Question about Make Room for Daddy (a.k.a. The Danny Thomas Show) (2 Viewers)

[Jack P]

When Nick at Nite bought it, it was the quickest show Nick ever removed from its schedule. Who knows why? Maybe Danny and all of his yelling is grating to people and they don't like him? Unlike all of the other 50s dads, he actually came across more like a real father than Ward Cleaver or Jim Anderson ever did. Maybe its all of those lame songs injected into the episodes. Whatever the reason, I wouldn't be so concerned about getting the early episodes when we can't even get the later ones put out.

As I recall "Partridge Family" was also yanked fairly quickly from their schedule, and "Mork And Mindy" defied efforts to last on their schedule as well.

I have no doubt sales of the DVD were poor but I still maintain that when your marketing of a show begins with Season 5 and Season 6, then there is going to be an instinctive prejudice on the part of buyers not to get it, thinking that there's something missing they should be getting that isn't available.

As to what constitutes a "real father", all I can say is from my own experience that the much maligned 50s TV fathers, while overly stylized, are still closer to reality than any of the dysfunctional TV fathers and families of the last three decades TV has chosen to shove down our throats.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

When did Danny Thomas start returning Jean Hagen's hatred? As has been pointed out, the Hagen episodes were shown in daytime reruns on NBC well into the 1960s.

And if it's true the show failed in syndication, when did people start turning against it? When it moved to CBS and inherited I Love Lucy's timeslot at the beginning of the 1957-58 season, it became the highest-rated sitcom on the air, and the second highest rated show overall, with only Gunsmoke topping it. For Season 6, it was #5, for Season 7 #4, for Season 8 #12 (its only CBS season out of the Top Ten), for Season 9 #8, for Season 10 #8 again, and for its 11th and final season it was #9.

Most shows with track records like that, such as I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show, have maintained their popularity for decades. When and why did the public turn against Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show?

I can't buy the explanation that people found his character obnoxious (which it certainly was). It was just as obnoxious during the years of high ratings.

 

[jimmyjet]

The point I was trying to make was that it is no longer in Danny's hands. If still alive he may have been able to lighten up on the stance over time. But since this was the stance at his passing, my understanding is that Marlo is just honoring her fathers wishes, and that is much stronger and lasting then anything else. It may take her passing and control to go to another family member before anything else is done (at least for the Jean years).

i know that is a very likely possibility.

and i hope you understood that i am not proposing not buying as some sort of "financial" statement.

i assume that the thomas estate is worth a gazillion dollars. the profit from a whole slew of mrfd sales is a drop in the ocean for them.

the statement that i would be attempting to deliver to marlo, and her successor when the time comes - is that this was a personal feud between danny and jean.

there is nothing more that danny can do to jean. for all the generous things that danny has contributed to various charities, etc. - this is a ridiculously petty thing that no longer accomplishes anything but to hurt the fans.

i just wonder if this was an oversight of danny's ?

i just dont see danny being willing to be this petty about it. and i would ask marlo if she really thinks her dad would still want her to do this. sometimes we allow our angers to cloud our good judgment.

this of course all assumes that danny's will has said this. i dont know this to be a fact. it is just something that has been stated in this forum - first i ever heard about it.

if the show was given proper treatment, i think it is a good show that would sell.

gosh, if we stopped selling shows where one of the actors had a problem with the producers, we would not have anything to watch.

 

[Neil Brock]

Aside from the acrimony between Thomas and Hagen, he also felt that the on-screen chemistry between the two of them was poor and that the later episodes with Lord played much better. Not to mention the fact that the ABC episodes had a fraction of the audience that the CBS shows did. ABC was barely a network in those days, probably about on par with Dumont. Fifth season represented a new network, new wife, new title (became The Danny Thomas Show) and new high ratings. It was like a re-boot of the show and much more successful.

 

[LeoA]

I'd love to see this show's entire run done justice on DVD. Even with the two seasons we got, I think one of the two was all syndicated cuts rather than complete episodes.

At least MeTV airs seasons 5-9 of the 11 seasons so I'm happy to have been able to view a good chunk of the series. Speaking of that, why are seasons 10 & 11 ignored in syndication?

My Three Sons does something similar. The first 5 seasons which were in B&W aren't syndicated and for many years continuing to today, season 12 was also left off. And while TVLand was airing season 11 fifteen years ago, that has also since been pulled and isn't available today for syndication.

 

[jimmyjet]

http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/danny-thomas-show-the-aka-make-room-for-daddy

 

[jimmyjet]

i think we will eventually get a complete release.

this show is a legacy for danny thomas, and i think the kids or grandkids will eventually make that choice.

while he did a lot of things, is he not most famous for mrfd ?

a nelson family member is doing his best to put o&h out in the best possible quality.

i would want to do the same for my parents, if i was in that situation.

while it may not be until marlo dies, i actually think she may decide to do this herself, as a tribute for her dad.

 

[bretmaverick2]

At least MeTV airs seasons 5-9 of the 11 seasons so I'm happy to have been able to view a good chunk of the series. Speaking of that, why are seasons 10 & 11 ignored in syndication?

It may have a bit to do with Danny and Marjorie appearing less in the later seasons. As I recall reading, both were getting tired of the show and the character that played his agent and his wife were most often seen looking after the kids while the couple were "off touring in Europe or somewhere".

.

 

[Steve...O]

Marlo's greatest tribute to her dad, in my opinion, is the work she does with St. Jude's. When all is said and done, the charitable work from the Thomas family is much more significant than any of their series.

Someone posted previously that Danny doesn't have any grandkids so one wonders how the legacy will be maintained once Marlo et al are no longer able to serve that function.

 

[classicmovieguy]

If there was a long-standing rift between Danny Thomas and Jean Hagen, that is quite tragic indeed, given Ms Hagen's premature death in 1977. For Thomas to maintain that grudge, even after Ms Hagen's painful passing, seems brutish and cold. Not the impression Thomas ever gave on screen, but from the private stories I've heard about his daughter Marlo Thomas I suppose nothing would surprise me.

 

[Ron Lee Green]

Someone posted previously that Danny doesn't have any grandkids so one wonders how the legacy will be maintained once Marlo et al are no longer able to serve that function.

Danny does has grandkids. I think he has four. Marlo never had children, but her sister, Terre Thomas, got married and had children.

Phil Donahue also had four boys from a previous marriage, so Marlo was a stepmom and helped raise them.

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

IMDB didn't mention anything about Danny's grandkids. That's why I assumed such a thing.

 

[classicmovieguy]

Marlo created the album "Free to Be... You and Me" for one of her nieces, so that means at least one grandchild for Danny.

 

[Steve...O]

Danny does has grandkids. I think he has four. Marlo never had children, but her sister, Terre Thomas, got married and had children.Phil Donahue also had four boys from a previous marriage, so Marlo was a stepmom and helped raise them.

thanks for the information; it is appreciated,

 

[DeWilson]

Speaking of that, why are seasons 10 & 11 ignored in syndication?

Two Reasons as I recall - Seasons 5-9 were a nice even number for syndication,and two - the ownership of the last two seasons is split between Danny and Marjorie.

 

[Brian McP]

I sincerely hope that season 7-11 of "The Danny Thomas Show" eventually get released on dvd -- could it be the music rights that could keep them from being released?

I have to admit, as a very small kid, I thought Danny and Sid Melton who played his agent were the greatest -- I never found them grating with all their yelling, it was the same on every Lucy show ever made, playing around the clock back then, and I loved the vaudeville-like quality of their scenes together.

And I can remember those episodes that had Sid and his wife on the show Pat Carroll looking after everyone in the apartment when Danny and 'Irish' took off on vacation on occasion. That was still in the days when they made 32 episodes per season so I know how Danny felt as he went into his 11th year of this -- as they were all part of that Sheldon Leonard group of shows that included both the Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith shows, I hope one day all of them will be released (along with "Make Room for Granddaddy") so fans can see them again, even if they were released through a Warner Archive-like on-demand setup.

 

[mark-edk]

Poking around Amazon Prime last night I found two seasons of the Danny Thomas Show. Watched a couple from Season One and they looked really sharp and clean. Skimming thru the list it appears that these eps run 25-26 minutes apiece so they are probably uncut. Unfortunately, "Season One" is Amazon's rather misleading designation for what is actually Season Five, beginning with Danny and his new bride on their honeymoon in Vegas. But I really enjoyed the two eps I watched last night and look forward to a few more tonight.

 

[mark-edk]

Continuing to watch the Season 5 eps on Amazon; they are of very high quality and in HD. The only flaw comes during dissolves, fades, etc when the contrast is off for a few seconds. There's an option to 'purchase' season one and two in HD for $10 each; I'm not sure exactly what that means, if I can download the files or just have anytime access to them on Amazon. iTunes offers season 1 in HD for $15 and if that still works like it used to they do let you download the files...but requires Apple software to play them. I'd rather buy a blu-ray set but let's be real, that ain't gonna happen. I guess for now I'll wait and hold off until the 4K versions are up for sale

 

[sjbradford]

A few misconceptions here:

While Danny was not happy with Jean’s performance on the show (he found her too aloof) and Jean didn’t like working with Danny (according to Sherry Jackson), I think “hate” is a strong word. Jean guest starred on “The Andy Griffith Show” several years after leaving the show. Danny was a part owner of “Andy Griffith” and went over to the studio while she was filming, to say hello. Things were at least civil.

Danny did sell the Hagen shows into reruns in the 1960s. But by the end of the show’s run, there were more than enough Marjorie Lord episodes, which were better known. When it was time to select episodes for syndication (local stations weren’t interested in 300+ episodes) they selected the better known episodes.

Also, Jean Hagen (and now her estate) owned a percentage of the shows she appeared in. If they appear in syndication or are sold on DVD, Thomas’ estate will have to share the revenue. I’m sure if the show were still massively popular, they’d release all the episodes, including the ones where they would have a smaller portion of the revenue. But that’s not the case, so they are sticking to the episodes where they can make the most money. Business decision.

Marjorie Lord does not have ownership in the series. The show’s production company for its first nine seasons was Marterto (a combination of the names of Danny’s three children: Marlo, Terre, and Tony). For the last two seasons, it was T&L Productions. “L” stands for Sheldon Leonard, Danny’s long time production partner.

Danny chose to go with a small syndicator to distribute the show after the network run was finished, as opposed to a well-known outfit like Viacom. Ozzie Nelson made the same mistake with his show. Because of this, those two shows didn’t get nearly as many clearances or prime time slots in reruns as some of their contemporaries. And a result, they are lesser known.

 

[Matt Hough]

Fascinating information. Thanks for sharing.