i give up...why did the women come out, spread there arms off to one side, as if to say "tah dah!:? sheery jackson - pre-star trek... if i were a young boy back then, i'd have tagged her
What was especially sad is that this beautiful and super-talented actress could never fully escape being pigeon-holed in the "dumb blonde" image from her excellent Oscar-nominated performance in "Singin' in the Rain." It's also interesting to see Sherry Jackson, one of the great bombshell beauties of the sixties, who is still best known as Jacinta in the Warner Bros. film, "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima."
It's so wonderful to not only see the first episode of "Make Room for Daddy" and see the marvelous Jean Hagen. Most viewers are only familiar with Marjorie Lord; Jean Hagen's character was killed off after three seasons when she left the series in a dispute with producer Danny Thomas. Not only was her character killed off and replaced with Marjorie Lord as Danny's second wife, but those episodes were pulled from syndication after the series left the air.
The older daughter, Terry, was written off after the 1957-58 season. The character returned two seasons later played by a different actress when Terry got married. She was written out again after that. She married the actor who played Schneider on One Day at a Time.
@ivegotalongdong No, that's Danny's first wife, Margaret, and their daughter, Terry. A film actress named Jean Hagen played her. She didn't renew her contract after the show's 3rd season to go back to doing feature films (her husband also put pressure on her to quit, sadly). Her character died at the beginning of season 4. Danny married widowed Kathy in season 5. Linda was Kathy's daughter. The reruns have started with season 5 for so many years that many fans haven't seen Margaret.
@galveston you seem to know a lot about the show. I'm trying to remember a show, I think they went to Italy? There was a little girl who sang and danced for them outside. Can you or anyone help me with this? Thanks
@themaskedreddemons Thank you for the information. Do you know where I might be able to find it? I looked on here and it doesn't look like it's ever been posted. Thanks again.
American Tobacco [Pall Mall] and Chrysler's Dodge division were the show's alternate sponsors in 1955. The first episode, "Little League", was originally telecast on September 20, 1955 under Dodge's sponsorship {the series won its first Emmy a few months before, and it was proudly displayed during the opening titles at the time}. The second, for American Tobacco, "The Children's Governess", first aired on February 1, 1955.
I don't remember the girl-when I was a kid Angela Cartwright was on and that was in reruns sometime in the mid-60's and the mom was Marjorie Lord, I think.
Jean Hagen quit the show in '56, her character killed off. The next season Danny was a widower with these two children, Rusty (Rusty Hamer) and Terry (Sherry Jackson). In '57-'58, he married Kathy (Marjorie Lord), a widow with a young daughter, Linda (Angela Cartwright) who Danny adopted; he then had 3 children. In 1958, Sherry Jackson (Terry) left the show. Her character returned in '59 for one season, but played by Penny Parker, then was written off last 4 seasons, '60-'64, as having married.
i have another episode of MRFD, from December 1955, announcing the 'new' Dodges' for 1956..the second episode was originally aired 2/1/1955, and neither of these episodes are the premiere from 1953...
Which reminds me, that American Tobacco Company logo (shown at the end of the second MRFD episode) used to scare the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. It used to appear on the Jack Benny Show, too. Yikes!
By the way, I'm asking Santa for a 1955 Dodge. Ok, I'm being silly, but I love those old cars. They were built like battleships! A '55 Dodge ain't got nothin' on a 2009 Scion. Stay cool, kids.
Of all the 1950s TV dads (Jim Anderson, Ward Cleaver, Ozzie Nelson, etc.) My favorite TV dad was Danny Thomas. He was "real". He yelled at the kids. Those other guys were too cool, calm and collected for me, therefore totally unreal. Have fun.
Yes Anne Archer, one of the ever-growing, Hollywood cult of Scientologists, the pope/anti-Christ (take your pick) of which is Thomas Mapothur IV, a/k/a "Tom Cruise."
If Katie Holmes is "Rosemary," then Suri must be "Rosemary's Baby."
Maybe it's time to start a massive, Hollyweird de-programming & prevention organization, which could be called "Cruise Control."
YouTube has recently started to go into the direction of Hulu and other sites of that sort. They are running full TV episodes of certain shows. There was an article in the NY Times a few weeks ago. If you goto the menu at the top of the screen and click the shows tab you can follow it from there. I like the fact that they show some old B+W series like Jack Benny, and this one, but there are more current selections as well. Hope this helps!
Yes, thank you, and I'm aware of Hulu. Actually. many, if not most of these classic TV eps. on You Tube are public domain, whereas Hulu has actual rights to shows leased from copyright holders.
There are some really rare, classic TV eps. on a site called TV4U dotcom, and also try Veoh dotcom which has not only original content but vintage TV as well, and their best asset--a great downloading tool!
Thanks for the Info on the other sites! Always glad to find old forgotten series. Thank you also for remembering Mary Wickes name! I do remember the Jesse White and Sheldon Leonard characters, as well as Bill Dana and Jose Jiminez. I also remember the spinoff set in a hotel with Don Adams as the Hotel detective. Do you remember the Benny character, he was also a piano player? He was like a poor man's Bert Lahr! Thomas was the master of the spit-take! Mention Uncle Tonoose was coming spit-take!
Yes, Benny was his name, played by Ben Lessy. He was on the show its entire ABC run and into the first season of the CBS run. He was great too!
Wickes character was "Liz," and also don't forget the maid "Louise," first played by Louise Beavers (who was also one of the several actresses who played "Beulah," a sort of black "Hazel") and longest by Amanda Randolph, whose sister Lillian was also a radio "Beulah," and may have been a radio "Beulah" herself.
To those who view black actresses having played domestic help as demeaning (which it may be, although they often got the funniest lines in comedies), I may only quote the first, black, Academy Award-winning actress, Hattie McDaniel: "I'd rather play a maid (and earn a pile of money in so doing) than be a maid!"
I like maids. I liked "Hazel," I liked "Beulah" and also "Birdie" on "The Great Gildersleeve," "Florence" on "The Jeffersons," and "Florida" & "Mrs. Naugatuck" on "Maude."
I viewed them as members of the fictional families for which they worked, and I suspect in real life that was also often the case, or at least would like to think so in my situation comedy mind.
Make Room For Daddy went through two leading ladies. The one in this show Jean Hagen also happens to be in Singing in the Rain. She wanted to leave the series during it's run. They had her die in a car accident which also hurt Danny. Marjorie Lord was a widow with a young daughter they met and fell in love. Terry the oldest daughter married the guy who would be Schneider on One Day at a Time. The actress later posed for Playboy! Great Series, and Hans Conried was Excellent!
Yes, but the actress (Penney Parker) who played "Terry Williams" by the period she married ''Pat Harrigan'' (played by Pat Harrington, Jr., who, you correctly noted played "Duane Schneider" on Norman Lear's "One Day At A Time," but more famously known from the original Steve Allen "Tonight" show) was not the original or most fondly-remembered actress to play "Terry." That actress was Sherry Jackson.
So whom are you saying posed for "Playboy," Jackson or Parker?
Did not remember Terry being played by another actress. It was Sherry Jackson who posed in Playboy, she also was in a epsiode of Star Trek She had gone auburn haired by that time. A very pretty young lady. I do remember that there were two distinct set of sidekicks; the first was a bald guy named Benny and the woman who would go on to play the eldely Nun is Sister Act. The second was Sid Melton and Pat Carroll. Thomas does not get the credit he deserves as an early TV Pioneer!
The woman who was Danny's secretary was played by veteran character actress (and best friend of Lucille Ball) Mary Wickes, who also played "Miss Esther Cathcart" on the live action "Dennis The Menace" series with Jay North.
Also, "Danny Williams" had a few agents, one played by Jesse White (who, years later was the first Maytag repairman in commercials), essentially doing his "Cagey Calhoun" routine from Ann Sothern's "Private Secretary" series. The other agent was played by Thomas' production partner, Sheldon Leonard himself.
It was also on Dana's series Don Adams began what essentially became his "Maxwell Smart" character (though by another name) and another regular (as hotel manager) was Jonathan Harris ("Dr. Smith" of "Lost In Space" fame).
Thomas certainly gets credit for all this, in fact TV Land dedicated one of its "Moguls' episodes to him.
Next to Desilu, Thomas' was the most prolific TV series factory in Hollywood at one time, the difference being Thomas was a production chief, while Lucy & Desi actually owned the old RKO studios. In essence, all Thomas' shows were filmed at Desilu.
The parallels of Desilu & Thomas also extended to the fact of Danny's sitcom continuing (as did "I Love Lucy" on "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse") as a series of occasional, one-hour episodes when "The Danny Thomas Hour" aired on NBC 1967-68.
In the case of Desilu, their one-hour episodes, originally titled "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show," were retitled for syndication as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." Thomas' hour-length shows have not aired since their network run.
I am hoping the company which put released a DVD set of Thomas series (beginning with Season 6) will someday include those hour-long episodes as bonus material. Write them if you agree--S'More Entertainment!
Also, the character of Puerto Rican hotel bellboy "Jose Jimenez," played by Bill Dana (like Pat Harrington, Jr.'s character of Italian golf pro "Guido Panzini," originated on Steve Allen's "Tonight"), got his episodic series start on Thomas' show (as an elevator operator in Danny's building), leading to a spin-off produced (as was Andy Griffith's show, Joey Bishop's sitcom, "Gomer Pyle" and other series') by Thomas & Leonard.
Then, of course, Danny's sitcom made one, last gasp at revival, moving back to ABC for "Make Room For Granddaddy" 1970-71, with Hamer, Lord & Cartwright, Sid Melton & Hans Conreid, but adding a grandson ("Terry's" kid) & piano player (played by ex-L.A. Ram Rosey Grier, which you doubtless knew, Sportsboy).
I figure some of this may also be helpful to others discovering Thomas for the first time, as well to those of us revisiting Danny & his great series'. Plus TV Land has ceased its TV history.
I was just going to ask you if you remembered Make Room For Granddaddy! So the series ended it's run on NBC? For some reason I thought the shows with Melton and Carroll were CBS? Danny's son also went into TV production they did the Golden Girls Empty Nest and the show that Thomas played a Doctor on, was it the Practice? It was a sitcom and he had a moustache
No, "Make Room For Granddaddy" was ABC, "The Danny Thomas Show" from fall of 1957-64 was CBS, and "Make Room For Daddy" (the original series, not the syndicated rerun title) was also ABC.
What I wrote was on NBC were special, one-hour eps of the sitcom (analogous to the one-hour eps. of "I Love Lucy" now called "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour")..
Those aired on a comedy/drama anthology series Thomas hosted called "The Danny Thomas Hour." But that was '67-'68, two seasons before 'Granddaddy."
Thanks for the Benny info Great stuff! I remember all the incarnations except the One hour episodes you mention. The Lucy Desi Comedy hour's were actually some pretty poor shows saved barely by some big name guest stars, Fred MacMurray, Cesar Romero, Ann Sothern, Rudy Vallee and Harry James and Betty Grable. Were the one hour Thomas epsisodes a similar situation? I remember Louise very well. Yes she played a Domestic but she played the character with dignity and was always given the same!
I remember as a kid NBC ran Make Room For Daddy weekday afternoons on the Network level, this was just before they started airing the original Match Game and Name that Tune. You mentioned series showing up in syndication under different names. Bonanza was one such case as they were aired under the name Ponderosa!
TV stars having their own anthology series was a common occurrence back in the late sixties as I recall. Bob Hope hosted one for Chrysler. I also remember Robert Young hosting a Summer replacement Anthology series on CBS, does that ring any bells?
this was a pilot because angela cartright played the daughter and majory lord played wife rusty hammer comitted suicide..aI have a rotted brain part for sale on e bay
Yes, the pre-Marjorie Lord (or Jean Hagen, as i prefer to call them) episodes are from when the series was titled "Make Room For Daddy" and aired on ABC from 1953-57.
The Lord/Cartwright years the show was called "The Danny Thomas Show' and aired on CBS, its most successful period (1957-64).
To make things even more confusing, the syndicated, rerun episodes of both the ABC and early CBS years (which aired on NBC then) were retitled "Make Room for Daddy" so as not to confuse viewers watching episodes still airing on CBS in prime time.
This was rather common practice in those days, as with "The Andy Griffith Show" daytime reruns on its original network (CBS) being retitled "Andy Of Mayberry," "The Real McCoys" retitled as simply "The McCoys," and Dick Van Dyke's morning, CBS reruns called "The Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show."
But once a series ceased production in prime time, the syndicated run reverted to the original title. And after a period this practice stopped anyway.
What a GREAT series! I'm 32 and a retro TV fan from the '50s to the '80s. This is my first taste of MRFD and I want MORE!!! While I've sampled 'Ozzie & Harriet' a couple times and don't like it, this show is a great treat. I *hope* YT adds more. Or Hulu. Whoever put it up, gets my attention. :]
Rusty has a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame. He was a child star BEFORE child stars received adequate salaries. After this show ended, Danny Thomas wanted to send Rusty to college and pay for ALL his expenses, but for whatever reason Hamer declined the offer. When Hamer died, there were many Hollywood stars who wanted to attend his funeral but Hamer's family decided to have Hamer's body cremated instead and his ashes scattered to sea.
TWO episodes are presented here: the first , "Little League", originally aired on September 20, 1955 for Chrysler ['55 Dodge], with the "alternate sponsor"'s message at the end (Angela Cartwright did not begin appearing on the show until two years later, 'Luscious'). The second, "The Children's Governess", sponsored by American Tobacco ["Pall Mall"] {again, the "alternate sponsor" has their say in the final commercial break}, initially aired on February 1, 1955...
This is Danny Williams' (Danny Thomas) first wife. She dies and Danny married Kathy, who has a little girl, Linda (Angela Cartwright). I can't believe I'm old enough to remember this stuff! How depressing!! Hope this answered your question.
so wait. his first wife on the show died in real life, or did they kill her off on the show? and if she died in real life, did they pull a darren on bewitched and slip the new wife in with no explanation. not sure why, but this stuff fascinates me!
FIrst wife killed off in the early stages of the show (season 1 or two). Then, for one or two seasons, Danny Williams was raising the children as a widower - had a hilarious maid, Louise - to help him out. Danny became a nightclub performer, not an actor, as was portrayed earlier on. Then Rusty, Danny's son, was sick - had to stay home - they got a nurse, Kathy with whom Danny fell in love and married.
Just remembered something else you might like to know - remember Schneider (sp)?, the apartment complex custodian on One Day at a Time? - Danny's daughter, Terry, grows up to marry him (he was a comedian in the nightclub where Danny worked). I am really old!!!
Jean Hagen played the first wife, Margaret, who lasted for three seasons. Hagen was unhappy playing straight man to Danny and the kids, and Danny didn't like her attitude and was more than happy to see her go. At the beginning of the fourth season, it was announced that Danny was a widower. He met Kathy (a widow with a young daughter) at the end of the fourth season and proposed to her and the fifth season started with the couple returning from their honeymoon.
Angela has worked as a successful photographer for over 30 years. Her sister is the phenomenal actress Veronica Cartwright. Veronica was originally slated to play the lead in "Alien", but director Ridley Scott switched her role with that of Weaver, even though Cartwright's acting resume and abilities at that time were VASTLY superior to that of Weaver's (and for my money STILL are).
Its so funny to hear her voice after watching 'Singin in the Rain'
ForeverOldiesO1 1 month ago
This show is still awesome to watch :)
snoops71 5 months ago
I'm so glad MY dad's not a Jew
PerniciousEvil 5 months ago
Comment removed
PerniciousEvil 5 months ago
i give up...why did the women come out, spread there arms off to one side, as if to say "tah dah!:? sheery jackson - pre-star trek... if i were a young boy back then, i'd have tagged her
ivegotalongdong 5 months ago
how come there is no family show these days
today's comedy is filled with second grade sex addicts
i really miss good clean humour
and off course things like laurell and hardy, three stoges, charlie chaplan they are gone forever talent today has been swallowed by sex
zubair1950 5 months ago 2
The ads that run before the videos are repulsive. I turn down the audio or open another window until the ads are done. Youtube can shove their ads.
vcoaster 6 months ago
So, with ads imbedded in these clips, how is this any different from TV? YouTube has gone down the tubes.
elfyboy 6 months ago
finally able to hear Jean Hagen's real voice!
LilMissFlapper 7 months ago
I am showing my age, i grew up watching ths as chld.....loved it
weslammjr 8 months ago 3
i thought this was gonna be great n okay to watch, but it made fun of the Dad already
delicatelilflower88 8 months ago
This was an excellent show
mcfrdmn 10 months ago
I grew up watching danny thomas.What is marlo his daughter doing these days?I figure she is in her 60s.
coolbreeze161 10 months ago
@coolbreeze161 Actually, Miss Thomas is older than that, though she looks great.
Juliaflo 7 months ago
What was especially sad is that this beautiful and super-talented actress could never fully escape being pigeon-holed in the "dumb blonde" image from her excellent Oscar-nominated performance in "Singin' in the Rain." It's also interesting to see Sherry Jackson, one of the great bombshell beauties of the sixties, who is still best known as Jacinta in the Warner Bros. film, "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima."
Noveltooner 11 months ago
It's so wonderful to not only see the first episode of "Make Room for Daddy" and see the marvelous Jean Hagen. Most viewers are only familiar with Marjorie Lord; Jean Hagen's character was killed off after three seasons when she left the series in a dispute with producer Danny Thomas. Not only was her character killed off and replaced with Marjorie Lord as Danny's second wife, but those episodes were pulled from syndication after the series left the air.
Noveltooner 11 months ago
Can you post more episodes of the show?
NorthStar20121 1 year ago
;;;;
TheNasir94 1 year ago
Didn't Rusty Hamer blow his brains out?
Spartacus217 1 year ago
@Spartacus217 Unfortunately, yes.
enigma800 11 months ago
@Spartacus217 Yes, Rusty did commit suicide. He blew his brains out.
cagustilo23 8 months ago
@cagustilo23
Q: What did Michelangelo and Kurt Cobain have in common?
A: They both used their brains to paint a ceiling.
Spartacus217 8 months ago
I love the season with Angela Cartwright. :D So adorable.
AGGirlsGotAwesome 1 year ago
Wow,this brings back memories! I loved Rusty Hamer!
andrealuvshouse 1 year ago
Thanks for posting this I am a fan of all old family shows.
seabeach7 1 year ago 7
sherry jackson was such a sweetheart! my how she grew up for "What little girls are made of?" (star trek) wow!
ivegotalongdong 1 year ago
Just curious.....if the show was aired in Jan. 1953, why does the commercial feature a '55 Dodge?
citywide44 1 year ago
The older daughter, Terry, was written off after the 1957-58 season. The character returned two seasons later played by a different actress when Terry got married. She was written out again after that. She married the actor who played Schneider on One Day at a Time.
galveston 1 year ago
did the oldest girls stay for the series? or did she get written off somehow?
ivegotalongdong 1 year ago
what did they do? shootthe wife and daughter and replace them?
ivegotalongdong 2 years ago
@ivegotalongdong No, that's Danny's first wife, Margaret, and their daughter, Terry. A film actress named Jean Hagen played her. She didn't renew her contract after the show's 3rd season to go back to doing feature films (her husband also put pressure on her to quit, sadly). Her character died at the beginning of season 4. Danny married widowed Kathy in season 5. Linda was Kathy's daughter. The reruns have started with season 5 for so many years that many fans haven't seen Margaret.
galveston 2 years ago
@galveston you seem to know a lot about the show. I'm trying to remember a show, I think they went to Italy? There was a little girl who sang and danced for them outside. Can you or anyone help me with this? Thanks
rpgmaster619 1 year ago
@rpgmaster619 The episode ws VENETIAN MELODY, broadcast April 1, 1963.
The girl's name was Piccola Pupa.
themaskedreddemons 1 year ago
@themaskedreddemons Thank you for the information. Do you know where I might be able to find it? I looked on here and it doesn't look like it's ever been posted. Thanks again.
macrunner11 1 year ago
Thanks for leaving the commercials in. That's what makes it awesome!
monkfan72 2 years ago
American Tobacco [Pall Mall] and Chrysler's Dodge division were the show's alternate sponsors in 1955. The first episode, "Little League", was originally telecast on September 20, 1955 under Dodge's sponsorship {the series won its first Emmy a few months before, and it was proudly displayed during the opening titles at the time}. The second, for American Tobacco, "The Children's Governess", first aired on February 1, 1955.
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
Comment removed
ellesstee 2 years ago
I hope you upload more eps. this really great show.
lafeil 2 years ago
lovwe this show remember watching this on tv when i was young want moremake room for daddy
girlfromhazleton53 2 years ago
Not sure why this is labeled "Season 1|Episode 1"
The first episode is called "Little League" and it's "Season 3|Episode 2"
The second is "The Children's Governess," Season 2|Episode 19
untziggy4 2 years ago
I don't remember the girl-when I was a kid Angela Cartwright was on and that was in reruns sometime in the mid-60's and the mom was Marjorie Lord, I think.
darlie48 2 years ago
Jean Hagen quit the show in '56, her character killed off. The next season Danny was a widower with these two children, Rusty (Rusty Hamer) and Terry (Sherry Jackson). In '57-'58, he married Kathy (Marjorie Lord), a widow with a young daughter, Linda (Angela Cartwright) who Danny adopted; he then had 3 children. In 1958, Sherry Jackson (Terry) left the show. Her character returned in '59 for one season, but played by Penny Parker, then was written off last 4 seasons, '60-'64, as having married.
rachelazw 2 years ago
That was the Danny Thomas Show. This was his first show.
dnwal3 2 years ago
She is not until later. This wife dies and Danny remarries. That wife has the little girl.
kellyjustus 2 years ago
is this the pilot? this used to be on nick at night when i was a kid
sleazypig 2 years ago
I don't think this is the pilot because of the '55 Dodge commercial, which suggests this episode was from 1954, but the show began in 1953.
rachelazw 2 years ago
i have another episode of MRFD, from December 1955, announcing the 'new' Dodges' for 1956..the second episode was originally aired 2/1/1955, and neither of these episodes are the premiere from 1953...
disabled1955 2 years ago
Chrysler RIP :(
howdoiquityou2006 2 years ago
Which reminds me, that American Tobacco Company logo (shown at the end of the second MRFD episode) used to scare the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. It used to appear on the Jack Benny Show, too. Yikes!
jsb1750 2 years ago
Thanks for all the tv trivia!
By the way, I'm asking Santa for a 1955 Dodge. Ok, I'm being silly, but I love those old cars. They were built like battleships! A '55 Dodge ain't got nothin' on a 2009 Scion. Stay cool, kids.
jsb1750 2 years ago
Of all the 1950s TV dads (Jim Anderson, Ward Cleaver, Ozzie Nelson, etc.) My favorite TV dad was Danny Thomas. He was "real". He yelled at the kids. Those other guys were too cool, calm and collected for me, therefore totally unreal. Have fun.
jsb1750 2 years ago
Yes Anne Archer, one of the ever-growing, Hollywood cult of Scientologists, the pope/anti-Christ (take your pick) of which is Thomas Mapothur IV, a/k/a "Tom Cruise."
If Katie Holmes is "Rosemary," then Suri must be "Rosemary's Baby."
Maybe it's time to start a massive, Hollyweird de-programming & prevention organization, which could be called "Cruise Control."
gymnastix 2 years ago
From which Tube user's channel is this video? There is no user info. which usually appears on the panel at the right.
Also, the running time is untypically long for a Tube video (not that I'm complaining, for those of us who like to download).
Will someone please explain what gives here? I have seen this with other Tube videos as well, all of them TV series-connected.
gymnastix 2 years ago
YouTube has recently started to go into the direction of Hulu and other sites of that sort. They are running full TV episodes of certain shows. There was an article in the NY Times a few weeks ago. If you goto the menu at the top of the screen and click the shows tab you can follow it from there. I like the fact that they show some old B+W series like Jack Benny, and this one, but there are more current selections as well. Hope this helps!
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
Yes, thank you, and I'm aware of Hulu. Actually. many, if not most of these classic TV eps. on You Tube are public domain, whereas Hulu has actual rights to shows leased from copyright holders.
There are some really rare, classic TV eps. on a site called TV4U dotcom, and also try Veoh dotcom which has not only original content but vintage TV as well, and their best asset--a great downloading tool!
gymnastix 2 years ago
Thanks for the Info on the other sites! Always glad to find old forgotten series. Thank you also for remembering Mary Wickes name! I do remember the Jesse White and Sheldon Leonard characters, as well as Bill Dana and Jose Jiminez. I also remember the spinoff set in a hotel with Don Adams as the Hotel detective. Do you remember the Benny character, he was also a piano player? He was like a poor man's Bert Lahr! Thomas was the master of the spit-take! Mention Uncle Tonoose was coming spit-take!
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
Yes, Benny was his name, played by Ben Lessy. He was on the show its entire ABC run and into the first season of the CBS run. He was great too!
Wickes character was "Liz," and also don't forget the maid "Louise," first played by Louise Beavers (who was also one of the several actresses who played "Beulah," a sort of black "Hazel") and longest by Amanda Randolph, whose sister Lillian was also a radio "Beulah," and may have been a radio "Beulah" herself.
gymnastix 2 years ago
To those who view black actresses having played domestic help as demeaning (which it may be, although they often got the funniest lines in comedies), I may only quote the first, black, Academy Award-winning actress, Hattie McDaniel: "I'd rather play a maid (and earn a pile of money in so doing) than be a maid!"
gymnastix 2 years ago
I like maids. I liked "Hazel," I liked "Beulah" and also "Birdie" on "The Great Gildersleeve," "Florence" on "The Jeffersons," and "Florida" & "Mrs. Naugatuck" on "Maude."
I viewed them as members of the fictional families for which they worked, and I suspect in real life that was also often the case, or at least would like to think so in my situation comedy mind.
gymnastix 2 years ago
I don't knock any profession or begrudge anyone who does an honest day's work (nor even most who can't, don't or won't). Hey, life ain't easy.
But that's why we need sitcoms--to make life a little easier to take, allow us an outlet for life's hardness, and to make fun of the ridiculous..
gymnastix 2 years ago
Make Room For Daddy went through two leading ladies. The one in this show Jean Hagen also happens to be in Singing in the Rain. She wanted to leave the series during it's run. They had her die in a car accident which also hurt Danny. Marjorie Lord was a widow with a young daughter they met and fell in love. Terry the oldest daughter married the guy who would be Schneider on One Day at a Time. The actress later posed for Playboy! Great Series, and Hans Conried was Excellent!
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
Yes, but the actress (Penney Parker) who played "Terry Williams" by the period she married ''Pat Harrigan'' (played by Pat Harrington, Jr., who, you correctly noted played "Duane Schneider" on Norman Lear's "One Day At A Time," but more famously known from the original Steve Allen "Tonight" show) was not the original or most fondly-remembered actress to play "Terry." That actress was Sherry Jackson.
So whom are you saying posed for "Playboy," Jackson or Parker?
gymnastix 2 years ago
Did not remember Terry being played by another actress. It was Sherry Jackson who posed in Playboy, she also was in a epsiode of Star Trek She had gone auburn haired by that time. A very pretty young lady. I do remember that there were two distinct set of sidekicks; the first was a bald guy named Benny and the woman who would go on to play the eldely Nun is Sister Act. The second was Sid Melton and Pat Carroll. Thomas does not get the credit he deserves as an early TV Pioneer!
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
The woman who was Danny's secretary was played by veteran character actress (and best friend of Lucille Ball) Mary Wickes, who also played "Miss Esther Cathcart" on the live action "Dennis The Menace" series with Jay North.
gymnastix 2 years ago
Also, "Danny Williams" had a few agents, one played by Jesse White (who, years later was the first Maytag repairman in commercials), essentially doing his "Cagey Calhoun" routine from Ann Sothern's "Private Secretary" series. The other agent was played by Thomas' production partner, Sheldon Leonard himself.
gymnastix 2 years ago
It was also on Dana's series Don Adams began what essentially became his "Maxwell Smart" character (though by another name) and another regular (as hotel manager) was Jonathan Harris ("Dr. Smith" of "Lost In Space" fame).
Thomas certainly gets credit for all this, in fact TV Land dedicated one of its "Moguls' episodes to him.
gymnastix 2 years ago
Next to Desilu, Thomas' was the most prolific TV series factory in Hollywood at one time, the difference being Thomas was a production chief, while Lucy & Desi actually owned the old RKO studios. In essence, all Thomas' shows were filmed at Desilu.
The parallels of Desilu & Thomas also extended to the fact of Danny's sitcom continuing (as did "I Love Lucy" on "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse") as a series of occasional, one-hour episodes when "The Danny Thomas Hour" aired on NBC 1967-68.
gymnastix 2 years ago
In the case of Desilu, their one-hour episodes, originally titled "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show," were retitled for syndication as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." Thomas' hour-length shows have not aired since their network run.
I am hoping the company which put released a DVD set of Thomas series (beginning with Season 6) will someday include those hour-long episodes as bonus material. Write them if you agree--S'More Entertainment!
gymnastix 2 years ago
Also, the character of Puerto Rican hotel bellboy "Jose Jimenez," played by Bill Dana (like Pat Harrington, Jr.'s character of Italian golf pro "Guido Panzini," originated on Steve Allen's "Tonight"), got his episodic series start on Thomas' show (as an elevator operator in Danny's building), leading to a spin-off produced (as was Andy Griffith's show, Joey Bishop's sitcom, "Gomer Pyle" and other series') by Thomas & Leonard.
gymnastix 2 years ago
Then, of course, Danny's sitcom made one, last gasp at revival, moving back to ABC for "Make Room For Granddaddy" 1970-71, with Hamer, Lord & Cartwright, Sid Melton & Hans Conreid, but adding a grandson ("Terry's" kid) & piano player (played by ex-L.A. Ram Rosey Grier, which you doubtless knew, Sportsboy).
I figure some of this may also be helpful to others discovering Thomas for the first time, as well to those of us revisiting Danny & his great series'. Plus TV Land has ceased its TV history.
gymnastix 2 years ago
I was just going to ask you if you remembered Make Room For Granddaddy! So the series ended it's run on NBC? For some reason I thought the shows with Melton and Carroll were CBS? Danny's son also went into TV production they did the Golden Girls Empty Nest and the show that Thomas played a Doctor on, was it the Practice? It was a sitcom and he had a moustache
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
No, "Make Room For Granddaddy" was ABC, "The Danny Thomas Show" from fall of 1957-64 was CBS, and "Make Room For Daddy" (the original series, not the syndicated rerun title) was also ABC.
What I wrote was on NBC were special, one-hour eps of the sitcom (analogous to the one-hour eps. of "I Love Lucy" now called "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour")..
Those aired on a comedy/drama anthology series Thomas hosted called "The Danny Thomas Hour." But that was '67-'68, two seasons before 'Granddaddy."
gymnastix 2 years ago
Thanks for the Benny info Great stuff! I remember all the incarnations except the One hour episodes you mention. The Lucy Desi Comedy hour's were actually some pretty poor shows saved barely by some big name guest stars, Fred MacMurray, Cesar Romero, Ann Sothern, Rudy Vallee and Harry James and Betty Grable. Were the one hour Thomas epsisodes a similar situation? I remember Louise very well. Yes she played a Domestic but she played the character with dignity and was always given the same!
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
I remember as a kid NBC ran Make Room For Daddy weekday afternoons on the Network level, this was just before they started airing the original Match Game and Name that Tune. You mentioned series showing up in syndication under different names. Bonanza was one such case as they were aired under the name Ponderosa!
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
TV stars having their own anthology series was a common occurrence back in the late sixties as I recall. Bob Hope hosted one for Chrysler. I also remember Robert Young hosting a Summer replacement Anthology series on CBS, does that ring any bells?
Sportsboy1956 2 years ago
Miss Quincey is played by Norma Varden, who played Frau Schmidt, the von Trapp's housekeeper, in the Sound of Music.
sgabig 2 years ago
this was a pilot because angela cartright played the daughter and majory lord played wife rusty hammer comitted suicide..aI have a rotted brain part for sale on e bay
cippy2k 2 years ago
Anybody remember Hans Conriede as Uncle Tanuse?
audiegates 2 years ago
gotta love those cigarette commercials
erickliddell 2 years ago
With a name like Amos Alphonsus Muzyad Yakhoob ...it's no wonder he changed his name.
nickybadboy50 2 years ago
These are the first episodes I've seen from the pre-Marjorie Lord / Angela Cartwright years. Would love to see more!!!
paradiseshow1988 2 years ago
Yes, the pre-Marjorie Lord (or Jean Hagen, as i prefer to call them) episodes are from when the series was titled "Make Room For Daddy" and aired on ABC from 1953-57.
The Lord/Cartwright years the show was called "The Danny Thomas Show' and aired on CBS, its most successful period (1957-64).
gymnastix 2 years ago
To make things even more confusing, the syndicated, rerun episodes of both the ABC and early CBS years (which aired on NBC then) were retitled "Make Room for Daddy" so as not to confuse viewers watching episodes still airing on CBS in prime time.
gymnastix 2 years ago
This was rather common practice in those days, as with "The Andy Griffith Show" daytime reruns on its original network (CBS) being retitled "Andy Of Mayberry," "The Real McCoys" retitled as simply "The McCoys," and Dick Van Dyke's morning, CBS reruns called "The Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show."
But once a series ceased production in prime time, the syndicated run reverted to the original title. And after a period this practice stopped anyway.
gymnastix 2 years ago
i doing dannny thomas for a night of the notables project so i wanted to watch one of his shows, i like it =]
monkeyhayden220 2 years ago
I grew up with this show. It was my favorite. One of the Cartright girls was also in "The Sound of Music".
redonionsauce 2 years ago
What a GREAT series! I'm 32 and a retro TV fan from the '50s to the '80s. This is my first taste of MRFD and I want MORE!!! While I've sampled 'Ozzie & Harriet' a couple times and don't like it, this show is a great treat. I *hope* YT adds more. Or Hulu. Whoever put it up, gets my attention. :]
DisneyAlexMojo 2 years ago
Rusty has a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame. He was a child star BEFORE child stars received adequate salaries. After this show ended, Danny Thomas wanted to send Rusty to college and pay for ALL his expenses, but for whatever reason Hamer declined the offer. When Hamer died, there were many Hollywood stars who wanted to attend his funeral but Hamer's family decided to have Hamer's body cremated instead and his ashes scattered to sea.
Babyhowdy233 2 years ago
His imitation of a high-falutin British-type was very spot-on. Maybe he was gay and didn't know how cope w/ it.
DisneyAlexMojo 2 years ago
Huh, what are you talking about?
Does being British have something ti do with being homosexual?
gymnastix 2 years ago
Danny Thomas was great
pennstate332002 2 years ago 4
TWO episodes are presented here: the first , "Little League", originally aired on September 20, 1955 for Chrysler ['55 Dodge], with the "alternate sponsor"'s message at the end (Angela Cartwright did not begin appearing on the show until two years later, 'Luscious'). The second, "The Children's Governess", sponsored by American Tobacco ["Pall Mall"] {again, the "alternate sponsor" has their say in the final commercial break}, initially aired on February 1, 1955...
fromthesidelines 2 years ago 2
What happened to Angela Cartwright? I remember her being on this series, did she come along later.
Luscious957 2 years ago 2
This is Danny Williams' (Danny Thomas) first wife. She dies and Danny married Kathy, who has a little girl, Linda (Angela Cartwright). I can't believe I'm old enough to remember this stuff! How depressing!! Hope this answered your question.
peachleytwo 2 years ago 2
so wait. his first wife on the show died in real life, or did they kill her off on the show? and if she died in real life, did they pull a darren on bewitched and slip the new wife in with no explanation. not sure why, but this stuff fascinates me!
Sandreala 2 years ago 2
FIrst wife killed off in the early stages of the show (season 1 or two). Then, for one or two seasons, Danny Williams was raising the children as a widower - had a hilarious maid, Louise - to help him out. Danny became a nightclub performer, not an actor, as was portrayed earlier on. Then Rusty, Danny's son, was sick - had to stay home - they got a nurse, Kathy with whom Danny fell in love and married.
peachleytwo 2 years ago 2
Just remembered something else you might like to know - remember Schneider (sp)?, the apartment complex custodian on One Day at a Time? - Danny's daughter, Terry, grows up to marry him (he was a comedian in the nightclub where Danny worked). I am really old!!!
peachleytwo 2 years ago 2
Ahhh I love stuff like that! Thanks, Peachley!!!! =)
Sandreala 2 years ago
Jean Hagen played the first wife, Margaret, who lasted for three seasons. Hagen was unhappy playing straight man to Danny and the kids, and Danny didn't like her attitude and was more than happy to see her go. At the beginning of the fourth season, it was announced that Danny was a widower. He met Kathy (a widow with a young daughter) at the end of the fourth season and proposed to her and the fifth season started with the couple returning from their honeymoon.
kbirdusa 2 years ago
Angela has worked as a successful photographer for over 30 years. Her sister is the phenomenal actress Veronica Cartwright. Veronica was originally slated to play the lead in "Alien", but director Ridley Scott switched her role with that of Weaver, even though Cartwright's acting resume and abilities at that time were VASTLY superior to that of Weaver's (and for my money STILL are).
Babyhowdy233 2 years ago