing in the UK.

Award

• He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum for American motorsports legends. It was originally located in Novi, Michigan and it moved to the Detroit Science Center in 2009.-Museum:...
  
   in 2005 for his drag racing career.
• Ranked No.25 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000.

External links

• Tommy Ivo Website