Make Room for Daddy

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.

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.

Until I started watching"The Danny Thomas Show" on Catchy Comedy, I had no idea how wonderful it was! Great acting, funny, sentimental and heartfelt. Danny's chemistry with Rusty Hamer (God bless him) and Angela Cartwright as well as the other kids on the show demonstrates his love for children. I've only seen seasons 4-11 (the earlier ones, titled "Make Room For Daddy" are hard to find), but I like the later episodes with Angela Cartwright and Marjorie Lord.

For me, Rusty Hamer is the best part of the show. He was an amazing actor. I love his scenes with Danny the best. They made a great father and son team.

The music acts, both from the cast and the amazing guest stars like Sammy Davis Jr are completely wonderful. It's incredible how many guests stars they had. They all look so young and it's fun to see their earlier performances.

Danny Thomas was a wonderful performer and I loved when they showcased his nightclub acts.

The most amazing thing to me is that many shows that have long runs (this one ran 11 seasons), get stale after a while. But The Danny Thomas Show only got better.

"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.