Pinky Tomlin

Pinky Tomlin (1907-1987) was a singer, songwriter, and bandleader of the 1930s and 1940s. He also acted in occasional motion pictures. During his lifetime, he wrote and published 22 songs, several of which were in the top ten on the "Hit Parade." In 1938, a song he had written, titled "In Ole Oklahoma," was adopted as Oklahoma’s state song.

Born Truman Tomlin in Enos, Arkansas (and nicknamed Pinky because his red hair and fair complexion sunburned easily), he grew up in Durant, Oklahoma. A boyhood fascination with music soon gave him a widespread reputation as a banjoist and, at age 16 he was hired to play on a riverboat in St. Louis, with the Louis Armstrong band [The Object of My Affection, Pinky Tomlin, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981] . During that time, Pinky learned to play the guitar, which would later become an important part of his live shows, both at the Roxy Theatre in New York and at the Biltmore Bowl in Hollywood.

His disarming, easy style, belied an excellent business instinct and an extensive education in music, law, and geology, on which he would come to rely later in his life.

"The Object of My Affection"

He came to national attention while attending the University of Oklahoma. He submitted his original composition, "The Object of My Affection," to orchestra leader Jimmie Grier, who accepted it and asked Tomlin himself to introduce it to the public, [The Object of My Affection, Pinky Tomlin, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981] . Tomlin had written the song for O.U. coed, Joanne Alcorn of Ponca City, Oklahoma, whom he would later marry.

"Object" became a huge hit. Ella Fitzgerald chose to sing it at her first "tryout" at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem [The Object of My Affection, Pinky Tomlin, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981] . Pinky and Ella became lifelong friends.

Tomlin followed the song with a string of successful songs, including "What's the Reason (I'm Not Pleasin' You?)" and "The Love Bug Will Bite You." Hollywood beckoned, and Tomlin was featured in several films for various studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered to groom the young singer and build him up as an actor, but Tomlin preferred to concentrate on his musical career. Tomlin did star in four musical features for Melody Pictures in 1937-38; he also wrote the scores. These films were ambitious, despite their low budgets, and one of them even premiered at the prestigious Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Tomlin's agents, noting the popularity of big bands, suggested that the singer should tour with his own band. "Pinky Tomlin and His Orchestra" toured across America on a very busy schedule -- so busy and hectic that it soured Tomlin on the music business in general. He would appear only sporadically in movies and on television from then on.

New career

He returned to his interest in geology and founded a company in Beverly Hills called "Pinky Tomlin Oil Properties," where he enjoyed working until he retired in 1984. During this time, he had a television show in Los Angeles called "Music Is My Beat." He also continued to perform for many charity events in Los Angeles, being especially active in the Beverly Hills Rotary Club.

Pinky Tomlin’s autobiography, appropriately titled " The Object of My Affection," was published in 1981 [The Object of My Affection, Pinky Tomlin, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981] . Joanne and Pinky Tomlin remained happily married until their respective deaths in 1986 and 1987. They had two children: Sylvia Tomlin Burns of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Truman Virgil Tomlin, Jr., (Tom), of Valley Village, California.

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