Make Room for Daddy

Back when Danny Thomas opted for a television series, the Danny Thomas Show or Make Room For Daddy as it was both known as, his career was at a crossroads. He was a good singer/comedian and did a few musical and acting parts on screen, but he had not reached the top rank of film stars and those people were finding less and less work on the big screen. Television was clearly the way to go.

Like Desi Arnaz over on I Love Lucy, Thomas as Danny Williams was a nightclub performer. Unlike Desi he did not have a wife just dying to get into show business. Jean Hagen was perfectly content to be raising their kids Sherry Jackson and Rusty Hamer. Hagen wanted out after three years so she was killed off and Thomas met and married Marjorie Lord who was on the remainder of the series run.

Back in those days TV had a lot of 'father is an idiot' shows and this was king of that lot. Thomas was constantly put down by his son Rusty Hamer. All I know is that talking like that to my father would have gotten me a rap across the mouth and a few licks on my behind with the hair brush.

Sadly enough Hamer proved to be the real tragedy of the show. His was a well known child star suicide after his career dissipated when the show was canceled.

The best part of the Danny Thomas Show was Danny Thomas performer with songs and stand up comedy. And that Lebanese uncle, a most demanding Uncle Tonoose played by Hans Conreid on occasion.

I think a whole generation of kids learned bad behavior from Rusty Hamer though.

When Make Room for Daddy ended its run in 1960s Danny Thomas offered to put Rusty Hamer through college but Hamer turned him down believing he had a future in acting. Sadly after the series ended acting jobs for Rusty were few and far between. Eventually in 1990 depression over being a 42 year old has been led to his suicide.

The television series,"Make Room For Daddy",remains one of the most neglected milestones in situation comedy,which to this day has not been seen since. This was one of the cornerstones,if not,the steppingstone that paved the way for the development of situation comedy,not to mention of the founding pioneers as well,under its star Danny Thomas and its producer and executive in charge of production Sheldon Leonard and his assistant Ronald Jacobs. This series provided the perfect showcase for Danny Thomas,who never found anything else that effectively showcased his talent not to mention his own creative style of situation comedy that remains to this day a bonafide classic.

The series,"Make Room For Daddy",aka,"The Danny Thomas Show" basically was one of the founding cornerstones of situation comedy,and it went on to become one of the longest running situation comedy shows of all time that ran for 11 astounding years in prime time and produced 343 episodes all in black and white and it ran on two major television networks.... First,it ran for four seasons on ABC network premiering on September 29, 1953 until April 25, 1957. Then on October 7, 1957, the series switched networks,this time it went over to CBS-TV for the next seven seasons ending its run on April 27,1964 (where it moved to Monday nights replacing "I Love Lucy" in its timeslot).. In all a total of 343 episodes were produced all in black and white with 90 episodes for Make Room For Daddy(1953-1957) and 253 episodes for The Danny Thomas Show (1957-1964). During its run it became the second longest running situation comedy of all time,and it is tied with "The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet ","My Three Sons","M*A*S*H","Cheers","Frasier", for the duration of its longevity.

"Make Room For Daddy" followed the misadventures of the Williams family. Danny Williams(Danny Thomas),a nightclub entertainer tries to strike a balance between family life and the grueling lifestyle of the entertainment business. However,the series also showcased some of Danny Thomas' great singing abilities,and that is what brought out this series. In the beginning,the family consisted of his wife,Margaret,played by Jean Hagen,his 11 year-old daughter Terry,played by Sherry Jackson,and his 6 year-old son Rusty,played by Rusty Hamer. However,during the first four seasons of the show,actress Jean Hagen quit the show in 1956 to pursue other options and Danny Thomas decided to continue on without her. Her character was written out as having herself died and Danny was now a widower to take care of the children. The following season(1957-1958),featured Danny dating various other women with from the kids,but instead found his becoming by proposing to a young nurse named Kathy O'Hara,played by Marjorie Lord. The fifth season opened with Danny and Kathy returning from their honeymoon. The newcomer in the cast was Kathy's five year-old daughter from her previous marriage named Linda,played by Angela Cartwright. It was also during the switch that Sherry Jackson,at the height of the 1958-1959 season,where her character Terry left the show,but instead Jackson's character of Terry returned,but in certain spots where she was being courted by a nightclub performer,whom she eventually married. It was here during the 1959-1960 season that Sherry Jackson and the producers went at it over some contract disputes,and in 1960,Jackson left the show for good,never to be heard from again. Her replacement on the show the next season. An unknown actress named Penny Parker took over the character of Terry Williams,and that lasted one season with Parker leaving the show also at the height of the 1960-1961 season. There were other regulars in the cast that made their mark on this series,including some cast members like Hans Conried,Pat Harrington,Jr.,Annette Funicello, Joey Bishop, Sid Melton,Amanda Randolph as the feisty but comical housekeeper,and Sheldon Leonard.

For those who knew how successful this show was,let me put this in perspective....this show was a milestone in showing the overall behavior in the way families truly behaved,and this show was a prime example of this:indulgent parents,manipulative children,not to mention the relatives,the trials of balancing a career and home life,and so much more,since no other situation comedy of the period came close to such honest depictions of life within the American family....the only show that came close to that line was Dick Van Dyke's classic situation comedy series of the 1960's. Also of interest here:this show spawned a classic hit series;the episode of "Danny Meets Andy",or "Danny In Mayberry" was the pilot to "The Andy Griffith Show",which ran for eight seasons on CBS. Also such memorable guests that were given their own series as well including Bill Dana,Jesse White,Pat Carroll,and Joey Bishop. It is also to note that Joey Bishop's own series,"The Joey Bishop Show" was the only situation comedy in the early-1960's produced by Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas that was in color from 1961-1965 for NBC. Thomas' own sitcom "Make Room For Daddy".and other shows were still in black and white. However,after the show went off the air in 1965,the Williamses returned five years later in 1970 for the spin off comedy "Make Room For Granddaddy",which the regular cast members as this time Danny Thomas plays a grandfather...Marjorie Lord,Rusty Hamer,and Angela Cartwright returned,and this time with new members Micheal Hughes and Rosey Grier,which ran for one season on ABC-TV from 1970-1971.

Seems almost every TV series thinks that screaming and yelling is funny..Examples: Sgt Bilko, The Honeymooners, All In The Family, The Danny Thomas Show and many more. Personally, all the yelling gives me a headache and I don't find it the least bit laughable. With that said, Danny Thomas is very likeable and clearly very talented. The story plots are usually pretty good and with the screaming aside very entertaining. The supporting cast is always good and the actresses who play Danny's wife and maid usually steal the episode. Everyone has good on screen chemistry and the shows are always positive and uplifting.

One of the greatest milestones in television history the situation comedy series "Make Room For Daddy" aka "The Danny Thomas Show " was in fact a treasured gem that was great entertainment even after more than 70 years after its original telecast the series focuses on the misadventures of a showbiz entertainer(Danny Thomas) who lives in a upscale penthouse apartment in New York with his wife(Jean Hagen for Seasons 1-3 and later was replaced by Marjorie Lord for Seasons 5-11) and two kids which was his teenage daughter Terry(Sherry Jackson) and his wise cracking mischievous son Rusty(Rusty Hamer). The series was actor-producer-and executive producer Danny Thomas' most successful series along with producer-director-writer Sheldon Leonard made this one of the biggest sitcom hits of the 1950's that lasted into the mid-1960's that won Five Prime Time Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Actor or Actress In A Comedy Series.

"Make Room For Daddy" aka "The Danny Thomas Show" ran on two major television networks throughout its entire run lasting an astonishing 11 seasons and 343 episodes all in classic black and white and was produced under Danny Thomas' production company with Sheldon Leonard as executive producer and was filmed in Hollywood at Desilu Studios. For the first four seasons it aired on ABC premiering on September 29, 1953 as "Make Room For Daddy" producing 90 episodes with Danny Thomas, Jean Hagen, Sherry Jackson, and Rusty Hamer with Amanda Randolph running until April 25, 1957. After it was canceled by ABC in the spring of 1957 numerous cast changes took place when the series switched networks this time over to CBS under the new title as "The Danny Thomas Show" producing 253 episodes that aired from October 7, 1957 until the final telecast on April 27, 1964(where it aired on Monday nights replacing "I Love Lucy" in its timeslot).

During the show's fifth season it introduced Danny Thomas' new wife Kathy O'Hara played by Marjorie Lord and her daughter Linda O'Hara from a previous marriage(Angela Cartwright) for seasons 5-11 throughout the series run with the oldest daughter Terry (Sherry Jackson) leaving for college but returning in several episodes. Only actors Danny Thomas and Rusty Hamer were the only main characters that stayed with the series throughout its entire 11 season run appearing in all 343 episodes. The phenomenal success of "The Danny Thomas Show" spawned numerous spinoffs that included "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Joey Bishop Show", "The Bill Dana Show", and "Make Room For Granddaddy". After it's initial run on both ABC and CBS, the series continued in recycle repeats where it ended up on both CBS' Daytime schedule and later for the earlier episodes for NBC's Daytime schedule as well. The February 12, 1965 telecast was basically a rerun of a earlier episode. This was a grand achievement in Television history that showcases Danny Thomas' multi talented skills as both nightclub entertainer and all around father figure to his children that became a television classic.