The Danny Thomas Show

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.

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.

"Make Room For Daddy" a.k.a. "The Danny Thomas Show" stands as one of the best-written, best acted comedy shows ever. The family situations and characters were like real people with real flaws and virtues. Maybe more so than any other show of it's time. I have read many critiques of the fifth season on DVD. Just about everyone complains about the syndicated, edited episodes being used for this and several other DVD sets. Let me say this. In my opinion, there may not be any cost-effective ways to issue some series in their original, uncut versions. Sam Nelson, son of Rick Nelson is undertaking a massive restoration undertaking to redo all 435 episodes of his Grandparents "Ozzie and Harriet" show. To do so, he has mounted a massive fund-raising campaign to fund this project. The series "Bachelor Father" has just begun to be re-shown on Antenna TV. They only have 118 of the original 157 episodes to show. The vintage series "Mr. Adams and Eve" apparently has only a handful of it's original episodes still in existence. So be happy with what we can get of these series and stop whining about small details. Enjoy your "Make Room For Daddy" and be grateful for the series we can get.

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.

"Make Room For Daddy" aka "The Danny Thomas Show" was one of the cornerstones of situation comedy. It was the longest running situation comedy in American television history (11 years in prime time) until "Cheers" tied it for longevity.

"Make Room For Daddy" was a milestone in showing how families truly behaved: indulgent parents, manipulative children and relatives,the trials of balancing a career and home life, ethnic pride vs. assimilation into American society. No other situation comedy of the period came close to such honest depictions of American family life.

The show provided the perfect showcase for Danny Thomas. He never found anything else that effectively showcased his comedy. His supporting players were excellent actors, including and especially, the child actors playing his children (Sherry Jackson, Rusty Hamer, and Angela Cartwright). The scripts were generally excellent. The show ended its run only because Danny Thomas was tired of it, not due to falling ratings.

"Make Room For Daddy" gave showcase roles for many up-and-coming players:

Pat Harrington, Jr., Annette Funicello, Pat Carroll, Piccola Pupa, Bill Dana (as the memorable Jose Jimenez). Thomas was generous enough to provide the great Hans Conreid his most memorable character besides the classic work he did on the Jay Ward cartoons.

"Make Room for Daddy"'s success helped create Desilu Productions as the first major television company in America and allowed Danny Thomas to become the most prolific television comedy producer of all time. Such shows as "The Andy Griffith Show", "Mayberry RFD","The Dick Van Dyke Show", "That Girl", "I Spy" (an action series laced with comedy)were all products of Danny Thomas and his business partner, Sheldon Leonard (who had a recurring role in "Make Room for Daddy").

Lastly, "Make Room for Daddy" featured Jean Hagen and Marjorie Lord with their best-remembered television roles.

"Make Room for Daddy" deserves belated ranking with the great television shows of all time. Nothing less!