"The Family Nobody Wanted"

Playhouse 90 episode

Nanette Fabray, Lew Ayres, and Tim Hovey

Episode no.

Season 1
Episode 12

Directed by

John Frankenheimer

Written by

George Bruce (teleplay), Helen Doss (memoir)

Original air date

December 20, 1956

Guest appearances

Nanette Fabray as Helen Doss
Lew Ayres as Carl Doss
Tim Hovey as Donny

Episode chronology

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"Sincerely, Willis Wayde"

Next →
"Massacre at Sand Creek"

"The Family Nobody Wanted" was an American television play broadcast on December 20, 1956, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the 12th episode of the first season of Playhouse 90.

Plot

The teleplay is based on a true story about a divinity student, Carl Doss, and his wife, Helen Doss, of Redlands, California, who adopt 12 children of various ancestries.^[1]^[2]

Cast

Nanette Fabray as Helen Doss
Lew Ayres as Carl Doss
Tim Hovey as Donny
Cherylene Lee as Asian Child
Dick Kay Hong as Timmy, Adopted Kid

Dale Evans hosted the broadcast.

Production

Martin Manulis was the producer and John Frankenheimer the director. George Bruce wrote the teleplay based on the memoir, The Family Nobody Wanted, by Helen Doss.

Reception

J. P. Shanley of The New York Times credited the "excellent performances" of Fabray and Ayres and called it "charming entertainment."^[3]

References

^ Steven H. Scheuer (December 20, 1956). "No Proof Of Acting Is Needed". Bergen Evening Record. p. 34.
^ "Lew Ayres, Nannette Fabray Portray Parents in "Family Nobody Wanted"". Seymour Daily Tribune. December 15, 1956. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "TV Shows In Review". The Herald-News. December 21, 1956. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.

Works directed by John Frankenheimer

Feature films

The Young Stranger (1957)
The Young Savages (1961)
All Fall Down (1962)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Seven Days in May (1964)
The Train (1964)
Seconds (1966)
Grand Prix (1966)
The Fixer (1968)
The Extraordinary Seaman (1969)
The Gypsy Moths (1969)
I Walk the Line (1970)
The Horsemen (1971)
The Iceman Cometh (1973)
Impossible Object (1973)
99 and 44/100% Dead (1974)
French Connection II (1975)
Black Sunday (1977)
Prophecy (1979)
The Challenge (1982)
The Holcroft Covenant (1985)
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Dead Bang (1989)
The Fourth War (1990)
Year of the Gun (1991)
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Ronin (1998)
Reindeer Games (2000)

Television

v t e Playhouse 90
People	John Frankenheimer Martin Manulis Franklin J. Schaffner Rod Serling
Season 1	"Forbidden Area" "Requiem for a Heavyweight" "Sizeman and Son" "Rendezvous in Black" "The Country Husband" "The Big Slide" "Heritage of Anger" "Eloise" "Confession" "Made in Heaven" "Sincerely, Willis Wade" "The Family Nobody Wanted" "Massacre at Sand Creek" "Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses" "The Ninth Day" "So Soon To Die" "The Star Wagon" "So Soon To Die" "The Greer Case" "The Miracle Worker" "The Comedian" "The Coat of White" "The Blackwell Story" "Invitation to a Gunfighter" "The Last Tycoon" "The Hostess with the Mostes'" "Charley's Aunt" "Clipper Ship" "If You Know Elizabeth" "Three Men on a Horse" "Four Women in Black" "Child of Trouble" "Homeward Borne" "Helen Morgan" "Winter Dreams" "Circle of the Day" "Without Incident" "Clash by Night" "Ain't No Time for Glory" "The Fabulous Irishman"
Season 2	"The Death of Manolete" "The Dark Side of the Earth" "Topaze" "A Sound of Different Drummers" "The Playroom" "Around the World in 90 Minutes" "The Mystery of Thirteen" "The Edge of Innocence" "The Clouded Image" "The Jet Propelled Couch" "The Troublemakers" "Panic Button" "Galvanized Yankee" "The Thundering Wave" "For I Have Loved Strangers" "The Lone Woman" "Reunion" "The Last Man" "The 80 Yard Run" "Before I Die" "The Gentleman From Seventh Avenue" "The Violent Heart" "No Time at All" "Point of No Return" "Portrait of a Murderer" "The Last Clear Chance" "The Male Animal" "The Right Hand Man" "Turn Left at Mount Everest" "The Dungeon" "Verdict of Three" "Rumors of Evening" "Not the Glory" "Nightmare at Ground Zero" "Bomber's Moon" "Natchez" "The Innocent Sleep" "A Town Has Turned to Dust" "The Great Gatsby" "A Bitter Heritage"
Season 3	"The Plot To Kill Stalin" "Days of Wine and Roses" "The Time of Your Life" "The Long March" "Shadows Tremble" "Word From a Sealed-Off Box" "Heart of Darkness" "Old Man" "The Return of Ansel Gibbs" "Free Weekend" "Seven Against the Wall" "The Nutcracker" "Face of a Hero" "The Wings of the Dove" "The Blue Men" "The Velvet Alley" "A Quiet Game of Cards" "Child of Our Time" "The Second Man" "The Raider" "The Dingaling Girl" "Made in Japan" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "A Trip To Paradise" "In Lonely Expectation" "The Day Before Atlanta" "Judgment at Nuremberg" "A Corner of the Garden" "Dark December" "Diary of a Nurse" "A Marriage of Strangers" "Out of Dust" "The Rank and File" "The Killers of Mussolini" "Project Immortality" "Dark as the Night" "The Second Happiest Day"
Season 4	"Target for Three" "The Sounds of Eden" "Misalliance" "The Hidden Image" "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" "The Tunnel" "The Silver Whistle" "A Dream of Treason" "To the Sound of Trumpets" "The Cruel Day" "Tomorrow" "The Hiding Place" "Alas, Babylon" "Journey to the Day" "The Shape of the River" "In the Presence of Mine Enemies"
Revivals	CBS Playhouse CBS Playhouse 90