CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

The Second Happiest Day

episode of the third season of Playhouse 90

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ104864859 ↗
Source-derived summary

"The Second Happiest Day" is 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

Bob Cummings hosted the broadcast. The cast includes the following.

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.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The Second Happiest Day” as episode of the third season of Playhouse 90. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Second, Happiest and episode.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1959—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Second, Happiest and episode providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Second Happiest Day”, the useful work is to connect “episode of the third season of Playhouse 90” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q104864859. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1959.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Second Happiest Day”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Second Happiest Day primary sources, The Second Happiest Day archive and Second research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Second Happiest Day”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Second Happiest Day” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.