theme: FATHER FIGURES - each theme entry is an actor in a film with "Father" in its title. timely theme, with father's day just around the corner. couldn't have been easy to fit all these full names in one grid.
18a. "Father of the Bride" co-star : STEVE MARTIN. recently became a father, at 67.
26a. "Father Dowling Mysteries" star : TOM BOSLEY
34a. "Father Knows Best" star : ROBERT YOUNG
41a. "Father Goose" co-star : CARY GRANT
55a. "Father Murphy" star : MERLIN OLSEN
and a beautifully placed vertical crossing the center theme answer:
24d. Father's Day "award" : BEST DAD
melissa here. don't know if jack is a dad or not, but he deserves a relaxing day off for this one. (From C.C.: Jack is a 83-year-old grandpa.)
across
1. Bank offerings, briefly : CD'S. certificates of deposit.
4. Emmy winner Edie : FALCO
9. Stockholm native : SWEDE
14. Pewter with 80% tin : LEY. did not know that. wikipedia says it was used for items that did not come into contact with food or drink.
15. First husband of Bathsheba : URIAH
16. Hermit : LONER
17. Ques. response : ANS
20. Star on the stand : WITNESS. courtroom.
22. Mean : NOT NICE
23. It's uncertain when it's gray : AREA. nice clue.
24. Rite performed by a mohel : BRIS
25. USSR successor : CIS. commonwealth of independent states.
30. Force : DINT. not a word you hear often.
31. Cardinal and carmine : REDS. pretty.
32. "In that case, scram!" : THEN GO
37. Belief in one god : THEISM
39. Put in stitches : DARN. nice.
40. Disapproving sound : HISS. as in boo, hiss!
46. Freud's "The __ and the Id" : EGO
47. Cattle unit : HEAD
49. Out of the wind : ALEE
50. Brouhaha : RHUBARB. i didn't know these were synonyms, must start using this word.
52. One settling a score : AVENGER
57. Keats opus : ODE
58. First name in wieners : OSCAR. anthony wouldn't fit.
59. Carried : TOTED
60. Legal thing : RES. another obscure one for me. "An object, a subject matter, or a status against which legal proceedings have been instituted."
61. Marks on a manuscript : STETS
62. Reaches great heights : SOARS. like this.
63. LeShan who wrote "It's Better to Be Over the Hill Than Under It" : EDA
down
1. Use for scratching : CLAW AT
2. "GoodFellas" actor : DE NIRO
3. One may be used to pick Powerball numbers : SYSTEM. not my favorite clue.
4. Oft-blown circuit component : FUSE
5. Crafts partner : ARTS
6. Alibis, sometimes : LIES
7. Cleveland NBAer : CAValier.
8. Storywriter known for twists : O HENRY
9. Mattress supports : SLATS
10. Tattered : WORN
11. Like a Greek siren : ENTICING
12. Cold weather wing maintenance : DE-ICING. dig the rhyming.
13. Che, at birth : ERNESTO. guevara.
19. "Who, me?" : MOI
21. Arrest : NAB
27. Globes : ORBS
28. Appear : SEEM
29. Pres. or CEO : LDR. leader.
30. __ of iniquity : DEN
32. British Conservative's ancestor : TORY. political faction.
33. Unable to reach a verdict : HUNG
34. Natural or renewable supply : RESOURCE
35. Grafton's "__ for Outlaw" : O IS
36. Pirate's cry : YAR
37. Insulated container : THERMOS
38. Like Mount Everest : HIGHEST
41. Explorers John and Sebastian : CABOTS
42. Sought a seat : RAN. tricky.
43. Dan Quayle's successor : AL GORE
44. Had to have : NEEDED
45. Saintly Mother : TERESA
47. What hagglers split : HAIRS
48. Sea eagle : ERN
51. Sheep's sound : BLAT
52. Hammett hound : ASTA. dashiell hammet, author of the thin man series.
53. Swerve : VEER
54. Extremes : ENDS