Make Room For Danien.

"Danien" is what Uncle Tonoose, played by the glorious Hans Conreid, called his nephew, Danny Thomas, on "Make Room For Daddy", now being shown on MeTV.
It's one of the shows I've been Tivoing there every day.
As a result, I have been, and will be, refering to Danny Thomas as "Danien"
I was once responsible for getting Hans Conreid cast on an episode of "Laverne and Shirley".
I was merely consulting on it at the time, and the Show Runner, aware of my extensive background in casting, said to me, "We have this part for a guest star in an upcoming episode. It's a part that is just perfect for Billy DeWolfe."
Remember Billy DeWolfe? He was hilarious, mustachioed, prissy, snooty, and put-upon.
He said things like "Nasty, nasty, nasty!"
Everything in threes.
He was a latter-day Franklin Pangborn.
I guess this requires you to remember Franklin Pangborn.
Franklin Pangborn had all of the attributes that Billy DeWolfe had.
But he started much earlier.
The early 30's probably.
He played hotel clerks, floorwalkers, florists, decorators....
You get the idea.
So the Show Runner on "Laverne and Shirley" told me about this perfect part for Billy DeWolfe.
The only problem in getting Billy DeWolfe is that he was already dead.
Or, as he would have put it, "Dead, dead, dead!"
So the Show Runner asked me who he should want because Billy DeWolfe was already dead, dead, dead.
Without batting an eyelash, I responded in jigtime, "Hans Conreid"
Not because he was typecast as that, although he certainly played that sort of role. but because he was brilliant, and could play anything.
So I go to the first reading the following Monday, and there he is.
Hans Conreid.
I was not without influence.
He played a night school science professor in an episode that had Laverne essentially dismantling a skeleton.
It was a great episode, made greater by Hans Conreid's performance.
He was a perfect foil.

Hans Conreid, as Danien's Uncle Tonoose, was easily the best thing about "Make Room For Daddy".
And this was a show that had a lot of good things.
And a lot of bad things.
It was probably THE show that I never missed an episode of.
At least when I was old enough that it wasn't on past my bedtime.
I did catch up with a lot of the earlier episodes when it was on in daytime syndication.
But at the time, I was only aware of, as Ed Norton would say, its good pernts.
Next time, I will discuss its good pernts and its bad pernts.
And unfortunately, with fifty years of perspective, the bad pernts are out-weighing the good.

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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