The Dan Thomas columns span the years 1922-1934 and encompass 0.4 linear foot. The collection consists primarily of the columns written by Thomas while he was in Chicago and when he was working for the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) as a reporter and later as a columnist. The early material is almost all sports related, while the latter columns cover the film industry almost exclusively. There is no information on Thomas's career in the film industry, nor is there any material regarding his personal life.

Daniel C. Thomas (1904-1982) was born in Elkhart, Indiana, and attended the University of Chicago. He became a sports writer for the "Chicago Daily News" in 1923, and in 1924 moved to Los Angeles to work for the "Los Angeles Record." He entered the movie industry for a short time as publicity director and title writer for Mack Sennett. Thomas then joined the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), where he eventually became a motion picture editor. He stayed with the NEA until 1936, whereupon he became publicity director for Walter Wanger. Leaving Wanger early in 1937, he freelanced before joining Scripps-Howard as a columnist. He later worked for the Publicity Department at Universal until his retirement in 1969. He was married to the granddaughter of writer Gene Stratton-Porter and was a longtime member of the Publicists Guild, serving as its president three times.