Give 'Em Hell, Harry!
Give 'Em Hell, Harry!, by Samuel Gallu, is a faithful and often humorous portrayal of President Harry S. Truman's life and presidency. It spans his childhood, his "political apprenticeship" as a judge in Jackson County, MO, his years in the US Senate and his momentous two terms as President. Actor James Whitmore originated the role in 1975. Clifton Truman Daniel took up the mantle in October of 2017, marking the first time in history a US president would be portrayed onstage by a direct descendant.
In October 2017, Mr. Daniel portrayed his grandfather in eight shows at Thalian Center for the Performing Arts, a historic antebellum theater in Wilmington, NC. Seven shows were produced in the Ruth and Bucky Stein Theatre. One (above) was produced on the main stage.
As an actor, Mr. Daniel has appeared in more than a dozen productions with Wilmington's Opera House Theatre Company, including Ensign Pulver in Mr. Roberts, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has also had supporting roles in two episodes of Matlock and played Roma Downey's husband in the never-aired pilot for Touched by an Angel.