Father was wonderful...and he was portrayed so well in the original movie. Have you read the sequel to the first book?
Two things:
1-You make me have to check out the original movie.
2-Goodness, Cheaper by the Dozen had a sequel? Well I gotta check it out!
Father was Clifton Webb.
And he played Gilbreath, a man obsessed with time efficiency. An industrial engineer, I believe.
His wife became a Time "Man of the Year" for taking over her dead husband's work.