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146:. They portray a rambunctious, overburdened Wall Street broker who demands that everything from his family should be just so. The more he rails against his staff, his cook, his wife, his horse, salesmen, holidays, his children and the inability of the world to live up to his impossible standards, the more comical and lovable he becomes to his own family who love him despite it all. First published in 1936, shortly after his death, Day's book is a picture of New York upper-middle-class family life in the 1890s. The stories are filled with affectionate irony. Day's understated, matter-of-fact style underlines the comedy in everyday situations.
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345:, which opened at the Empire last evening. For the late Clarence Day's vastly amusing sketches of his despotic parent have now been translated into a perfect comedy by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, and must be reckoned an authentic port of our American folklore." When
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as "a comedy in which characters challenge and ultimately win over a figure of authority," which allows the play to appeal to nostalgia for more conservative times, while also finding pleasure in gentle subversion and anti-authoritarianism.
301:
introducing a scene from the play featuring original cast members Howard
Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney. The Ford show attracted an audience of 60 million viewers. Forty years after the broadcast, television critic
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celebrated the play as "warmly human and heartily comical and completely inoffensive," thus restoring his faith in the theatre-going public. Contemporary scholar Jordan
Schildcrout describes
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network. The series was the first live color program for network TV to originate in
Hollywood. The film (not the series) and its audio entered the public domain in 1975.
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continues to be produced by amateur companies such as the
American Century Theatre in Virginia (2009) and the Victorian Players in Ohio (2014).
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Concurrent with the
Broadway production, the producers sent out 11 touring companies that performed in 214 cities. The amateur rights to
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Clarence Day wrote humorously about his family and life. The stories of his father
Clarence "Clare" Day were first printed in
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recalled the broadcast as both "a landmark in television" and "a milestone in the cultural life of the '50s".
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were released in 1948, and the following year saw 187 productions of the play, including a production at
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called the revival "a quaint, pretty picture postcard." Although professional revivals are now rare,
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on
November 8, 1939 and ran at that theatre until September 8, 1945. It then moved to the
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on July 12, 1947 for a combined total of 3,224 performances. The play was produced by
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122:. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the
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The
Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present
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463:. Six years later, the film was adapted into a television series, starring
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297:, broadcast live on both the CBS and NBC television networks, opened with
532:"Life With Father - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - New York Times"
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The only major New York revival occurred in 1967 in a limited run at
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The morning room of the Day house on
Madison Avenue in the late 1880s
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The 1939 Broadway production ran for over seven years to become the
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wrote in his review "Sooner or later every one will have to see
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was adapted for the
November 6, 1938, broadcast of CBS Radio's
750:, catalogue for exhibition October 28–December 3, 1988. p. 52.
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where it ran until June 15, 1947, and finished its run at the
169:, a record that it still holds. It also held the title of the
623:"Ford's 50th anniversary show was milestone of '50s culture"
126:, a record that it still holds. The play was adapted into a
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In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays
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Internet Broadway Database listing for Broadway production
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that included consultation with Warner films on staging.
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longest running Broadway play of any type of all time
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27:1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
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167:longest-running non-musical play on Broadway
124:longest-running non-musical play on Broadway
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224:John Drew Devereaux as Clarence Day, Jr.
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663:. The New York Times, November 9, 1939.
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443:as Clarence and his wife, supported by
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355:as the longest-running Broadway play,
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836:. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
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239:as Father (Clarence "Clare" Day, Sr.)
173:from 1947 to 1972. It opened at the
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818:. New York and London: Routledge.
534:. October 16, 2007. Archived from
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800:New York Times, Life With Father
158:Postcard showing cast featuring
116:Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
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387:in the television version, 1954
266:A.H. Van Buren as Dr. Humphreys
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412:(Employment Office Manager),
317:and Dorothy Stickney. Critic
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834:Life With Lindsay and Crouse
814:Schildcrout, Jordan (2019).
288:Theatre in the Round Players
233:Larry Robinson as Harlan Day
7:
1208:Plays by Lindsay and Crouse
10:
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1213:Plays set in New York City
853:Internet Broadway Database
748:The Museum of Broadcasting
605:"This Week and Upcoming".
269:John C. King as Dr. Somers
230:Raymond Roe as Whitney Day
68:November 8, 1939
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1164:The Sound of Music Live!
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272:Timothy Kearse as Maggie
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221:as Lavinia "Vinnie" Day
215:Katherine Bard as Annie
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420:(young Clarence Day).
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278:Subsequent productions
260:Portia Morrow as Delia
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49:Based on the novel by
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1082:The Great Sebastians
1031:Arsenic and Old Lace
719:Publishers. p.
712:This is Orson Welles
400:. The cast included
299:Oscar Hammerstein II
248:Ruth Hammond as Cora
916:Fiddler on the Roof
875:(television series)
760:tv.com listing for
707:Rosenbaum, Jonathan
263:Nellie Burt as Nora
1146:The Sound of Music
1132:Remains to Be Seen
1118:State of the Union
1072:Remains to Be Seen
1061:State of the Union
1006:The Sound of Music
956:Lindsay and Crouse
703:Bogdanovich, Peter
556:(Associated Press)
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329:Critical reception
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114:is a 1939 play by
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978:Red, Hot and Blue
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191:Bretaigne Windust
132:television series
128:1947 feature film
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1023:Productions
457:Jimmy Lydon
441:Irene Dunne
414:Alice Frost
410:Mary Wickes
372:Adaptations
361:Boston Post
313:, starring
311:City Center
245:as Margaret
197:, his wife
1193:1939 plays
1187:Categories
1139:Tall Story
1087:Tall Story
909:1947–1972
746:New York:
479:References
453:ZaSu Pitts
408:(Mother),
404:(Father),
349:surpassed
304:Tom Shales
150:Production
72:1939-11-08
38:Written by
465:Leon Ames
381:Leon Ames
315:Leon Ames
293:In 1953,
865:Playbill
709:(1992).
568:ibdb.com
862:at the
851:at the
359:of the
337:critic
100:Setting
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201:, and
130:and a
95:Comedy
57:Chorus
1041:Plays
867:Vault
484:Notes
92:Genre
879:IMDb
820:ISBN
782:ISBN
725:ISBN
467:and
459:and
439:and
383:and
333:The
209:Cast
138:Book
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