Trivia

As a child actor, Ivo had the wherewithal to do drag racing. He built monster four-engined dragsters, raced 36 cars in 12 different classes and became the first drag racer to do a seven-second quarter-mile before retiring from racing in 1982. Was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and Don Garlits's International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

After his acting career ended, "TV" Tommy Ivo became a professional race car driver, competing in Top Fuel Dragsters and Nitro Funny Cars.

Started as a tap dancer and singer in Denver at age 3. With such skills, Tommy was groomed by Republic Studios to become the next boy version of Shirley Temple.

Interviewed in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.

Made a guest appearance on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (2003). (September 2010)

When he played Johnny Sheffield's sidekick in Bomba dans le volcan en feu (1950), he basically assumed the role Sheffield had played in the Tarzan movies.

A superb performance in the L.A. play "On Borrowed Time" at age 10, with Boris Karloff and Beulah Bondi playing his grandparents, got young Tommy into Hollywood pictures.

Tommy's acting career never "ended". He walked away from acting when insurance companies refused to bond him for roles because he was involved in the new "outlaw" sport of drag racing and would probably be unable to finish out a filming contract if he was sidelined by death (it does tend to crimp one's ability to stick with a filming schedule). By the time he turned 18 and was able to choose between racing and film, Tommy had already become known as "TV Tommy" Ivo and a sure-fire bet to draw a crowd with track promotions and could bring in fans from town to town across the country. Tommy lost no sleep when he made his decision to bail on the film industry.