But I'm a Big Girl Now There's no pro like an old pro, especially if his name is Danny Thomas.(TV Spotlight cover). The TV favorite, who launched his award-winning Make Room for Daddy on ABC-TV in 1953, will be back in another lively comedy series, But I'm a Big Girl Now, on the "Alphabet Network." Make Room for Daddy ran for 11 seasons, including some on CBS-TV, until Thomas voluntarily ended the show. The actor-producer became involved in a number of series, including The Helen W. Rogers Radio- Editor Andy Griffith Show, Dick Van Dyke Show, The Joey Bishop Show, Gomer Pyle, The Tycoon and he was host on NBC-TV's The Danny Thomas Hour and starred in The Practice series. In his new venture, Thomas plays Ben, a newly divorced dentist who lives with his divorced daughter Diana and granddaughter Rebecca.
The exact starting date of the series is in question because of the actors' strike, but it is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Fridays, opposite NBC's Facts of Life and the last half of CBS's Incredible Hulk. Diana Canova, daughter of Judy Canova, movie comedienne of the 1930s and '40s, portrays Diana who insists on being treated as an equal by her father. Rori King plays 7-year-old Rebecca, a charmer who wears her dark hair in braids just like Judy Canova used to. Other cast members include Sheree North, sure to please who works with Diana in the office; and Michael Durrell as Walter, Diana's long-suffering brother, a businessman who yearns to be "Mr.
Teriyaki Millionaire." The show was created by Susan Harris, creator of ABC's Soap and Benson. Executive producers are Paul Junger Witt and Danny's son Tony, who also are doing another new series, It's a Living, set to premiere in the new season at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays on the network. If all goes as smoothly as seen in the pilot show, viewers are in for a fast-paced, delightful series. The dialogue is snappy, sharp and sensational.
The stars have a perfect blend of talent. Noam Pitlik, the director of the pilot, deserves much credit for delivering such a pleasing show. The pilot revolves around Diane and whether her boyfriend is married. Diane prefers to believe her doctor-boyfriend is divorced, but her father says he knows the doctor is a married man. She says her boyfriend kept the house after his divorce and father Ben says a divorced man is lucky to keep his socks.
Diane tells Ben she is glad he moved in with her, "But I'm a big girl now." Ben's wife and Diane's mother had left him a note in his underwear drawer to tell him she left him for his partner. Now a single man, he finds he is much in demand. Eventually, Ben and Diane have words. She asks him, smiling, "Do I look like I'm angry?" He examines her teeth and says, "Some of my best work." Ben leaves Diane's home and Diane and her brother Walter are upset. All ends happily, especially for Ben for he has found out he was right.
Danny Thomas stars as the grandfather and Rori King as the granddaughter in ABC-TV's But I'm a Big Girl Now..