Life with Father is the title of a humorous autobiographical book of stories written in 1936 by Clarence Day Jr., which was adapted into a 1939 Broadway play by Lindsay and Crouse, which was, in turn, made into a 1947 movie and a television series.
The 1939 Broadway play ran for over seven years to become the longest-running non-musical play on Broadway, a record that it still holds. It opened at the Empire Theatre on November 8, 1939.
Clarence Day wrote humorously about his family and life. The stories of his father, Clarence "Clare" Day senior portray a rambunctious, overburdened Wall Street broker. The more he rails against his staff, his cook, his wife, his horse, salesmen, holidays, his children and the inability of the world to live up to his impossible standards, the more comical and lovable he becomes to his own family who love him despite it all. First published in 1936, Day's book is a picture of New York upper middle class family life in the 1890s. The stories are filled with affectionate irony. Day's understated, matter-of-fact style underlines the comedy in everyday situations.
