| Clifford Goldsmith | |
| Birth Date: | March 29, 1899 |
| Birth Place: | East Aurora, New York |
| Death Date: | July 11, 1971, age 72 |
| Death Place: | Tucson, Arizona |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Alma Mater: | University of Pennsylvania American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Spouse: | Margaret Towell (1921 – ?) Kathryn Allen (1933 – 1971, his death) |
| Children: | 1 daughter 4 sons |
| Parents: | Charles Goldsmith and Edith Henshaw Goldsmith |
Clifford Goldsmith (March 29, 1899 – July 11, 1971) was an American writer, best known for his play What a Life, from which The Aldrich Family radio and television series and the Henry Aldrich film series were derived.[1] In 1943, Time magazine reported that Goldsmith earned "radio's fattest writing fee ($3,000 for one show a week)."[2]
Goldsmith was born in East Aurora, New York,[1] the son of Charles Goldsmith and Edith Henshaw Goldsmith.[3] His father was the local high school's principal.[4] Goldsmith's mother died in 1907; he and his half-sister were orphaned when their father died in 1909. They spent much time thereafter with an aunt in Centerville, New York, where he spent most of his childhood.[3]
He attended Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, and the University of Pennsylvania. After one year at the latter, he went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[1] For eight years, Goldsmith taught high school students about health topics during the day and wrote plays during the evening.[4]
In the early 1920s, Goldsmith tried acting, with bit parts in stage productions, including Chautauquas,[5] in New York. In 1922, he began working with publicity for the National Dairy Council, a job that he kept until 1938.[6]
In 1943, Time called Henry Aldrich "U.S. radio's favorite juvenile")[2] Decades later, Encyclopedia.com described him as "The quintessential teenager of the 1940s."[7]
Aldrich first was seen in 1938 as the main character of Goldsmith's Broadway play What A Life.[1] The play opened at the Biltmore Theatre[8] on April 13, 1938.[9] It ran for 538 performances[10] and was adapted into a film (also called What a Life) that was released in 1939.
A radio adaptation, The Aldrich Family, was broadcast from 1939 to 1953.[11] Goldsmith was the show's sole writer for approximately seven years; thereafter, he supervised the work of other writers.[12] A television adaptation, also titled The Aldrich Family, was broadcast from 1949 to 1953.[13] Goldsmith was that program's sole writer for its first year, and after that he collaborated with other writers.[12]
Goldsmith based his writings on what he observed in the lives of Peter and Thayer White, his wife's sons from a previous marriage.[5]
Programs for which Goldsmith "consulted or collaborated in the writing" included The Flying Nun, Leave it to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, Petticoat Junction, and Dennis the Menace.[3]
On July 2, 1921, Goldsmith married Margaret Towell in New York City.[3] In 1933, he married Kathryn Allen.[5] They had been married 38 years at the time of his death.[1]