And now we unfortunately come to a bit of a snag in my grand scheme to watch every Emmy-winning season of television comedy. The next series to win the Emmy for Outstanding Situation Comedy was Make Room For Daddy. However, due to the series' complicated history which I will delve into below, only a small smattering of episodes are available to view, and I had to go scouring through YouTube to find them. Of the 30 episodes that originally aired, I was only able to watch six. This means I am unable to get a full sense of this season of the series, but I can discuss the series itself in general terms.
Make Room For Daddy was a seminal family sitcom starring Danny Thomas. What I Love Lucy does for the married couple, this series tries to do for the nuclear family. The series follows Danny, his wife, and his children in typical family sitcom style. Like I Love Lucy, the series' lead is an entertainer, in this case a nightclub comedian and musical performer. And also like the former series, there are often musical numbers peppered throughout to showcase Danny Thomas as a performer. This seemed to be very much the style for comedy in the 1950s, especially as television comedy was also split between the new sitcom format and variety shows.
Initially, the series aired on ABC. It was sponsored by American Tobacco (makers of Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes) and Chrysler. Episodes would alternate primary sponsorship. Even the end credits would be effected; for tobacco-sponsored shows the credits ran over a tobacco leaf, and for Chrysler sponsored ones over Danny and the family hopping into a car.
For the first three seasons, Danny's wife was named Margaret and she was played by Jean Hagen. You might know Hagen as the actress with the silly voice in Singin' in the Rain. Here she gets to play an entirely different role, which she does well with. The children, Terry and Rusty, are played by Rusty Hamer and Sherry Jackson.
It is very strange watching young Sherry Jackson here at 12 years old, as I know her best as the sexy android Andrea from Star Trek.
Jean Hagen was ultimately unhappy doing the series, and at the end of her three-year contract she wanted out. With her gone, the series was retooled and re-titled The Danny Thomas Show. You will find the series referred to under both names for its whole run. To explain the disappearance of Hagen, rather than simply recast the role of Margaret and to avoid the issue of divorce, the series killed her off and Danny was now a widower. I'm not certain, but this may have been the first time this was done on television, setting precedent for other series to follow (most recently, Kevin Can Wait). Ratings declined during season four with single dad Danny, but the season ended with a story arc that introduced Kathy, played by Marjorie Lord, a new love interest for the character, and she and Danny got engaged.
At this point, ABC cancelled the show. But with I Love Lucy reaching its end, The Danny Thomas Show was picked up by CBS, now with Marjorie Lord as the wife, where it ran for another 7 years. It is these CBS years of The Danny Thomas Show, though often still called Make Room For Daddy, that are in frequent syndication, DVD box sets, and streaming. If you've seen the show in reruns, odds are it was one of the CBS episodes. The Jean Hagen years are all but swept under the rug, which is something of a shame. Sherry Jackson also left when her contract was up, and her role was eventually recast.
Now that we've gotten all of that complicated stuff out of the way, you can see why it was difficult for me to find and watch these episodes. When you think you've found episodes of season 2, they end up actually being season 6. The later years of the series were successful in their own right, with several crossovers with other popular sitcoms, and went on to spin off The Andy Griffith Show. Did you know that was a spin-off? But I want to focus on the shows that I watched, the ones that earned the Emmy.
The series had actually already won an Emmy for its debut season, for Best New Series (a category they seem to have since done away with). So it was not exactly a surprise for this to be the show that would take the crown back from I Love Lucy in its next year. As I had no background with the series, the first episode of season 2 is a little jarring. The story is of Danny in a funk, thinking he's a lousy performer, and taking it out on the family. I have to say, it was weird sitting down to watch this happy family sitcom about a father, and having his first appearance be surly and snapping at his kids! It's a good show ultimately, but not a good start to the season.
The humor is simple and wholesome as you would expect. If you've any watched family sitcoms in the last 50 years, you basically know what you are getting. The kids say cute things and get into trouble, the dad is a larger-than-life personality, the mom struggles to keep it all together with grace. It's a little safe, but it was pioneering the genre. There are episodes and stories in this season that would be constantly reused decade after decade on other shows. In fact, several of these early episodes would be redone in the later CBS seasons. Watching a show like "Rusty Gets a Haircut" I was immediately reminded of an episode of Full House. A daughter's first crush, a tonsillectomy, a two-parter about the promise of a new job, these are all now typical sitcom stories. But let's give a nod to Make Room For Daddy for digging that well.
There are a few supporting players in the cast, such as Danny's agent. The family also has a black housekeeper, though she appears very sporadically. I saw her in one episode, and then never again in the six that I watched.
There is what I assume was a two-part story (though I only got to see the second half) that follows Danny getting the opportunity to go to Hollywood and be in a movie. The family is excited for the opportunity and plans to buy new house, but things change when the producer of the film wants Danny to get a nose job. Ultimately he chooses to be himself rather than undergo surgery just for the fame. Apparently this storyline was based on something that actually happened to Danny Thomas. It was a rather moving episode.
Overall, I liked the cast and found the show relatively amusing. I would have liked to see more, and I am frustrated that these formative years are so difficult to see. But if you are in the mood and are interested, look them up on YouTube. Many are even complete with their original vintage commercials!
FAVORITE EPISODE: Hollywood Trip
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