At a glance
www.alleganycountynylocalhistory.com). The article is titled “The Allegany County Roots of Clifford Goldsmith.”
www.alleganycountynylocalhistory.com). The article is titled “The Allegany County Roots of Clifford Goldsmith.”
The author notes that Goldsmith (1899-1971), playwright and script writer, created and wrote the radio comedy program titled The Aldrich Family. This program, which was also adapted for 11 successful films, ran on radio from 1939 until 1953. Later in his career, Goldsmith wrote scripts for television shows such as The Flying Nun, Leave it to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, The Patty Duke Show, and Dennis the Menace.
In the article, Kellogg discusses how Goldsmith, a native of East Aurora, was orphaned at age 10 and subsequently spent his teenage years living in Rushford with an aunt and uncle. He presents evidence that the character Henry Aldrich is the alter-ego of his creator and that many episodes of The Aldrich Family are based upon Goldsmith’s own experiences as a youth growing up in Allegany County. Goldsmith specialized in writing about the problems and crises frequently associated with the adolescent stage of human development.
Kellogg joined the Alfred State faculty in 1970 after completing graduate studies at Alfred University and the University of Rochester. He is the author of three books about legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and a frequent contributor to professional journals in education and psychology.