The Second Happiest Day

"**The Second Happiest Day**"
"The Second Happiest Day"
Playhouse 90 episode
	Tony Randall and Margaret O'Brien in The Second Happiest Day
Episode no.	Season 3 38;
Directed by	Ralph Nelson
Written by	Steven Gethers (adaptation), John Phillips (novel)
Original air date	June 25, 1959
Guest appearances
	Tony Randall as Gus Taylor; Margaret O'Brien as Lila Norris; Fay Wray as Tula Marsh;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Dark as the Nigh"	Next →; "Target for Three"

The Second Happiest Day was an American television play broadcast on June 25, 1959 as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90.

Plot

Gus Taylor, the editor of a fashion magazine rehearses his wedding to Lila Norris. Gus learns that his best friend George has shot himself and leaves the rehearsal. He recalls his college days with George after serving in the Korean War. By the time Gus arrives, George has died. He returns to his wedding ceremony.

Cast

The cast included the following:^[1]^[2]

Tony Randall as Gus Taylor
Margaret O'Brien as Lila Norris
Fay Wray as Tula Marsh
Jack Mullaney as Charles "Cuppy" Vale
Judith Anderson as Ava Norris
John Lupton as George Marsh III

Robert Cummings hosted the broadcast.

Production

The program was broadcast on June 25, 1959 as the final episode in the third season of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. Peter Kortner was the producer and Ralph Nelson the director. Steven Gethers wrote the teleplay based on the novel by John Phillips.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "Playhouse 90: The Second Happiet Day". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Playhouse 90, Season 3". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

[Paley-1] "Playhouse 90: The Second Happiet Day". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

[CTVA-2] "Playhouse 90, Season 3". The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved October 19, 2020.

[1]

[2]

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" "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