Who was the male lead actor in the original Cheaper By The Dozen movie?
—Leland D., South Dakota
Clifton Webb played the head of the Gilbreth clan in that 1950 comedy, based on the real-life story of Frank Gilbreth Sr., a no-nonsense “efficiency expert,” who with his wife (played by Myrna Loy) had 12 children, a fact that dictated mathematical conduct of their lives. The film, set in the 1920s and based on a book by two of the children, was a huge commercial success. It spawned a 1952 sequel, Belles on Their Toes, that did not include Webb, as well as a 2003 remake starring Steve Martin. Webb died of a heart attack in 1966 at age 76.
