Make Room for Daddy (1953–1965)

Danny Williams, a successful nightclub singer, encounters a variety of difficult or amusing situations in trying to balance his career with his family; his outspoken wife Cathy, teenage ... See full summary »

Stars:

Danny Thomas, Rusty Hamer, Marjorie Lord

Won 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 19 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Danny Thomas	...	Danny Williams (345 episodes, 1953-1964)
Rusty Hamer	...	Rusty Williams (328 episodes, 1953-1964)
Marjorie Lord	...	Kathy Williams (221 episodes, 1957-1964)
Angela Cartwright	...	Linda Williams (201 episodes, 1957-1964)

Storyline

Danny Williams, a successful nightclub singer, encounters a variety of difficult or amusing situations in trying to balance his career with his family; his outspoken wife Cathy, teenage daughter Teri from his first marriage, children Russ and Linda, and old-fashioned Uncle Tonouse. Later episodes feature Annette Funicello as an au pair girl. Most episodes conclude with a song by Danny or one of the children. Affection expressed as hostility ("I love you, you little jerk") and ironic humor characterize this show.

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Plot Keywords:

wife | son | nuclear family | spit take | sitcom | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Children's Hour

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Cahuenga, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marterto Productions, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title "Make Room for Daddy" actually grew out of an in-joke within Danny Thomas's family. Whenever Danny was away on a nightclub tour, his children more or less had the run of the house. When he returned from a tour, it was time to spread out and "make room for daddy", hence the show's title.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999)

User Reviews

One of the best family shows of the 50s

"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.