Collection Guide
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Thomas (Danny) papers
PASC.0356
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Danny Thomas papers
Creator:
Thomas, Danny
Identifier/Call Number: PASC.0356
Physical Description:
10.2 Linear Feet
(20 boxes and 1 shoe box)
Date (inclusive): 1953-1964, 1979
Abstract: Entertainer Danny Thomas is best remembered for his role in the television series
Make Room for Daddy later known as the
Danny Thomas Show. The collection consists primarily of script files documenting the popular television series Make Room for Daddy (1953-1956)
and The Danny Thomas Show (1956-1964).
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Danny Thomas papers (Collection PASC 356). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ronald Jacobs, 2010.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
6770298
Muzyad Yakhoob, later changed to Danny Thomas, was born on 6 January 1914 in Deerfield, MI. Thomas first worked in local radio
and nightclubs, under his Americanized name, Amos Jacobs, before becoming a hit as Danny Thomas at the 5100 Club in Chicago.
It was at the 5100 Club that Abe Lastfogel, head of the William Morris Agency, saw and signed Thomas. Thomas went on to host
his own radio program,
The Danny Thomas Show, on CBS-Radio from 1944 to 1949. During this same time, Thomas made his motion picture debut in
The Unfinished Dance (1946). He started his television career in the early 1950s on
All Star Revue, and not long after, he was given the opportunity for his own television show. Loosely based on Thomas' own life, the television
series
Make Room for Daddy (1953-1956) later known as the
Danny Thomas Show (1956-1964) was a sitcom about Danny Williams, a nightclub singer and comedian, and his family. It included cast members
Jean Hagen, Sherry Jackson and Rusty Hamer. When Jean Hagen left the show at the end of the 1955/56 season, the series was
renamed
The Danny Thomas Show. Thomas spent the 1956/57 season playing a widower, but in the spring of 1957 Marjorie Lord and Angela Cartwright were added
to the cast. The Emmy winning series was on air for eleven seasons and remained one of the top ten rated shows until it voluntarily
left the air in 1964.
Thomas met Sheldon Leonard during production on
Make Room for Daddy. In the early 1960s the two formed Thomas-Leonard Productions, a company responsible for many successful series, including
The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968) and
The Dick van Dyke Show (1961-1966). Thomas went on to develop shows independently and also partnered with Aaron Spelling to produce shows such as
The Mod Squad (1968-1973). In 1967 negotiations to purchase Desilu from Lucille Ball were unsuccessful, but he continued to produce projects
as part of Danny Thomas Productions. He was the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career, including an Emmy, and
was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. Thomas was also well-known for his charitable
work and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for his work establishing St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital
in Memphis, TN. Thomas died February 6, 1991 of a heart attack in Los Angeles, CA.
The collection consists primarily of script files related to the career of actor, comedian, and producer, Danny Thomas. Included
are revised and annotated scripts for
Make Room for Daddy (1953-1956) and
The Danny Thomas Show (1956-1964). The scripts are a combination of loose files and bound volumes. Among the episodes is the pilot script for
Make Room for Daddy. The scripts document the evolution of the two shows as well as the careers of television writers David Adler, Mac Benoff,
Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart, Bob Fisher, Alan Lipscott, Arthur Stander, Henry Garson, and Garry Marshall, among others.
Additionally, there is a reference card file representing eleven seasons of the show, in its different iterations, that document
each episode with episode title, writer, cast list, film and release date, sponsor, and music. Also included are a small number
of publicity stills and news releases (press releases) for the
Danny Thomas Show and the pilot script for a Thomas show,
Starting Fresh (1979).
The files are arranged by series name and episode titles.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Actors -- Archives.
Comedians -- Archives.
Thomas, Danny.