Question: Facts: - residence: burbank , california - yearsactive: 1944 & ndash ; 1973 - birth date: 18 april 1936 - name: tommy ivo - image: tommyivo1966amarillo.jpg - birth place: denver , colorado , united states - occupation: actor and drag racer Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of tommy ivo .
Answer:
tommy ivo -lrb- born april 18 , 1936 , in denver , colorado -rrb- , also known as '' tv tommy '' and '' instant ivo '' is an actor and drag racer , who was active in the 1960s racing community .in the late 1950s , ivo raced a twin -lrb- side by side -rrb- buick nailhead-engined dragster which was the first gasoline-powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier .the car held the '' drag news '' 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 '' showboat '' -lrb- with a quartet of nailheads -rrb- , but nhra ruled it the first '' exhibition '' dragster , and he was unable to race it .from 1959 to 1961 , ivo appeared as herbie bailey on the abc sitcom , '' the donna reed show '' .he guest starred in an episode of the syndicated adventure television series , '' rescue 8 '' and in two episodes of '' leave it to beaver '' .he also guest starred on the abc/warner brothers western series , '' sugarfoot '' and on the nbc western series '' the tall man '' .in the 1961-1962 season , ivo played the role of haywood botts in another abc sitcom , '' margie '' .in 1963 he appeared in the '' honeymoon hotel '' episode of the '' petticoat junction '' tv show .in 1963 , ivo 's '' barnstormer '' -lrb- a nitro-burning 392 hemi-powered slingshot -rrb- became one of only two seven-second top fuel diggers , so he staged a seven second match race with the other , the greer black prudhomme car , driven by don prudhomme , at san gabriel drag strip .-lrb- prudhomme won . -rrb-during 1964 , ivo travelled to england , with don garlits , tony nancy , bob keith , dante duce , and other racers to participate in the first international drag festival , a six-event series that did much to promote drag racing in the united kingdom .