Thelma "Tad" Tadlock, daughter of the late H.H. and Thelma Tadlock, was born in Port Arthur, Texas, and began dance classes with Florence Coleman Ward at the age of three. By the age of five she knew she wanted to be a dancer. For fifteen years, Tadlock trained at the Florence Coleman School of Dance, sneaking out of dance class during her high school years to don her majorette's uniform for Friday night football games. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1949, Tadlock was ready to try her luck in New York, but her father wanted her to attend college. She finally persuaded him to allow her a year in the big city; if she had no luck finding a job, she would return and attend the University of Texas. As luck would have it, Tadlock landed a part in Make a Wish, followed by roles in three more Broadway plays. She continued her education at the Stanley School of Dance in New York. In 1955, she started work on television, as part of the chorus on the old Max Liebman Spectaculars. She next became a featured dancer on the Hit Parade, then joined the Arthur Murray Dance Party as a dancer and assistant choreographer. Continuing her television career, Tadlock acted as spokesman, actress, model, and dancer for numerous commercials, appeared on many television shows as the featured dancer, and also choreographed numbers. Tadlock's current credits include work in choreography and staging for film, television, stage, and television commercials. She has worked on such diverse projects as Love You to Death, Body Heat, Heaven's Gate, the Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe pageants, multi-media industrial presentation for Toyota, and commercials for United Airlines and the Yellow Pages. Although Tadlock resided in California for many years, she said that she still considered Texas her home and looked back on Port Arthur with appreciation. Tadlock died on December 8, 2000 after a long battle with cancer. However, her memory remains strong among friends and admirers in her home town and abroad and her impact on the world of dance is indelible.

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