Ask Father

Ask Father is a short, 13-minute, slapstick-style comedy made by Harold Lloyd in 1919 before he got into his classic full-length feature films. Aside from Lloyd, it features Bebe Daniels, a charming and spunky actress who appeared in dozens of films in the 1910s.

Plot

Lloyd is a serious young middle-class guy on the make, who wants to marry the boss’ daughter. The problem is getting in to see the boss so that he can ask for her hand in marriage; the office is guarded by a bunch of comic, clumsy flunkies who throw everyone out who tries to get in. When Lloyd gets into the boss’ office, the latter uses trap doors and conveyor belts to expel him; Lloyd then goes to the costume company next door, tries to get in wearing drag (no success), and then in medieval armor – that works, since he bangs everyone over the head with his club, but then he finds out that the daughter has eloped with another suitor. Lloyd decides to be sensible and he settles for the cute switchboard operator (Daniels) instead. The film includes a brief wall climbing sequence. Light-hearted, short, fast-paced.

Father

A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father has a parental social and legal relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations, although this varies between jurisdictions. An adoptive father is a male who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A biological father is the male genetic contributor to the creation of the baby, through sexual intercourse or sperm donation. A biological father may have legal obligations to a child not raised by him, such as an obligation of monetary support. A putative father is a man whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepfather is a male who is the husband of a child's mother and they may form a family unit, but who generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.

The adjective "paternal" refers to a father and comparatively to "maternal" for a mother. The verb "to father" means to procreate or to sire a child from which also derives the noun "fathering". Biological fathers determine the sex of their child through a sperm cell which either contains an X chromosome (female), or Y chromosome (male). Related terms of endearment are dad (dada, daddy), papa/pappa, papasita, (pa, pap) and pop. A male role-model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as a father-figure.

Father's Day

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June, though it is also celebrated widely on other days by many other countries.

International history and traditions

Father's Day was inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fathers and male parenting.

First observance

Grace Golden Clayton may have been inspired by Anna Jarvis' work to establish Mother's Day; two months prior, Jarvis had held a celebration for her dead mother in Grafton, West Virginia, a town about 15 miles (24 km) away from Fairmont.

After the success obtained by Anna Jarvis with the promotion of Mother's Day in Grafton, West Virginia, the first observance of a "Father's Day" was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia, in the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church. Grace Golden Clayton was mourning the loss of her father when, on December 1907, the Monongah Mining Disaster in nearby Monongah killed 361 men, 250 of them fathers, leaving around a thousand fatherless children. Clayton suggested her pastor Robert Thomas Webb to honor all those fathers.