Comic Danny Thomas Back in TV as Medic By Cecil Smith HOLLYWOOD - "AlJolson mice said to me: ‘I'd give a million dollars if somebody wanted me for a show or a movie ‘I said: ‘Mr Jolson with fl million you could produce your own show ’ He said: ‘You don't understand kid That would be me wanting me!’"— Danny Thomas Among the midseason replacements there's a new compdy called “The Practice" that makes its debut at 8 :30 Friday night on NBC In the spot behind "Sanford A Son" that has lately been occupied by "Chico and the Man" now shifted to Wednesday nights "THE PRACTICE” stars Danny Thomas as a white-haired crusty old doctor who spends his time alternately healing and yelling at his patients in his offices on the West Side of Manhattan He’s one of those doctors who still makes house calls — he'll even make a house call to see an old woman whose only problem is that her teeth are In a glass and her children are in California Thomas heads a superior cast that includes Dena Dietrich (Mother Nature) as his office nurse David Spielberg as his son a Park Avenue surgeon he accuses of being more interested in real estate than medicine and Shelley Fabares as his daughter-in-law If this has the sound of “Doc” revisited that's wrong The two comedies are poles apart "The Practice” created by a remarkable young writer named Steve Gordon attempts a trick that only playwrights of the caliber of O’Casey have managed successfully — it walks the tightrope between dark tragedy and boisterous slapstick comedy and is true to each DR JULES BEDFORD the shaggy old medicine man Danny Thomas plays is deadly serious about his work In the first show he is faced with the dreadful task of telling a chessplaying buddy (J Pat O’Malley) that he’s dying of a brain tumor Equally we see him in an almost Weber A Fields routine with a patient who has come to him to cure his cold "A brain tumor” said Danny Thomas “inoperable! — and yet they screamed with laughter We do this every week We’re doing one now in which I’ve got to treat a dope peddler a goniff who sells dope to kids — I want to see the - - -dead and I've got tosavehis life At the same time I'm trying to get rid of a clunk who wants me to cure his hiccups “I think this is a marvelous way to work — the depth of the drama makes the comedy more effective: Look at Chaplin! It's the way I work in nightclubs I will do three four minutes without a laugh building up to something — and when I get to that something they scream! Phil Foster used to say they were so relieved that I didn't mean it" ONE WONDERS at Danny Thomas back at this five-day-a-week grind worrying about Danny Thomas scripts and ratings and network vacillation Not only did his 11-year run in "Make Room for Daddy” make him a TV legend but he had an absolute golden touch with his other productions: "The Real McCoys" "Andy Griffith" "Gomer Pyle" "Dick Van Dyke" "Mod Squad" He’s taken lumps on some shows including his return to TV five years ago in “Make Room for Granddaddy” but his hits far outweigh his flops — he invested (9200 in Walter Brennan's “McCoys” for instance and got 25 per cent of a gold mine Thomas insists the last thing he wanted was to do another TV series— "farthest thing from my mind” He says he's worked harder in the last five years than he's ever worked particularly his work for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital which he founded in Memphis Commercials for coffee and lately coffee-makers “give me a little TV exposure so people won’t forget me" They also provide lots of money which all goes to St Jude's — "You know how many parties and banquets and benefits I’d need to get that kind of money for the hospital” THEN WHY IS HE here on this barren soundstage at MGM? “The script” he said "This Steve Gordon wrote it as a treatment and it was submitted to my company to produce Had nothing todo with me But my head man Paul Witt and my son Tony Thomas sent it to me to read They said they had a script deal with NBC and they wanted my advice I said it’s really something — if I wanted to do a series this is what I would do And I went off to do benefits for St Jude “When I got back the first script was finished I read it and drooled It was the old firehor- se I wanted to do It I told the boys Thls is it' They told NBC and came bock to me Tony said 'If I tell you something promise you won't get mad' I said 'I won't get mad’ They said ‘Honor bright?’ I said "Honor bright I won’t get mad’ He said ‘Dad they can't see you In it"’ “I was really hurt” said Thomas “I was crushed But they couldn't see me As a producer I couldn’t see anybody else ”1 WAS LIKE A KID I got In front of the mirror whitened and mussed my hair put on a false mustache I practiced walking and talking like this old doctor All alone just for me I was panicky All I could think was they don't want you any more "Then my boy Tony came over his face down to here He said 'Dad they want you to test for the part I told ’em it's an In-suit for a performer of your stature They were adamant! I said ‘So I'll test!’ Mario- my daughter arranged everything I sneaked into New York rehearsed in my hotel room made the test And here I am" It's hard from looking at that first episode to think of anyone but Danny Thomas as Dr Bedford With that perpetual glower that Lebanese scimitar of a nose above a scraggly mustache the fury In those black eyes he is quite literally the angry doctor Gordon created His scenes with his son and his monumental disdain of the son’s posh society practice are classic But no leu so are the comedic routines with patients he dismisses as not really sick the ones he kicks out of his office " While Danny Williams the entertainer he played on “Make Room for Daddy” was essentially Danny Thomas there’s no such identification here Only one note has marred the project The day production started Danny Thomas took Tony Thomas uide and Mid “I'm not really sure I want to work this hard” (C) Los Angeles Times MOUNT LEBANON DANCING SCHOOL FatMtsAmiibL authentic danertnd taadm from Litanon will bihmin person at ttw Virginia Ini Pionsw Room 5700 ChomborlaynoRoad on Saturday January 4 24 and Sunday January 25 from 2:00-6:00 pm Cbmi will begin Monday February 2 at 7:00 pm Fotfwlen ia looking forward ts asso fog yes end shew-fog you Ike tree art oi betiy don-ting Everyone b welcome Age is '.