Rall was born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in Seattle. As a child he had a crossed eye which made it hard for him to read books, so his mother enrolled him in dancing classes. In his early years he performed a dance and acrobatic vaudeville act in Seattle theaters and attempted small acting roles. His family moved to Los Angeles in the 1940s, and Rall began to appear in small movie roles. His first film appearance was a short MGM film called Vendetta. He began taking tap dancing lessons and became a member of the jitterbugging Jivin' Jacks and Jills at Universal Studios. Rall joined Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan and Shirley Mills in several light wartime Andrews Sisters vehicles including Give Out, SistersGet Hep to LoveMister Big, and others. He appeared in the films The North Star and Song of Russia. Rall took ballet lessons and danced in classical and Broadway shows, including Milk and Honey, Call Me Madam and Cry for Us All. Jerry Herman said of Rall in Milk and Honey: " did extraordinary choreography for Tommy Rall, who was suddenly so admired by the audience that put his name on the marquee under the three stars. It was very, very earned by him. He was a terrific singer and dancer." He is best known for his acrobatic dancing in several classic musical films of the 1950s, including Kiss Me, Kate as "Bill", Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as "Frank", Invitation to the Dance, Merry Andrew as "Giacomo Gallini", and My Sister Eileen as "Chick". Rall's film career waned as movie musicals went into decline. He had a role in the movie Funny Girl, as "The Prince" in a parody of the balletSwan Lake. On Broadway he danced to acclaim as "Johnny" in Marc Blitzstein and Joseph Stein's 1959 musical Juno. Ken Mandelbaum wrote: "DeMille provided two fine ballets: her second act 'Johnny' in which Tommy Rall danced out Johnny's emotions...was the evening's highlight." He took the title role in a production of Massenet's Le Jongleur de Notre Dame by the New England Opera Theatre in Boston in 1961 in a role which required both singing and juggling and dancing. Rall was highly respected by his contemporaries—including dance greats Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor—with the latter describing Rall as one of the “greatest dancers living...above Astaire and Kelly.”
Personal life
Rall was briefly married to his Juno co-star, Monte Amundsen. He is now married to former ballerina Karel Shimoff. In 2007, a dance instructor by the name of Fredric Brame was found to have been posing as Tommy Rall since the late 1960s. His biographies, resumes, and playbills all support that Brame was Fredric Brame aka Tommy Rall by the credits listed. When Rall found out about the masquerade decades later, through a friend of the family, Rall contacted the Montgomery County Sheriff's office. No legal action was taken against Brame since he technically did not commit a crime. Rall only wanted Brame to stop taking credit for his work and if he continued or did it again a lawsuit would be filed.
