"Oh sure, I'm gonna be fine. I was just thinking about my sixth birthday. Three of my friends came over, and each brought me a present: chicken pox, the measles, and the mumps. And believe me, that was the most miserable birthday anyone ever had. Until today." - Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) complaining that his family has seemingly forgotten his birthday, even though he asked them to ignore it
Make Room for Daddy: Season 6 DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
Make Room for Daddy premiered September 29, 1953 on ABC. The series focused on the family life of nightclub entertainer Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) with his wife Margaret (Jean Hagen, Singing in the Rain) and their wisecracking kids Rusty (Rusty Hamer) and Terry (Sherry Jackson). When Hagen decided to leave the series in 1956, the writers killed off her character. Danny played the field for most of the 1956-57 season, until he met Kathy Clancey (Marjorie Lord). At the start of the series' 1957-58 season, Danny and Kathy return from their honeymoon, Kathy's daughter Linda (Angela Cartwright, Lost in Space) joins the family, and the whole shebang moved over to CBS. Over its eleven year run on two separate networks, the series changed its name (to The Danny Thomas Show), and other cast members came and went. Whew! Sounds complicated, but as Make Room for Daddy: Season 6 proves, it isn't necessary to be familiar with any of this to enjoy the exploits of the Williams family.
Danny Williams rules the New York stage with his nightclub act. He sings, tells jokes, and, when he has to, plays the piano. At home, though, he is often upstaged by his family. Rusty has inherited his father's sense of humor, and often uses his rapier sharp wit to deflate his dad. Linda is only five, but even she manages to throw a few zingers Danny's way. Teenaged Terry drives Danny crazy because he's sure she's going to run off and get married. (This, of course, doesn't happen, but Terry does go "off to school" for most of the season.) Kathy tries to provide an even keel for her bombastic husband, but sometimes he's too much even for her. Offering "sage" advice to the Williams family is a variety of family and friends, including their housekeeper Louise (Amanda Rudolph, Amos 'n' Andy), oddball matchmaker Uncle Tonoose (Hans Conreid, Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends), accompanist Benny (Ben Lessy), and club manager Charley Halper (Sid Melton, Green Acres).
As much as Danny's family drives him crazy, he actually misses having a teenage girl around the apartment when Terry leaves for school. Kathy comes up with a perfect solution-the family will host an exchange student. After battling a bureaucrat who claims that show business families aren't appropriate homes for exchange students ("Red Tape"), the Williams family gets its wish. Annette Funicello (Beach Blanket Bingo) joins the household as Gina ("Gina from Italy"). Over a handful of episodes, Gina discovers dating ("Gina's First Date"), convinces Frankie Laine to perform at the school dance ("Frankie Laine Sings for Gina"), falls for a young man from her home town who wants to exploit her association with Danny to get a record deal ("The Latin Lover"), and encounters discrimination when she is nominated for class president ("Gina for President"). Funicello's Italian accent comes and goes, and this was obviously a case of trying to goose the ratings by casting the popular Mouseketeer.
The season is filled with a number of guest stars. Jack Benny steals Danny's usual role of emcee at Rusty's Boy Scout benefit ("Jack Benny Takes Danny's Job"). William Demarest (My Three Sons) plays the father-in-law who nearly ends Danny and Kathy's marriage with his bad advice ("The First Anniversary"). Dinah Shore and Danny go head-to-head when they both have shows opening on the same night, a dispute that carries over into their children's school fundraising efforts ("Dinah Shore & Danny are Rivals"). Tony Bennett shows up as Cousin Stephen from Toledo ("Tony Bennett Gets Danny's Help"). Tennessee Ernie Ford plays Kentucky Cal, a performer who enchants Rusty and Linda ("Tennessee Ernie Stays for Dinner"). Bob Hope and Danny fight over who is going to direct a school production of Alice in Wonderland ("Bob Hope & Danny Become Directors"). Opera star Lauritz Melchior and Broadway star Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) appear as a father trying to get his daughter into showbiz ("Shirley Jones Makes Good").
Perhaps the biggest guest stars of the season are I Love Lucy's Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who appear as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in "Lucille Ball Upsets the Williams Household." While Desi and Danny rehearse a nightclub act, Lucy teaches Kathy how to shop. While it is great to see Ball and Arnaz again, their appearance only serves to point out a few of Make Room for Daddy's flaws. Daddy isn't as sharply funny as it could be, and without a strong character to play against, Danny often just comes across as a bully.
Still, the show is funny and unpretentious-old-fashioned in the best sense of the word. Danny Thomas also proves to be a formidable talent, singing one moment, cracking wise the next.
The thirty-two episodes that make up Make Room for Daddy: Season 6 are divided onto five discs. The discs are housed in three slim plastic keepcases, two of which hold two discs apiece. The fronts of the cases feature a colorized publicity photo of the series' stars. The backs of the cases include titles, brief synopses, and original airdates for each episode. Also included are episode numbers for the season as well as for the series. The keepcases slide into a cardboard outer sleeve, the back of which includes an essay on the series.
The DVD menus are simple and easy to navigate. Viewers choose individual episodes or use the "play all" feature. The episodes are not divided into chapters.
