Make Room for Daddy/ Danny Thomas Show (1953 – 1965): Thomas vs. Hagen
The Danny Thomas Show (called ‘Make Room for Daddy for its first three seasons) centered around the delicate balance of work and family life for a nightclub comedian. Danny Thomas and Jean Hagen, who played Danny and Margaret Williams, often clashed on the set. She was growing dissatisfied with, as she told the Texas Corsicana Sun in 1955, “Week after week of the same role, which is enough to drive any actress crazy. There I am, always sweet, always good, holding the family together. It got bad for my morale.” Hagen had enough. She left the television show at the end of Season 3. Thomas was so angry at her departure, he had the writers kill of her character to prevent a return. After Hagen’s departure, showrunners renamed it The Danny Thomas Show and featured Thomas’s character navigating work, parenting, and dating.