Father Knows Best was pictured as the perfect family during its run of 203 episodes from 1954 to 1963 on CBS and NBC. The show also ran during the days of old time radio with only an entirely different cast except for Young who also portrayed the father in the radio version.
Robert Young portrayed the father Jim Anderson while Jane Wyatt was his wife Margaret Anderson in the series. The children were played by Elinor Donahue who was Betty, Billy Gray played the role of Bud and Lauren Chapin portrayed Kathy.
They may have been close to perfect as a television family but there were some problems in real life for Young, Gray and Chapin.
Robert Young
Robert Young suffered from alchoholism and depression off screen and attempted suicide in 1991 before dying of respiratory failure in 1998 at the age of 91.
Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt had a long and relatively healthy life and was married to investment banker Edgar Bethune Ward for 65 years before his death in 2000. She died of natural causes in 2006 at the age of 96.
Elinor Donahue
Elinor Donahue was married to producer Harry Ackerman for 30 years. Ackerman produced Leave it to Beaver, Gidget, Donna Reed Show and Bewitched. She is currently married to contractor Louis Genevrino and has been married to him for 17 years. She is presently 72 years old.
She appeared in many television roles since leaving Father Knows Best including 12 appearances on the Andy Griffith Show as pharmacist Ellie Walker and played Nurse Hunnicut on Days of Our Lives for three years.
Billy Gray
Billy Gray would encounter some problems with the law after leaving the show and was arrested for possession of marijuana and served time in jail for the offense. Even though he had no criminal record before or after his arrest he couldn’t land acting jobs for a few years once the word was out about his criminal past.
Gray had this to say about Father Knows Best:
"I think we were all well motivated, but what we did was run a hoax. Father Knows Best purported to be a reasonable facsimile of life. And the bad thing is that the model is so deceitful. ... If I could say anything to make up for all the years I lent myself to that kind of (bad language omitted), it would be: You know best."
He makes his living today as an inventor and is co-owner of BigRock Engineering. He will be 72 on January 13th.
Lauren Chapin
Lauren Chapin who is now 64 experienced many problems after leaving the show and this article details how her life unraveled after her time on Father Knows Best:
The following website has many pages of information at the site and each next menu at the bottom of each page takes the reader to more pages of information about Father Knows Best.
http://www.fatherknowsbest.us/FKB/index.html
Nostalgia and Now 
I think Billy Gray needs to give TV audiences credit. There are so many shows on TV that would never ever happen in real life! The Partridge Family! The Flying Nun! The Brady Bunch! The Lucy Show! The Patty Duke Show! The Andy Griffith Show! The Beverly Hillbillies! The Donna Reed Show! And yes, Father Knows Best!!!!! All of these shows are far-fetched but they are all entertaining and they make us feel good….well they’re entertaining to me a they put a smile on my face:-) I can’t understand why Bill Gray feels the way he does about a harmless, situation comedy. I would embrace it and be proud of the work I did. That said and not ever being in a hit TV show, I guess there are many stresses and disappointments that the public doesn’t see. I guess Billy knows best but I’ll always be a fan of this charming series. Good luck to the surviving cast members.
I agree with Frank that Billy Gray who is now 74 years old, should appreciate being part of Father Knows Best. He couldn’t have disliked the show too much, since he appeared in the 1977 TV movie, Father Knows Best: Home For Christmas. He also appeared in Father Knows Best Reunion TV movie earlier that year.
Those reunion shows were the first time he had appeared on TV or movies since 1971 when he appeared in Werewolves On Wheels, so seems like he should appreciate being on the reunion shows after six years with no work.
He has made only three appearances in the last 35 years, with his last movie The Vampyre Wars being released in 1996, so hasn’t been seen on TV or on movie screen for the last 16 years.
Billy Gray should be thankful that he is part of the legacy that Father Knows Best left behind. It is sad that Father Knows Best has more or less disappeared from the television screens of America, since I can’t recall it being shown in many, many years.
Father Knows Best is shown today on CH. 717, Antenna TV here in Minden, LA. I never did like Laura Chapin’s roles on that show; they made her out to be too much of a baby, even at her age.
We live in DeRidder, Louisiana, but can’t pick up Antenna TV. The only time I have seen Antenna TV is when I was in VA Hospital in Houston and got to see Father Knows Best. Really enjoyed it since it took my mind off my cancer surgery to remove a tumor.
Am looking around for sources for old tyme TV. Might check out ShoutFactory TV. It appears to be a free streaming service that specializes in old programming. Here is a link to their selection of FKB episodes – http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/videos?utf8=✓&commit=submit&q=father+knows+best
Happy hunting.
Billy said Father Knows Best was not real, what about his warewolf and vampyre movies?
I think the Anderson family was a typical family back then. I have yet to meet a real vampire or werewolf, so Billy can’t hardly call them real.
Billy never had a career after FKB because he would always be Bud. Many child actors have the same problem. Like Chip, Earnie and Robbie Douglas. He just made bad decisions with his life. I mean Opie Taylor is doing all right these days. Also Ron Howard’s daughter is a good actress too. She was the only good thing in Jurassic Would to be sure.
Billy Gray had acted in television and movies for 11 years, before appearing on Father Knows Best. He was 5 years old when he first appeared on screen. His last television appearance was 38 years ago, when he appeared in the Father Knows Best Christmas television program, then appeared in 3 movies and was last seen on screen in the movie The Vampyre Wars in 1996, so hasn’t acted for 19 years now.
Gray is now 77 years old.
After listening to Billy gray and watching the show since it started in 1957 I can see what he was talking about. All the plots involved a father who butt in to situations too much and made suggestions that were in some cases, the wrong ones. The older daughter acted too bitchy at times, but could be consoling at others. Bud had roles that were really, really dumb a times, like when father gave him a $10.00 allowance and he wound up buying garbage likt a paper hat and cane that even then would be laughable. The best one of the family for acting was Kathy I think. Maybe because she was the youngest, i don’t know. Too young to have much happen I guess. But it’s still a campy show and I still with it. Maybe just to be a credick.
Please excuse the printing. My tablet likes to edit my wording without telling me.
No problem….I was never good at texting on tablets.
It was still one of my favorite shows, when I was growing up.
I am absolutely convinced that Betty Anderson was the inspiration for Mary on Downton Abby! Think about it.
I would like to be able to watch a full episode of Father Knows Best movie. Like their Christmas movie or their reunion movie as adults. I’d really appreciate it if anyone could post them online. Or if anyone could get in touch with THIS movie channel or MOVIES channel. I do not have cable & live in Minneapolis MN. So it would be THIS 5.6 or MOVIES 9.3.
if you get an antenna father knows best comes on all the time on 17-2 from 8 to 9 Monday through Friday along with all the other old shows Archie Bunker, The Jeffersons, all in the family etc 50’s to 80’s channel LOVE THIS STATION makes me not mind not having cable!
What you have is better than cable…thanks for sharing the information.
Billy Gray im 54 now and grew up in the 60s. Father Knows best is loved in mine and my partner of 30s years home. It may not be accurate , But the flying nun wasnt real i enjoyed it… Lucy ricardo could have never lifted john waynes foot prints… You got to take people away from the worrys of the 50s. When bud would leap thru the kitchen door or kathy took skates or betty trying to land a man it took us away to a time and a place we like to be every now and then. I was chatting with my mom and she has nothing but great things about the show that urs and I love lucy were the times the family sat in front of the TV togather……. Billy no show could do that today. Be proud you were on a hit show the work you did was good simple memorable. Thank you for being Bud Anderson……Oh im friends with Lynda Carter of Wonder woman fame…… I know shes not really wonder woman HAHAHAHA
Thanks, Jim for recapping the way it was back in the 60’s.
I love the reruns of father knows best. Would like to se reruns of eving shade with burt Reynolds m
I agree!!! Father knows best and all these other shows are so much better than trash tv of today. I’m grateful I get to see these shows from the 50’s and 60’s. They make you smile and feel nostalgic of how you wish life could be.
Father Knows Best is so much better for families to watch, than shows like Modern Family which is pure unadulterated trash.
I agree with the statement made above about giving the audience credit for intelligence. I did not watch those shows because they were reality, you see, my family was a strange reality. My mother was an undiagnosed mentally ill woman and my father moved us around alot to avoid the problems my mother caused. I watched those shows to escape reality for a brief time every night. I think what Billy Gray lived in his real life in Hollywood was also a strange reality and I would not blame him a bit if he enjoyed himself while working in that altered reality called acting. Atleast he should be proud of a series that brought pleasure to so many.
Jo, Thanks for your comment. I think those shows were showing what a real family acted like, since they solved whatever problem together. Like the time Bud had a date accidentally on his mom’s birthday. His mom told him to go ahead and go on the date instead of making him stay home because it was her birthday. Bud felt terrible, but his mom understood the situation and then his date winds up spending the night with his family after all.
I agree a thousand percent. I would go back in a second no mater how corny the shows were
john-d ….I agree….the show took us back in time, before cell phones, computers and big screen tv’s.
I would go back to the old days in a heartbeat. Loved being a kid in the ’50s and ’60s. I watch all the old shows like FKB all the time, as it takes me back to better times. In later episodes Billy Gray turned in some fine performances, like the one where Kathy made up stories about a boy she liked named George. Nothing compares today, sadly.
Susan, I agree shows today just don’t match up to the shows of the 50’s and 60’s. Father Knows Best was one of the best shows from back then. You could sit down and watch the shows back then, without worrying about what a character in today’s shows say or do.
These shows from the 50’s did make everyone feel good and I have the opportunity to watch it on a program called Antenna TV where you can watch all of them daily including Bachelor Father.
Wish they had that channel on DISH. I haven’t seen either show anywhere else in years, so you are fortunate to be able to still see them.
I had Dish and changed to Comcast (avail in my area). It has oldies on Antenna, Me-TV, and COZI. I found a bunch of eps of December Bride on YouTube. That one really goes back a ways! StarzEncore Westerns has Maverick, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke and others which are nice for a change. But I’ll take FKB, Donna Reed, Make Room for Daddy, or any of those type shows any day. Andrew, check out some other carriers in your location to see what their lineups are. Good luck!
Im going to comment on a couple of posts ive just read. First, im also privilaged enough to have Antenna Tv and I love this channel. This is a channel that everyone should be able to watch. Most of the hit shows from 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s that were good family shows are on here including Father Knows Best. As far as Billy Gray, this show probably has paid alot of his way thru the years from royalties. No one forced him to accept the part much less stay on every season. In reality, how many shows past and present arent an imaginary world we watch and wish we could have that kind of life but is only fantasy? Most are otherwise why would we just want to watch what we see in the real world day to day. So I think he is just a bitter person in general and thats the only thing hes known for so hes blaming the shows theme and his role. I bet he cashes that royalty check with a smile on his face. Just saying…
Terri, Thank you for your comments on Father Knows Best. Billy Gray was fortunate to have been in the show. The only time I had Antenna TV was when I was in VA Hospital in Houston for cancer surgery and enjoyed the Father Knows Best episodes, that I was able to watch there. Robert Young and Jane Wyatt were perfect as the parents in the show. Thanks again for posting your comment and letting readers know about Antenna TV.
Exactly.
Your right. I love these stations, but the only draw back is the really dump sponsers they have. Eve one seems to be about some lawyer trying to rip off the public for some stupid disease or bad medical devise that’s not working right. And you know who’s going to benefit from this rip off. Right! The lawyers! Thank God for the mute button.
Yeh, yeh,yeh . . . ! It’s unfortunate that so many people beleive actors from the sitcom years of the 1950’s and 1960’s receive royalties, or residuals from those shows. Truth is, many have not seen anything in years! During the early years, the networks — ABC, CBS, NBC — would broadcast new episodes during the fall and winter season and repeat them during the summer. There was very little room on the schedule for additional repeats. Because ‘UHF,’ cable and satalite television was never anticipated, residual payments were generally limited to about six broadcasts. Syndication in those years was virtually unheard-of. This system would not change until the mid-1970’s. Today, it would be surprising if any actor receives anything from those early years!
You got that right….Doubt if any of the sitcom stars from back then got much in the way of residuals. Somebody might be getting rich, but it wasn’t the actors. Actors from shows that go into syndication today probably are well taken care of financially.
I watch every morning on Antenna TV, get my feel good cry in and I’m good for the day
Wish we had Antenna TV here, so we could enjoy watching Father Knows Best here.
Isn’t there a way to watch Antenna TV online? Maybe on YouTube? To this day, age 50+, it’s in my top 5 favorite shows of all time.
Arthur,
You stated that you don’t get Antenna TV. Do you currently get a cable lineup?
Have you tried to attach a digital antenna and auto scan to see how many stations you get?
You may be too far from a transmitter.
Marc
its to bad that certain people have to put down the life style of the 50s as if it was all b.s. we would all be a lot better off today if we still lived like those days! look what we have today- a tremendous gang problems drug problems and lack of morals! Just remember our maker is waiting for us when we go to the next life!
Don, My best memories of are of the 50’s. I was 9 years old before we even bought a TV about 1954. Love shows like Andy Griffith, Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best. I even have some of the old time radio shows of Father Knows Best, when only Robert Young of the TV version was in the radio version.
Those wonderful people who were the adults during those “golden years” of the 50’s were the parents of those who got into drugs in the 60s and 70s, my friend Don. They were the ones who taught them their morals! There was a lot of cr*p going on behind closed doors in the 50’s as I remember: child abuse and alcoholism were rampant. So please, stop with this “Greatest Generation” stuff and how great the 50s were. I lived in the 50s too.
I grew up in the 50’s and don’t recall “rampant” child abuse and alcoholism. I guess perhaps it depended on where you grew up, although I was in Los Angeles. Also, my dad WAS “father knows best”; what he said went, and we weren’t oppressed or anything. I think the father in the show is actually very diplomatic. I am grateful for growing up in the 50’s.
Laura, I grew up in the 50’s too. Was 6 in 1950 and was glad to have grown up in the 50’s.
Yes, I think for some reason you are bitter. I grew up in the 50’s and my father was a “Jim Anderson”!!! I had a wonderful childhood and it was real!!! Just like “Father Knows Best”. I enjoy that show and others just like it. It makes me feel good and brings good memories!!!
Wendy, I agree that Father Knows Best best exemplified what life was like for us growing up. Just wish we could see the show today, since it is not on DirectTV.
There are bad people and events in every generation, but I never had to experience much of it going up. It’s just in those days it didn’t show up on the front page or the eleven o’clock news. We had good gernalist then and not ambulance chasers trying to make a buck off of the ignorant. I would gladly go back to those great old days even with all the problems.
I lived through the same decades and I would go back in a split second. Drugs and alcohol were a individual decision and I saw none of it where I lived. It seems like the freaks who were around in the late 60’s and 70’s had or are having the brain damaged kids we are stuck with today. And it all started with that first puff of pot. And it keeps going from their. Are you listening Colorado?
Pretty bitter there John. I could sing the entire thyme to Davy Crockett when I was only 3 and wore my coonskin hat proudly. I also watched my dad die of untreatable cancer right in front of my eyes too. The 50s were a great time in this country. Don’t judge an entire generation by some unhappy memories.
HI John, I think when someone on this forum is referring to the 50’s being wonderful I think it is in reference to the TELEVISION SHOWS. NOT THEIR OWN PERSONAL LIFE. Someone on this forum did mention that her mother had a Mental Issue which kept her family moving around. Those shows only depict what people wished for and wanted. Not what literally was. And for the record, my parents were not on drugs or abusive. I never tried drugs. I was and still am to afraid of them. But you must admit that in spite of this depiction of how people wish life was for them, though they were just Television Shows, they are still better than anything that comes on today.
Earline, Thank you for the additional info on Father Knows Best. I did not realize that Billy Gray was one of the Kettle children. Elinor Donahue was on the Andy Griffith show for a few episodes, but the episodes she was in were some of the best ones.
Right to not buy from a thief. Thieves also produce inferior copies for the most part.
Father Knows Best had new shows from 1954-1960, then was shown in reruns. I remember listening to the earlier shows, that were on radio only with Robert Young being the only actor from TV series on the radio version.
I guess some of these comments got passed me. I’m responding to a comment from May 11, 2013. Every decade that came and went had it’s issues. But this forum is not for discussing those issues. Besides, when I mentioned something I didn’t like I was censored. The point is Forums like these are really for discussing old shows, the characters, how the shows should of ended, etc. Not discussing hard core realities. No one on this forum is stupid. I’m sure that everyone know about what was going on. Not necessarily in their homes, but of course it happened. It happened before then. It happened then. It’s happened since. It’s happening now. And it’s going to happen in the future. Can’t we just stick to discussing television and stop trying to base television on reality. During World War ll, people went to the movies to try to get some escapism from what was going on. The only thing that those people wanted was to be safe and happy.L
Father Knows Best brought some happiness to all of us who watched it. Sadly, shows like that don’t exist today. Jim and Margaret Anderson were my idea of the perfect parents. Sadly Robert Young and Jane Wyatt are no longer with us, and we lost Ken Osmond, who played Eddie Haskell on Leave it to Beaver this morning in Los Angeles at the age of 76. I posted about it on my Facebook page.
I’m very fortunate to be able to watch Father Knows Best 7 days a week. We get it here in Mesz AZ on ANT Tv just love these old values TV shows
Marna, Thanks for the information about Father Knows Best being on Antenna TV in Arizona. Wish there was some way to get Antenna TV on cable and satellite networks, so more fans of classic television could watch Father Knows Best. There are almost no shows today on prime TV, that you can watch with your family, since the television producers today think you have to have sex, violence and vulgar language to entertain the viewers. That is what makes shows like Father Knows Best so special, since you could watch it with your family and not worry about the content, and know it would be a show, that entertained the viewers, without changing the moral values of the viewers.
Here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, there’s a Father Knows Best marathon on Father’s Day, and maybe everywhere else, too.
Carl, Thanks for telling about the Father’s Day marathon of Father Knows Best shows.
Dressel Don, so true, so true😉😉
Reblogged this on Nostalgia and Now and commented:
Am reblogging this article from Dec. 2009 for Father Knows Best fans.
I want to say something about these programs. First the television networks developed these programs to be entertaining, an escape from the drudgery of life. In spite of what you see on these shows, life during these decades was not all peaches and cream. Reality TV was a long way in the future. This was escapist TV at its best. Just enough of what life was like so people could identify with the characters, but all the rest of it is prettied up to show a life everyone would love to live. The need for escaping reality was so great that these shows were immediately addictive. Which is what the advertisers were striving for. None of these shows were designed to rub our faces into real life, like many programs today.
I saw a comment about weed being the cause of why children are demonized today. Colorado and Marijuana had nothing to do with it. Remember reform schools? Work camps? Reefer madness? These problems were around in those years and institutions were in place to attempt to deal with them. This was also well before an age of enforced consumerism that required everyone to always have more more more and spend all they have in an economy that calls for just the opposite. The housing bubble crash is evidence of that. Back then it was feasible for a single income to support an entire household. One parent could stay home and manage the home and raise the kids in a family environment. Not today. With the advent of the temp agency and the death of full time employment, not only do both parents have to work, sometimes the kids have to chip in too. You don’t have the nuclear family of the past.
There is no longer the feel of home and security. No moral anchor in the house to guide the kids. What used to be called latch key kids is now the normal. Straight home and right to the computer, or the video game box. These devices have displaced family as the moral instructor of children. Children who in comparison, are far less moral than those of the past, but dont forget those reform schools. Bad kids were around even then too.
Today life is far grittier than when we were kids. Even when we turn to the television (or computer) for escape, we get a lot of that grittiness rubbed in our faces. It it any wonder that we are starved for these old addictive shows that even then presented a world that was far better than the one we lived in?
As for these digital stations that give us these wonderful doses of former happiness, perhaps people should write the companies involved and encourage them to make a streaming portal available, especially in areas that do not have good coverage in digital over-the-air service.
Hi Allen, Thank you for putting it so well how life has changed, since our youth and how television today is going in the wrong direction.
I don’t know how I missed Allan Wade’s comment from over two years ago. But I agree 100%. I like those old shows so much, I’ve even bought commercials from that time. I particularly enjoy Car Commercials, Cigarette Commercials and Coffee Commercials. However, I do not smoke. Television is never going to be the same again. We can just forget all about that. A few years ago I tried, unsuccessfully to introduce my young relatives to old shows and music. Only two of them were somewhat interested. I even wound up buying a “Deanna Durbin Movie” for one of my relatives, as a Birthday Present because she enjoyed mine. Recently she hinted at wanting an Elvis Presley Movie that I have. I guess the point to this is, if we can reach just one person, by introducing them to something decent, maybe the appeal of some of the junk that is put out today, as entertaining, will lose some of its grip.
I agree that if we can get someone to watch some of the older shows, then we have done our part, to promote the good wholesome family shows of yesteryear. I watched a Gomer Pyle show on You Tube, then a Life of Riley show, and it was like the old days watching good clean television shows.
I just saw an article, while looking for something else, about what caused the death of Actor Ken Osmond, three weeks ago, today. I know that you already said what caused his death from a different article. So to put it in layman’s terms, Ken Osmond had Lung and Heart Disease, which led to Lung and Heart Failure. Also, back to “Father Knows Best”: I was looking at “Peter Gunn” over the past weekend and Billy Gray Was on an episode titled: “The Semi-Private Eye”. Billy plays a bumbling Private Eye whose Father hires Peter Gunn to try to get his Son out of the business. The Police wants him out of the business too, because he is constantly underfoot. Billy’s character is played comically, whereas Craig Stevens plays “Peter Gunn” the way he always did. It’s a good and fun episode.
Sounds like Ken had a lot of health issues.
Hope to find the Peter Gunn episode with Billy Gray.
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Andrew, I don’t know if “ Peter Gunn” is on any of the stations that air the old shows. However, the episode: “The Semi-Private Eye” is on Season Two, Episode Number 34. It aired exactly one week after the last Episode of “Father Knows Best”, on May 23 1960. The last episode of “Father Knows Best”: Titled: “Not His Type”, Episode 31, aired on May 16, 1960. I have come across another episode, titled: “Betty’s Graduation” that is said to be episode 32. It aired on May 23, 1960, according to IMDb. I haven’t checked my Season 6 to see if that episode is on there. But it would be odd that “Not My Type” is listed as the last episode if there is one more.
Thanks for the episode # for Billy Gray I might have seen Peter Gunn on a list of shows on Amazon Prime Video
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Went to Amazon Prime Video and for some reason they were missing the Peter Gunn episode with Billy.
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Andrew, I think the only way you may see that episode is to either buy the season that it was in, or perhaps somebody might upload it to YouTube. It’s just a shame that only so many episodes are aired. I don’t know how many shows you may have seen in their entirety. But for some reason they show more of some than others. And it’s almost always the episodes that you’ve seen over and over. Collecting all of those old shows can cost a fortune. Not to mention the room you’ll need to store them. Thank goodness that “Peter Gunn” only has three seasons.
Earline, it was disappointing that the episode was missing. I did watch a Peter Gunn episode, and there are about 116 more episodes to watch. That was my first time to watch a Peter Gunn episode in 40 or 50 years.
I didnt have to pay extra to watch it. Noticed that a lot of old shows from our era cost extra to watch, and Amazon charges $2 or $3 to watch one episode, which is ridiculous.
Andrew, you can actually buy some of those episodes. You can pick and buy your favorite episodes. The thing with that is most of those earlier shows had well over 30 episodes per season. No one would buy a whole season by the episode at the cost of $2.00 – $3.00. I wouldn’t. I bought each season of “Peter Gunn” for about $20.00 each. I had not seen the episode “The Semi-Private Eye” before I bought season two. Years ago when “Peter Gunn” was first offered, it was in two volumes. I bought them. They were pricey. Unfortunately they got stolen. But together they didn’t equal a season anyway. Each season has 38 Episodes. Together the two volumes are only 32 episodes. What a waste. I did check on Amazon Prime Video. They are selling the episodes at .99 cents per episode. They are only offering two seasons, one and two, and each season is missing an episode. Isn’t that odd?!
May I simply just say what a comfort to find somebody who actually knows
what they’re discussing over the internet. You definitely know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people need to look at this and understand this side of the story. It’s surprising
you are not more popular given that you surely have the gift.
Don’t have a lot of followers, but over half a million visits have been made to the website.
Eddie Haskell was the perfect role model not some wimp called Bud
Today everybody is Eddie Haskell. Maybe your right but I doubt it. Eddie was a loser that was always scheming but it never got him anywhere in the end.
Ken Osmond’s acting career more or less ended after playing Eddie Haskell on Leave It To Beaver.
This is his own comment about the Eddie Haskell character:
It surprises me every day that this [Eddie Haskell] character is still so popular. I don’t completely understand it, but it’s nice.
Osmond would later be a policeman in Los Angeles – In 1970, Osmond joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and grew a mustache which helped to secure his anonymity.[2][7][8] He worked in vice and narcotics and as a motorcycle officer.[9][10] On September 20, 1980, Osmond was hit by three bullets while in a foot chase with a suspected car thief.[3][11][12] He was protected from two of the bullets by his bulletproof vest, with the third bullet ricocheting off of his belt buckle.[3][11][12][13] Osmond was placed on disability and eventually retired from the force in 1988.[12] The shooting was later dramatized in a November 1992 episode of the CBS series Top Cops.[14]
i love these old shows. would rather watch them and wish my grandchildren were growing up in families at least similar to the ones shown in the ’50’s sitcoms. Much prefer them to the crap kids watch today after school…smart aleck kids making scarcastic remarks to their parents and way too much sex. I guess i’m from the old school..
I am from old school too and love the old shows.
I agree with you, Cindy. It is outrageous what is shown on prime time television today! My six year old grand-daughter already turns her head when a couple starts kissing and grappling on a show……any show, it seems. I always thought I was open-minded and considered myself a free-spirited woman but I cringe at television today! I feel bad for the children of today because of the open sexuality and non-moralistic attitudes of the media! I am no longer a cable subscriber and have recently bought a stick for streaming shows and found Father Knows Best and other classics! I am so happy and have good memories of those times. Thank you.
It is at the point now, that you can’t leave kids watching television unattended, since the television producers today show what they think will sell, and don’t care about how it affects children or even grownups. Wish Netflix showed more of the old shows from the 50’s. At least they do show Leave It To Beaver, but they show very few other family shows from the 50’s and 60’s.
I agree, but many antenna stations are going back to the great shows of the 50’s and 60’s. I live in Pennsylvania and the stations around Phila that show them are channel 17-2, 10-2 and channel 3-2. I don’t even look up my TV guide anymore.
Antenna system are reviving a lot of our old shows and putting them back on the air. I was watching Make Room For Daddy on one of the antenna networks, and it brought back a lot of memories.
Dear Mr. Andrew G,
If you un-hook your dish and plug in a digital antenna, you too will get the channel Antenna t.v.! And it’s free! :^) Have fun watching all those great oldies!
We don’t have Antenna TV in our area, but we did move our outside antenna, to where we can get MeTV and it is loaded with oldies shows.
Andrew Godfrey, not sure if someone has already posted this or not but another alternative is to purchase Father Knows Best on DVD and then you can enjoy anytime you please or at least as long as DVD / Blu-Ray players exist. I also believe it can be “streamed” thru Netflix and Amazon.
J. Hand, Thank you for the info. We are on Netflix, but haven’t seen it on there yet. Sure wish it was. If it is someone please let me know. I might not know how to find it.
That’s right! I have antenna and don’t need or want cable. What a waste of money. Put that money away for a Rainy day or for your kids education. You don’t need 300 Channels. I get 50 and more from antennas and they are FREE!
I love Father Knows Best,I still watch all the re-runs.I always thought they portrayed a wonderful family.I have also seen the show of Andy Griffith with Elanor Donahue as Ellie the Pharmacy lady.Why don’t they show what Billy Gray looks like now?
It is hard to believe that Billy Gray is now 76 years old with his birthday last week. Billy’s last TV appearance was 37 years ago when he was in the Father Knows Best Christmas show, which would make him 39 at that time. Elinor Donahue will be 77 on April 19th. She was last seen in Young and Restless playing a judge in 2011. She only played the pharmacist Ellie Walker 12 times in the first season of Andy Griffith show. Not sure why she wasn’t in more Andy Griffith shows in the last seven years of the show.
Shirley . . if you Google Billy Gray’s website, you can see what he looks like today!
He got older, not like the rest of us.
I still enjoy the show today..Billy feels it was a hoax..perhaps he doesn’t realize that some kids like myself, I’m now 66, never had a good home life and we enjoyed the show and thought that is how family life should have been…even if only for 30 minutes a week…some of us made better lives for ourself because of Father Knows Best
James, Know what you mean. I am 69 and thought of Father Knows Best as the way family life should be.
I grew up with Father Knows Best as well. I accepted it as wonderful extertainment and saw no reason why it had to reflect real life. None of the sitcoms shows then dealt with the ugliness and social problems of the time. They rather served as an “escape” and were a great example of how we really should live a moral, wholesome, and loving family life.
I agree with Do Gould 100 percent.
I think that despite the hypocrisies and shamming in some aspects of society of the era we lovingly call ‘the fifties’, the main difference between then and ‘now’ is that there was at least a consensus of what was decency, and at least a social norm of protecting innocence. As a career teacher of ‘little kids’ (and a male Army vet) I’ve seen the protective arm of father (and even mother) in our world withdrawn from our innocent young children. No one with any credibility speaks up for little kids. They are expected to ‘be tough’ and ‘learn it on the streets — before it it too late’ and that is one large reason why we’ve become a world who believes in dystopian visions. You get what you wish for?!
Now we have ‘reality TV’ which is the ultimate in unreality, agreed? The Orwellian vision of ‘lies are truth’ is in effect, and the value system that at least was given lip service in the fifties has been turned on it’s head. My dad even protected us from most TV shows, back then; he thought they had very shallow values, and most of my TV experiences came from watching my pals sets. Well, at least when I buy DVD sets of FKB, Beaver, Donna, Lucy, even Betty White, I’m seeing new material fifty-percent of the time!
When we disrespect others, we disrespect ourselves. What’s your choice America, Ricky Nelson or Eminem?
PS/ Is this a rant?
I am watching Father Knows Best as I write this. (I was very excited to find it on Antenna tv)! I was an only child and a latch-key kid in the early 60’s.. This show gave me an ‘idea’ of what a Positive nuclear family meant: members who were always there for one another.. Yes.. Very idealistic.. And for that very reason I would say it held great importance to me. My “fatherly advice” came from TV dads, and Robert Anderson was my favorite. And a big thanks to Bill Gray.. Enjoyed his character and thought he was a very good actor.. So natural — Innately talented! Hope he does appreciate that gift.
Katheren, Glad you are to watch Father Knows Best on Antenna TV. It is not available where we live. Father Knows Best was the kind of show, that taught us how family life should be. Jim Anderson was probably a typical father back in the 50’s, so it was easy to identify with his character. Billy Gray did a good job as Bud and was a typical teenager. Thank you for taking to share your experiences from watching Father Knows Best.
Andrew,
This is a very well done forum. After reading most posts, it’s a consensus that these shows of situation comedy families were in a way the producers ways of forgetting about our woes of the day and giving us a glimpse of the past with the warm fuzzies mixed in from time to time. As a huge fan of that great family from Springfield, I too searched high and low for DVD’s, reruns, anything I could get my hands on that fun tv show about the Anderson family. I founded pirated copies of nicely done dvds and studio driven sets too, that I bought at Best Buy. But since dumping cable and joining the wholesome new family of digital antenna television, I was hooked! But I was so excited to find my fav back on the air in California on channel 34-4 at 7:00 and 7:30 AM. Harkened back to the good feelings of a childhood that never left my heart. Fav episode: Bud and the shortwave radio. Way to go Jim! Actually got to watch Billy race motorcycles professionally l!
Marc,Thank you for the info about Father Knows Best being on the air in California on Channel 34-4 at 7:00 and 7:30 AM. Hope others on this forum can take advantage and see those Father Knows Best shows on television. Some of the best television shows from the past can be seen on digital antenna television, and for a lot cheaper, than it costs to have cable or satellite.
Andrew
Hi Andrew: I posted a comment recently relating to the Father Knows Best discussions but it was dropped. I am not upset about it, merely curious how that would happen. Many thanks for a wonderful forum of sharing thoughts on these special nostalgic shows from the past.
Don, Sorry your post was dropped. You are welcome to repost and I will try to be more careful, to make sure it is posted to the comments section. I may have accidentally deleted it from my inbox. Thank you for the kind words about the blog.
Hi Andrew, Thanks so much for reposting my comments. I am pleased to see so many others joining the list of satisfied viewers of such an outstanding program.
I made a channel error. It’s on Channel 34-7 in the Bakersfield, California area every weekday morning at 7:00 AM, and again at 7:30 AM.
Thank you Marc for the channel correction.
I am currently finishing ‘Father Knows Best’ on DVD. I’ve been getting a lot of the old shows and watching them. To me, it doesn’t matter if real life wasn’t as perfect as these old shows. To me, they are reminders of a simpler time, even if the times weren’t perfect. They also give you an ideal to work for in your own life, even if you come up short. I’m always sad when I finish a series. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend.
I agree with Greg. Even though Billy felt that they were not portraying real life, I could imagine that there was a time when it was like that. Even so, it gave us a chance to dream what it might have been to be apart of that kind of lifestyle. When it’s 8:00 AM, I feel disappointed that it’s over for the day and I want to keep watching FKB. But knowing that it’s going to be on again in 23 hours gives me that feeling of anticipation.
Favorite episode: Bud and the shortwave radio.
Know what you mean. Wish they didn’t run FKB so early in the morning.
Don, I want to apologize again for not posting your comments the first time you sent them. I think Father Knows Best represented the 50’s in a way we could all identify with.
Greg, I am glad you were able to find Father Knows Best on DVD. It is not an easy show to find on TV. I agree with you completely about life not being as perfect as on Father Knows Best, with a solution to any problem at the end of the 30 minute show, but it did show us how a family sticks together through good times and bad and worked out a solution to their problems. Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet, Life of Riley and Andy Griffith were just some of my favorite family shows from the 50’s and 60’s.
Andrew Godfrey, I realize that this is 4 years later from this post but I wanted to tell you that Father Knows Best in its entirety is on Hulu today in 2018. I am in the process of watching the series now! I too grew up in the 50s and my Dad and Mom were pretty much like the Anderson’s except my Mom didn’t walk around all dressed up everyday like Margaret Anderson and June Cleaver! I doubt many Moms did! Thee are a good many old shows on Hulu now! I ditched Cable 4 yrs. ago and bought a Roku! My husband and I LOVE it! Thank you for this wonderful blog! Take care.
Juli W….Thank you for the kind words. You are welcome to post any time you want. There have been many posts to this page over the last few years. Thank you for mentioning about Hulu. In fact, I watched the Big Sister episode today on Hulu. It is sad that Netflix doesn’t carry the show, but they don’t carry many of the older shows. Only problem with Hulu is all the commercials, while Netflix has no commercials.
My mom never worked, while we were growing up, so had no reason to dress up like Margaret and June.
Thank you for your post.
Andrew
I am sad that Billy Gray feels they way he does…. after starring in the 1950 movie with Doris Day and Gordon (By the Light of Silvery Moon??) I thought Billy was great in that and quite humorous! I thought that kid had a great sense of humor. So he got tangled up with the law a time or two… no one is perfect and I don’t think that is why he couldn’t get acting jobs…. I watch “Father Knows Best” every day as I DVR all the shows. So enjoy them. Robert Young was one of my favorites always…still was a great show…. not to mention all of my other favorites like ‘Leave it to Beaver” and Ozzie and Harriett… oh Ricky….. sigh.
Billy Gray was in two Father Knows Best reunion shows in 1977, then was in only 3 movies in the last 37 years and hasn’t acted in 18 years.
He is now 76 years old, which makes me feel very old, since I remember when he was a kid on Father Knows Best. Gray had acted for 11 years before he was on Father Knows Best. Gray was in 43 movies from 1943 to 1950.
Imdb.com quotes what Billy Gray had to say about Father Knows Best: Personal Quotes (1)
[on his Father Knows Best (1954) years, c. 1983] “I wish there was some way I could tell kids not to believe it – the dialogue, the situations, the characters – they were all totally false. The show did everybody a disservice. The girls were always trained to use their feminine wiles, to pretend to be helpless to attract men. The show contributed to a lot of the problems between men and women that we see today….I think we were all well motivated, but what we did was run a hoax. Father Knows Best (1954) purported to be a reasonable facsimile of life. And the bad thing is that the model is so deceitful. It usually revolved around not wanting to tell the truth, either out of embarrassment, or not wanting to hurt someone….If I could say anything to make up for all the years I lent myself to that kind of bullshit, it would be: *You* Know Best.”
I still like the show whether Billy Gray wants me to like it or not.
He got older, not like the rest of us.
I would love to have the two cars he had on the show. Especially the
Chevy convertable he got for graduation. I hope both are still around.
Sad, because I loved that show. Even at 50-something, I watch it whenever it’s on. Certainly, every episode wasn’t really accurate, but to call it BS is just wrong.
I didn’t like the BS comment either. That was totally uncalled for. That show brought a lot of happiness, into my life, so nothing anyone says that demeans Father Knows Best will make me stop liking the show. It was television at its best for me.
I couldn’t agree more! A few years ago I sent away for a complete collection of all Father KNows Best shows. Unfortunately, the quality was not all that good but what was most troublesome was that it caused my DVD player to jam on certain episodes. I don’t know what would cause that.
I had Billy Gray’s email address and I emailed him a few times, especially on his birthday which is January 13th. He is 76 years old. I told him I had a complete collection of the shows and he asked me for the website so he could get them as well. That seemed strange for someone who had such total disdain for the series. Maybe he still has good memories of those days.
I watched almost ALL DAY yesterday, the marathon.
As far as I know there is no way to put replies in date order.
Carl or any other Father Knows Best fan is encouraged to keep watching the shows regardless, of what someone may say about the show. I have only positive things to say about the show.
Don, Thanks for sharing about your communication with Billy Gray. I guess he had a change of heart after he made his original statement, so good to know, that he would be interested in obtaining all the shows. Father Knows Best had to have some good memories, for him to want to have all the shows.
Not necessarily. As a huge fan of Father Knows Best since childhood, I wish this were the case. But actually, I suspect the reason Billy wanted those shows is for profit. He’s already made it clear that show wasn’t anything he was proud of, so maybe he can autograph them and sell for $$$.
Trivia Question: Does anyone know the name of the theme music from “Father Knows Best”? If not, I will post the answer next week!
Waiting For Love To Find You
Andrew . . you’re fantastic! You got it!
Don, I am not that fantastic. Had a little help from Google search.
@andrew godfrey “father knows best” still runs on antena tv I watch it during the weekends good show 🙂
Mayree, Thanks for sharing that info with us. It is good to know Father Knows Best is still being shown on Antenna TV like you mentioned.
The Father Knows Best shows should be on YouTube….at least some of them.
Father Knows Best was a fun family show. It’s really great to see Elinor Donahue on reruns of The Andy Griffith Show. I spotted Jane Wyatt in “Lost Horizon” from 1937. She may have even had a brief nude scene there. That was a very unique film. Robert Young made many films early in his career. I really enjoyed “Slightly Dangerous” with Lana Turner (it’s a romantic comedy). And he’s great in “Sitting Pretty” with Maureen O’Hara and Clifton Webb. Lauren Chapin was a fine actress and always enjoyable to watch and I loved seeing her in interviews. But Billy Gray…. what a talent! Wow. We really missed out on some good work when he was pushed out of Hollywood. That kid was a natural. Has anyone seen him in “The Girl Next Door” with Dan Dailey, June Haver and Dennis Day? His timing was incredible. I can see that he would be good at car racing with timing like that. It’s understandable to me that he would feel somewhat bitter at being shoved out of the business, yet not long after that other actors were treated more kindly for such offences. He was just so natural in his acting. The two films with Doris Day and Gordon Macrae are really fun. He seems to enjoy SciFi nowadays among other things. If you check out IMDB you’ll find alot of credits during his childhood. Such a talent. I’m glad he found other things to keep his interest. And I’m glad his heart has softened toward his time with Father Knows Best. He seems to be glad he was a part of it, while still being clear that the show really could have done alot more in teaching some things to it’s audience. If you ever read this, Billy Gray, I admire your talents.
Alice, Thank you very much for sharing about Father Knows Best. Billy Gray did a great job on the show.
Thanks for letting me post Andrew! It’s nice to see other folks appreciating good ol’ shows like Father Knows Best!! :0)
Alice, You are are welcome to post whenever you want. Just wish we could see Father Knows Best down here. Last time I saw it was on Antenna TV three years ago, when I had cancer surgery in VA hospital in Houston Texas, so couldn’t really enjoy the show then.
Do you have a DVD player available to you? There are gobs of Father Knows Best dvd’s available on Ebay and at Amazon. I wish full episodes were on youtube also. Blessings! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Father-Knows-Best-Vol-1-DVD-Region-1-NTSC-/391138231634?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b11a7c552
Alice, Thank you again for the info about Father Knows Best episodes being available at Amazon and eBay. Kids today need to see shows like this, instead of the stuff on TV today. Shows like Father Knows Best could be seen, without any worry about something being said that doesn’t need to be heard. There are almost no situation comedies today, that can be watched by an entire family together.
That is true. It’s very hard to find good shows to watch. I love old romantic comedies. Have you seen the film “The Quiet Man” with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. It’s such a lovely Irish comedy with a touch of drama. Lately I’ve watched “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife” with Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper. It’s really fun and enjoyable to see. There are so many good old TV shows and movies. Robert Young really was great to see in “Sitting Pretty”. Clifton Webb did a series of four films where he played the part of “Mr. Belvidere”. I love watching Andy Griffith Show reruns. It’s on Netflix which we have for about $8. a month. Father Knows Best is not there… but Leave It To Beaver and some other old shows are. Here’s a free movie from youtube. It’s “My Man Godfrey” with Carole Lombard and William Powell. Perhaps you’ve already seen it. It’s kind of fun. Blessings! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiSjeLhg25w
I think I saw Quiet Man many years ago and love Andy Griffith Show. We even spent a night in his boyhood home in Mt. Airy, NC. The local Hampton Inn was renting it out by the night. Wish they had more of the old shows on Netflix. I don’t care about all the original shows they are putting on now. I would rather see more of the old situation comedies.
My husband and I enjoy seeing episodes of What’s My Line? on youtube. There are some shows I’m not familiar with. I know Ann Southern had a show right? And I’ve seen very little of Loretta Young’s show. Lots of good stuff from the past. Loretta sure was enjoyable in The Farmer’s Daughter. Be blessed!
I am amazed at how many times the panel on What’s My Line? would guess the identity of the guest on the show. My wife and me like to watch You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx. It is a shame that show is not being shown on any TV station that I know of for years and years.
Those old game shows were so much better than the game shows today. I get tired of all the double entendres used during game shows today. I would much rather watch shows like I’ve Got A Secret or To Tell The Truth.
I remember the Ann Sothern show (Private Secretary) well, and even have many MP3 recordings of her old time radio show Maisie. I remember Loretta Young came on TV on Sunday with her shows. Another show not seen anywhere for years.
Have a blessed day.
Like t.v.’s the Rifleman, Father Knows Best provided some worth in applying some useful reason and thought in solving some problems encountered by kids of this age. The parental involvement in these problems was overdone but it was t.v. entertainment.
This sort of interaction into our everyday lives didn’t happen in my upbringing or in the lives of my friends. We understood that. The same goes for the Ozzie and Harriet program. It was all innocent clean entertainment and offered nothing much more.
Don’t be bitter about it Billy, it provided you with opportunity most of us never had.
Jim, Thank your for sharing your comment. Wish we had more shows, like the classic TV shows you mentioned. You can’t leave kids alone to watch TV, since there is so much on TV, that teaches them negative values.
If anybody wants to watch a clip of one of the reunion movies, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JmI9U8117A Also, a question: is there any way to put these comments in DATE order? It gets a little confusing when replying. Thanks.
Sorry, I see they ARE in date order, just some of the replies aren’t.
I saw “Bud” in a movie about a boy and his dog–He was called “Bud” in the movie. As Bud misjudged a neighbor he thought poisoned his dog, so has he misjudged the impact of family shows like FKB on this country. It may not have been like that everywhere but that’s how we wanted it to be &&& wish it was now. We’re truly messed up today. We have a president that doesn’t know how to tell the truth and families that are beyond dysfunctional!
Wish there were shows on network television like Father Knows Best today, but all we get are shows, that are so loaded with double entendres, that you can’t watch them with children.
Mr. Godfrey, you sure anchor this comments forum and through the years have have given much insight into FKB . The one thing I noticed throughout the series is that the actors engaged in much what is termed “business” while delivering their lines . Example: doing dishes, working with tools, reading writing, sifting through mail,etc. That type of directing makes for superior production value.
It goes to show how realistic this show is, since the family members kept busy while delivering their lines.
Agreed, it shows how realistic the show was. After all, how many families in real life stand around talking when there are always chores to be done? 🙂
Some shows just shows characters yakking, while doing nothing, but not Father Knows Best.
Although it is sad to hear Billy’s comments about the show, I do understand. So many of the child stars come forward years later and tell of abuse within the industry, including molestation. Others never do come forward, but were still devastated and jaded by it in various ways. Many were used as commodities to make a show and not really always viewed as valuable people. It is well known that to get many places in Hollywood, you are often required to engage in illicit behavior with various big wigs. Having said that, I still do enjoy the show and love many of the ideas, although I did think the writers overdid it with the indulgent parents at times. But that is what entertainment is- exaggerated situations that make us amused. If it was like real life, it would hardly be worth watching for most people who are looking for a moment’s respite from real life.
I agree 100 percent…the child actors were only being used to draw viewers, and the child actors had problems finding other acting jobs, after their show ended. Jay North like Billy Gray had a rough time adjusting to life after his show Dennis the Menace ended.
After all is said it was great family entertainment: no nudity,sex, or swearing and occasionally people would actually pray together. Fortunately there are some cable channels that feature TV of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s that uphold the “old” values and morals we used to admire. By this time i have probably watched every FNB episode three or four times at least. There are others from my youth like the Honeymooners and assorted westerns like The Lone Ranger but I think FKB was my most favorite. I appreciate this site and thank you for it.
Jim, Thank you for the kind words. I am 71 so remember the shows of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s well. I like Netflix but there are not that many shows from the 50’s on Netflix. They seem more worried about making original shows, when all I really want is to watch shows like Father Knows Best, Gomer Pyle and Make Room for Daddy, which are seldom seen on TV today, unless you have ME TV or one of the other nostalgia channels. Honeymooners needs to be on TV today….That was television at its best.
Not sure if my last email was sent or not but just want to let you know that Father Knows Best can be found on Hulu. It is just as easy and affordable to join as Netflix. All six seasons are on now as well as a multitude of other old shows and classic movies. Hope you get this.
Thanks for the info on Hulu showing Father Knows Best shows. We have Netflix, but they have very few classic comedy TV shows. In fact, Leave It To Beaver may be the only classic comedy I have seen on Netflix.
I am a Twenty-Four year old adult, and I enjoy these shows. However, none of the television families of the 50s and 60s were perfect.
Those were great shows. I agree that none of the television families was perfect, in the same way that families in real life are never perfect.
I am totally amazed at how so many viewers criticize FKB as well as other family shows of that era as not being perfect or reflecting real life. Friends . . these were situation comedies, not intended to be taken seriously. It’s purpose was simply to “entertain” not to mirror some stereotypical lifestyle, real or imagined. Loosen up . . just relax and enjoy them!
Don, You have the right attitude about FKB. All we have to do is enjoy the shows, and not worry if the Anderson family was perfect or not.
Hi Andrew, you have quite a few posts on here, though I haven’t read them all. I was wondering if you might own a Computer or DVD Player. What I’m trying to gently get around to without insulting you is, ALL OF THE SEASONS OF FATHER KNOWS BEST ARE AVAILABLE ON DVD. I started buying them last year. So far I have only bought the first two. Seasons 1-4 are reasonably priced. But Seasons 5 & 6 have just been outrageous in cost. If you buy them from SHOUT FACTORY you will get them for a decent price. But if you buy them from AMAZON, expect to pay about $40.00-$70.00 for the last two Seasons. The prices do go up and down so you may want to check periodically. Or go on and buy them from SHOUT FACTORY. You know, I too, am wondering what is or was up with BILLY GRAY’S ATTITUDE ABOUT “FATHER KNOWS BEST”? Of course it wasn’t real. It was/is a TELEVISION SHOW. “FATHER KNOWS BEST” WAS A DEPICTION OF AN “IDEAL FAMILY”. NOT LITERALLY A “REAL FAMILY”. I DON’T WANT REALISM ON TELEVISION. WE LIVE WHAT’S REAL. WHO WANTS TO SEE THAT ON TELEVISION! THIS IS WHY ALL OF THOSE SHOWS WERE SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH. THEY ALLOWED US SOME FUN ESCAPISM FOR AWHILE.
Hi Earline,Thank you for providing the info on how to buy the Father Knows Best shows on DVD. I agree it is a fun show to watch, and didn’t need to depict a perfect family.
Hi Andrew, you know, if you do decide to buy the “FATHER KNOWS BEST SERIES”, you won’t be disappointed. You can then watch the episodes anyway that you like. You can watch them in order. You can watch any season that you want to, in any order that you like. You can keep watching the same season over and over or the same episodes over and over. The choice is yours. You know, AMAZON OFFERS USED COPIES. Just read the descriptions of offers from sellers carefully. I just bought Season Two, NEW, and I’m supposed to get it by AUGUST 3RD. THAT’S PERFECT. But I think I’ll get it by next SATURDAY. Two of my favorite episodes are in Seasons Five & Six: “THE GOLDEN TURNIP” & “BUD LIVES IT UP”. In Season One, two of my favorites are: “THE MATCHMAKER” & “BUD, THE BRIDESMAID”. BOY, THEY WERE SO FUNNY.
Hi Andrew . .
Reading and analyzing all of the excellent commentary on your website concerning the popularity, opinions, and feelings of the many fans and viewers of Father Knows Best, it is amazing and quite evident that this show captured the imagination, love, and respect of those who placed a high premium on family values. This is what made it one of the most memorable shows of it’s kind in TV history. We are still talking about it over 50 years later. That has to tell you something.
We have all seen countless family situation comedies from that era and beyond with a decent following that were primarily designed for fun, laughs, and snappy punch lines. FKB offered us much more than that. There was a warmth, love, personal closeness and bonding between the characters that was definitely felt by the viewers. We almost felt related to the Andersons, or certainly wanted to be.
Notwithstanding Billy Gray’s cynical spin on the credibility and authenticity of the program that enriched and made him a household name, his many fans disagree with him. I feel that he always wanted and expected the series to be more than it was. It may not have reflected real life as it existed then but rather a temporary escape from it and a family lifestyle that everyone wished they had. It was fine entertainment with a bonus, a subtle message of love, caring, and kindness that left the viewers with a good feeling having watched it. What more can anyone ask from a show?
FKB will continue to be one of the best family presentations ever brought to the small screen. We are blessed to have had the opportunity to experience and enjoy it.
Don, Thank you for explaining so well why Father Knows Best was such a popular show. It may not have been representative of families in that era, but I am sure there were a lot of families, that were exactly like the Andersons, in that they cared about each other and loved each other unconditionally. For others, it represented life as the way we wanted it to be.
FKB began as a radio program in 1949. Robert Young was the only actor in the radio version, that made the move to television in 1954. I was 10 years old when it was first shown on television, and will be 72 next month, to give an idea of how long ago the show was on television.
Shows like Father Knows Best and Andy Griffith Show are the kind of shows, that make you feel better after having watched them.
It is hard to believe that Billy Gray is now 78, Laurin Chapin is 71 and Elinor Donahue is now 79.
Reason show was cancelled:
Series star Lauren Chapin, who played the youngest daughter Kathy said she found out the show was canceled for good when she reported to work and the guard would not let her into the studio. She later learned that the show’s cancellation was due to the fact that Elinor Donahue, now married, was pregnant, and Billy Gray’s marijuana use.
Hi Andrew . .
In an interview with Robert Young a few years after the show ended, he explained why the Producers decided to cancel it. They were running out of script ideas and the kids were getting older which would change the premise of the show entirely. Most of the cast was simply tired of continuing at that point and wanted to move on to other opportunities.
Robert Young moved to Marcus Welby and after retirement suffered with alcoholic issues up to his death in 1998. Jane Wyatt appeared on Star Trek for a time. She died at 96 in 2006. I am not sure when Elinor Donahue became pregnant but she went on to appearances on the Andy Griffith Show. Billy Gray virtually retired from the proceeds of FKB and went on to compete in motorcycle racing events and later promoted some inventions he had created. His main marijuana use and brush with the law didn’t happen until a few years after he left the show but was known to having experimented with it earlier. Lauren Chapin had some very difficult and sad family experiences growing up and makes occasional TV appearances as a motivational speaker.
We wish them all the very best now in their twilight years. They were certainly an inspiration to their many fans.
Hi Don,
Father Knows Best didn’t last as long as Ozzie and Harriet, since they didn’t have a singer like Ricky Nelson, to extend the show by singing on the show.
The show wouldn’t have been the same with the kids getting older. Robert Young was great as Marcus Welby. I always liked Jane Wyatt. Didn’t realize she lived till the age of 96. I remember Elinor Donahue playing a nurse on Days of Our Lives.
Surprised that Billy Gray could live off the residuals from FKB, since producers back then didn’t like sharing their profits with the actors.
Looks like Billy and Lauren Chapin had better lives on the show, than they did in real life.
I too wish them the best in their golden years.
Hi Andrew . .
The best interview I ever saw of the FKB cast reunion was on the May 1984 “Good Morning America” show with David Hartman. It is available on “YouTube” and I would forward it to you but I do not have your personal email address. You can find it yourself by just typing in “Father Knows Best – Good Morning America”. Good luck! I know you will enjoy it as much as I did!
Tried to watch the show, but our satellite internet is so bad it would cut in and out and never did work well. We live in the country and get terrible reception on videos of any kind. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Hi Andrew, I saw the “REUNION INTERVIEW” that you are referring to. It was in “MAY OF 1984” on “GOOD MORNING AMERICA”, which was at that time Hosted by “DAVID HARTMAN”. Except I didn’t see it then. I, too, saw it on “YOUTUBE”. All OF THE CAST LOOKED WONDERFUL. DAVID asked “THE CAST” how real was the show? And how real were their characters? Billy Gray reacted rather negatively to the questions. There are a few different Interviews with “THE CAST” ON “YOUTUBE”.
I don’t recall the existence of “FATHER KNOWS BEST” before sometime between 1988 – 1990. Thanks to Cable TV, various TV Stations around the Country were beginning to show all of the old Television Shows again. In the Mid – 1980’s there was a TV Station in Chicago, Channel 44, which started showing all of those Wonderful Old Shows. But I don’t know if “FATHER KNOWS BEST” was one of them.
I first remember seeing Billy Gray in The Movie: “ON MOONLIGHT BAY”. Then in its sequel: “BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON”. “DORIS DAY” STARRED IN BOTH OF THOSE MOVIES. Billy was also in The Movie: “THE GIRL NEXT DOOR” with “DAN DAILEY”, “JUNE HAVER” AND “DENNIS DAY”. And he was one of THE “KETTLE CHILDREN” in one of those “MA & PA KETTLE” FILMS. I don’t recall which one. When I began watching episodes of “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, it occurred to me that I was looking at an older “BILLY GRAY”. I do recall seeing “ELINOR DONAHUE” on “THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW”. At that time I didn’t know that I was looking at the same Actress who was on “FATHER KNOWS BEST”. I was pretty young then. “THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW” was a staple from my childhood. I don’t recall “LAUREN CHAPIN” at all.
In about a month we will be in the HOLIDAY SEASON. There will be tons of HOLIDAY MOVIES ON TV. I sure hope “THE FATHER KNOWS BEST MOVIES” will be among them. I think it’s amazing that “SHOUT FACTORY” has not acquired the right to those two films. It doesn’t make sense to me that the rights to the show has been released, but the rights to the movies haven’t. There are Bootleg Copies floating around. But I don’t want to buy from a thief. I’ll keep my eyes out for them. Boy, was I dumb to have gotten rid of my video tape of those movies. I recorded them on VHS YEARS AGO as part of “MY HOLIDAY COLLECTION”. Eventually I gave away all of my CASSETTE VIDEO’S, thinking that all of those movies would come to DVD. Hopefully soon.
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Thank you for the kind words.
Hi Andrew, I’m responding to the person who commented about “Lauren Chapin” finding out that “FATHER KNOWS BEST” was cancelled when one day she came to work and the Security Guard wouldn’t let her into the Studio. On the “Good Morning America” Interview with the Cast on May 9, 1984, Robert Young’s explanation as to why the show was cancelled, was to “quit while the show was still in the top ten, instead of being shoved out the door”. (Robert’s words) He said “Bud” would have been drafted, “Betty” would have gotten married, and that would have only left “Kitten”. Apparently, it was not uncommon back then to show up to work and not be admitted because the role or the show that an Actor was on was cancelled. Something similar to this happened on the show: “HAZEL”. When “NBC” cancelled the show, and “CBS” picked it up, the roles of “George and Dorothy Baxter”, played by “DON DEFORE” AND “WHITNEY BLAKE”, were written out, but mention occasionally because their son “Harold” played by “BOBBY BUNTROCK” was still on the show. I read that “DON DEFORE” learned that his role had ended when he read it in a Trades Paper. But then I also read that it was told to him by his Lawyer. Perhaps it was both: his Lawyer told him and it was in the Trades Paper. I still don’t know how “WHITNEY BLAKE” found out.
I wonder did “ROBERT YOUNG” know that the show was being cancelled? It seems to me that if a Network know that a show is being cancelled before the end of a season, and they decide that they aren’t going to continue with the show, why not end it properly!? They could finish characters and close storylines. I think that fans would appreciate that more than having them to wonder “WHAT HAPPENED”? I hope that this comment opens up more discussion on this subject.
Earline, Thank you for the information about Father Knows Best and Hazel. I can understand Robert Young wanting to end the show on top. The new actors on Hazel must not have worked out well, since the show used the new actors only one season before ending. I thought Don Defore and Whitney Blake were an integral part of the show, so can see why it ended a year after they were written out of the show.
HI Andrew, Thanks for your follow up on my last post. Boy, I sure can’t spell today. The word I was thinking when I wrote my prior post was “commented”, not “committed”. Now that I hope I have fixed that, I wonder if you have seen the “NEW TWO-PART INTERVIEW with LAUREN CHAPIN and ELINOR DONAHUE. Its Title is “DADDY’S GIRLS”. The INTERVIEW is divided up. Part One is on Season One of “Father Knows Best”. There isn’t any indication that there is a second part until reading what the “SPECIAL FEATURES” are on “SEASON TWO”. I have resisted not opening and watching Season Two because I’m saving it for CHRISTMAS. I’ll come back here and discuss Season Two and some of the features after the New Year. And in case anyone is interested in which episode that that first clip from “FATHER KNOWS BEST” is from, which is shown on that “GOOD MORNING AMERICA” INTERVIEW WITH THE CAST, IT IS: “BUD, THE BRIDESMAID” FROM SEASON ONE, EPISODE 22.
Hi Earlene…..Just changed to commented on your earlier post, so it is correct now. Sounds like a very interesting interview with Lauren Chapin and Elinor Donahue. Every time I saw Elinor on Andy Griffith it reminded me of her being on Father Knows Best.
Great idea to watch Season 2 during the Christmas season, since Christmas is a nostalgic time of the year.
Enjoy the shows when you watch them.
Hi Andrew, I have been looking at “The Andy Griffith Show” lately, too. And now that I think about it, it was on that show in which I first saw Elinor Donahue. Would you believe that she was only on Twelve Episodes?! It seemed like more to me. I watched “The Andy Griffith Show” when I was growing up. I recall Andy doing Ritz Cracker Commercials in the 1970’s, remembering that he was the Sheriff on that show. It is the other way around for me. When I look at “Father Knows Best”, I think about her having been a Love Interest for Andy. I probably didn’t connect the dots before because I didn’t see “Father Knows Best” until years later. She appeared in one of my favorite “DORIS DAY FILMS”: “TEA FOR TWO”. If you’re interested, she gives an extensive Interview on “EmmyTVLegends”. I think that it is about Three Hours Long. I came across it when I was viewing an Interview that Actress Doris Singleton did. There is one with Alan Young too.
Hi Earlene, Andy Griffith Show was the opposite of Father Knows Best, in that he wasn’t married like Jim Anderson, but was a widowed father, who had Elly Walker as a love interest. Ironic, that Elly seems like a nickname for Elinor. She was only on Andy Griffith for one season. I liked the episode when she runs for office.
I can vaguely remember the Ritz Cracker commercials. Those interviews sound very interesting, but three hours is a long time. Wish they were a little shorter.
Hi Andrew, I should have mentioned, the Interviews are in parts, approximately twenty something minutes each. I think it’s a good idea because, as you said, three hours is a long time. I’m thinking that they took that into consideration. Being in parts, you can watch them in any order that you want to. I did watch part of Elinor’s Interview. But I don’t remember where I left off. I’ll probably start over. I try to watch each part in full though. I think you will enjoy it.
Hi Earline, It is good to know the interviews are in parts, instead of one continuous three hour interview.
Hi Andrew, I checked the information that I gave you about the Interview with Elinor Donahue. The Interview is in Seven Parts and is about Three and a Half Hours Long. Though for part one it says that it is 29:50 minutes long, it’s actually a bit shorter. Each part stop so that they can change the tape. You have to maually start each part. The Interview isn’t just about her role and experiences on “FATHER KNOWS BEST”. She gives her full Birth Name and the names of her Parents, and a bit about them. She discusses how she got started in her Profession and more delightful details.
I just viewed the first part again. This time I won’t forget where I left off. So go and enjoy it.
Hi Earline, Thanks for the additional information.
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Emmanuel, Thank you for the very kind words. They are very much appreciated.
Hi Andrew, Last year, for awhile, I didn’t have a Television. So I listened to a handful of “FATHER KNOWS BEST” RADIO SHOWS on “YOUTUBE”. They are quite good. I wasn’t around when all of those old wonderful Radio Shows were being produced. Off the top of my head, the only other show that I enjoy watching that was a Radio Program is “THE LONE RANGER”. Having watched it when I was a young girl, I didn’t know at the time that it had been a Radio Program. It’s really something that several of the earlier Television Programs that we love and enjoy so much were either Radio Programs or Comic Strips, first. I know that “HAZEL” and “DENNIS, THE MENACE” were Comic Strip characters before making their way to Television. Jay North had a problem with his “DENNIS CHARACTER” for awhile, too. Though I’m happy to say that he now embraces the character. Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful in finding out how SHIRLEY BOOTH wound up as “HAZEL”. I keep thinking that I may get more insight if I read the Biographies that were written about her. I truly wish that somebody had of thought to interview the cast of “HAZEL”, after it was out of production. That’s been a very popular thing to do for decades.
Hi Earline,
Burt Lancaster told Shirley Booth to not do Hazel:
Burt Lancaster advised me against doing Hazel (1961). “Don’t do television,” he warned. “It’ll ruin you! Burt is a doll and a heck of an actor, but I’m glad I didn’t follow his advice. Everybody under 40 knows me better from “Hazel”, not from my movies!
Hi Andrew, I read somewhere that Shirley Booth said that “HAZEL” was the security for her old age. Perhaps that is why she took the role. Portraying a character that was a long time successful “COMIC STRIP CHARACTER” wasn’t a bad idea. It was said that later she owned the show. However, she nay not have owned the show one hundred percent. I also read that Don Defore owned seven percent of “HAZEL”. If Shirley owned ninety-three percent of the show, then I could see how it was said that she owned “HAZEL”. With that percentage she, of course, would have the controlling interesting. But having controlling interest doesn’t mean knowing what is in the best interest of the show. I read that when “CBS” picked up “HAZEL”, there were budget cuts. That contributed to the loss of the “GEORGE and DOROTHY” CHARACTERS, (DON DEFORE and WHITNEY BLAKE), and the gain of the “STEVE” and “BARBARA” CHARACTERS, (RAY FULMER and LYNN BORDEN), working for less money. I’m not sure if Shirley and Bobby took a cut. It’s odd, though, that Shirley chose not to continue due to “Health Issues”, but then she almost immediately went back to the Stage. My honest opinion: I think that she just didn’t want to do the show anymore and simply used her “Health Issues” to get out of the show. Nothing she did after “HAZEL” was successful. Unless one counts her Voice over work as “MRS. SANTA CLAUS” on “THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS”. That was something else that I didn’t see until 2003 or 2004, thanks to DVD.
Earline I love the Hazel show and would like to chat with you about the show.
Hi Earline, I would be surprised if Hazel owned more than 50 percent of the show. Producers usually take most of the money. TV stars back then didn’t even get much in residuals, when a show was shown in reruns, However, I don’t know for sure. It is more likely she may have owned a few percentage points more of the show than Don Defore. Most producers don’t tell who gets paid what after a show goes into reruns. You may be right, since she may have revealed how much she made in a book she wrote.
Hi Andrew . . I just wanted to correct your comment concerning The Lone Ranger radio programs. Bud Collyer played SUPERMAN on the radio. The Lone Ranger was played by Brace Beemer taking over the role from Earle Graser who died in a car accident in 1941. Brace continued the role until the end of it’s run in the early fifties.
Hi Don, You are correct. My 72 year old memory completely failed me.I will try to delete that part altogether. Thank you for the catch.
Hi Andrew, Every extensive article that I’ve read about SHIRLEY BOOTH mentions that she owned “HAZEL”. But doesn’t ownership of something mean that the person own better than 50 Percent. I read that SHIRLEY wasn’t getting the kind of income that she expected from the show, after it went out of production, though it is said that she owned it. So you just may be right about the producers getting a bigger slice of the pie. I was thinking about the “I LOVE LUCY” SHOW. About how much money that show made for LUCY and DESI. The difference was, they owned the show, lock, stock and barrel, from the beginning. Shirley Booth isn’t the only “FAMOUS SHIRLEY” to have worked with BURT LANCASTER. Shirley Jones did too, in the movie: “ELMER GANTRY”. I’ve never seen it. Though I remember Burt Lancaster, I wasn’t a fan of his. Shirley, I think, was smart not to follow his advice on not doing Television. No one can really know how anything would turn out. She took a chance and it paid off for her. More people know her as “HAZEL” than any other character in which she has played. It probably shocked Burt that “HAZEL” was successful. I wonder if he ever gave that same advice to anyone else. From other forums that I’ve been on, it is said that “HAZEL” was not “cancelled”. Shirley decidedly didn’t come back for a sixth season, due to Health Issues, I mentioned before. JOHN NEWTON who played “STAN BLAKE”, THE BAXTER’S next door neighbors, in three episodes, turned 91 YEARS OLD, 2 DAYS AGO. If you decide to look up JOHN NEWTON, make sure that you put in “from “HAZEL”. There is another, younger ACTOR NAME JOHN NEWTON, who was born 40 YEARS LATER, in 1965. He was less than 4 months old when “HAZEL” went out of production.
Hi Earlene, Maybe Shirley Booth did own the show. Yes, ownership usually means the more than 50 percent or guess she could be owner if she had 34 percent and two other owners had 33 percent each. Shirley was smart to ignore the advice of Burt Lancaster, since she made a regular check for as long as Hazel ran. Lucy and Desi made a lot of money from their Desilu Studios.
Hi Andrew, I really wish that the “HAZEL” CAST had written their own autobiographies. I do think that DON DEFORE may have written his. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a copy. All of the books written about SHIRLEY BOOTH were all written by someone else. It would be nice to read the autobiographies of the “FATHER KNOWS BEST” CAST. I know that LAUREN CHAPIN wrote her memoirs . I think Robert Young did too. The first time I saw him was in a movie called: “THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE”. I may have missed “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, but I didn’t miss “MARCUS WELBY”. I enjoyed that show too. And I may have mentioned, on the first three seasons of “FATHER KNOWS BEST” there are a handful of episodes from ROBERT YOUNG’S next TV Series: “WINDOW ON MAIN STREET”. SEASON ONE, has the episode: “THE RETURN”, the Pilot. SEASON TWO has the episode: “THE TEACHER”. And on SEASON THREE, there are episodes: “A DOCTOR COMES TO TOWN” and “THE CHAMBERMAID”. If you saw that series, you have a head start on me. I believe that these episodes are on YouTube, too.
Don, you have a point. However, I wasn’t not trying to criticize FKB and other shows of that era for not being perfect. I should’ve chosen my words better. What I was trying to say that as a now 26 year old, many people of my generation today criticize these shows from your era for being too perfect. As much as these shows were to entertain us, you have to admit you do learn positive things from it. That’s why these wholesome family sitcoms have such a lasting impact. It taught you the importance of Family, how to set good examples and having positive values.
My wife and I both really dont on FKB, and Billy Gray had a good part; he seemed to work hard to make it all work. Its amazing that my esposa finds the middle American whtebread family portrayed so appealing, as her family were farm workers (she picked cotton as a kid, and the talley guy always cheated her) but she says the gentleness appeals to her, and as a Marriage/Family Therapist, she appreciates how the Andersons show family values and stay positive. Like the Cleavers house, theirs is a lot nicer than our old rentals, and new cars?? Not since ’48. Bud’s HS grad car is a Ford, not a Chevy btw. It’s fun for me to see all the old shows, as Dad didn’t like what TV brought into our house, and by the time he passed away in ’58 we still didn’t even have a used set!
I build real cars, and am restoring all my old model cars from the early ‘sixties; seldom by a new kit. I’d like to do a replica of Bud’s Ford Model A touring, (a rat rod?) but don’t know what colors it was. Does anyone? Looks like light blue to me, but… I’m going to do Lumpy Rutherford’s slick ’40 Ford ragtop posed the day Eddie and Wally jerked his rear axle out, and would do a diorama of Buds rattle-traps at the curb. Lumpy’s car would be impressive even today. June C mentions that it is purple in one show, so…
I’m 71 yo, retired elementary teacher (glad to be out of that career-and the new gummint’, as Pap Finn would say, is going to make it worse. Good luck, USA.
Oops, I meant ‘dote’ not dont.
We have a abootleg set of FKB, doubtful that all the shows are there, alas. Oh yes, my kids and I finished in second place in our local library’s big annual Trivia Contest promoting literacy programs back a few, and since it was one old gray guy and to thirty-somethings, the called our team “Father Knows Best” OC it was my desperation guess in sudden death with our DA and two of his legal beagles that lost us the big one; didn’t know best I guess.
Oh, our grandkids LOVE FKB, Donna, Beaver, etc. and get some good advice from Jim, Ward, Alex — not so hot from Chester A. Riley, tho.
Wick
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Father Knows Best. Most real life families didn’t have the kind of life the Andersons had, but it still was fun watching their family with their minor problems compared to ours go about their daily lives.
I couldn’t find a photo of Bud’s car online, but I may have been looking in the wrong place. Family shows back in the 50’s are so different, from the family shows (if you can call them family shows) of today, where they use bad language and say vulgar things, that the Andersons would never say. Thanks again for sharing and Merry Christmas.
Amen to that! Considering we all grew up under the shadow of ‘The Bomb’ I’m surprised we arent crazier than we are don’t you?
I found a whole web page on cars from FKB, but I can’t relocate it; of course all the photos were b&w, but they were pretty complete. Part of the title was ‘tvkid’. I’m recalling that in on show Bud is wheeling a Ferrari? I’d bet it was his own personal ride. Well, it isn’t a huge deal; I’ll keep looking. I emailed a complimentary msg to Billy Gray a few years back, but no response. Also to Paul Petersen, Tony Dow, Jerry Mathers, and a few others, but no confirmation that they even rec’d them, alas.
One of my favorite Robert Young stories, if you can call it that, concerns the old Paul Harvey entertainment posing as news radio show. Back in the ’90s, it was reported that Young had tried to end his life by attempting to asphyxiate himself by attaching a hose to the tailpipe of his new car and pumping exhaust into the interior. Melodramatic Paul Harvey — who always had to have some lurid or earth-shaking headline to make his show interesting, I suppose — actually reported that Young had failed to take his own life because the catalytic converter on his car had made the gasses pure enough not to kill him. This is silly, or worse, because ‘cats’ are not designed to eliminate the dangerous constituent of internal-combustion exhaust, which is merely carbon monoxide! Breathing enough un-oxygenated atmosphere will suffocate anyone — lack of oxygen to the brain is deadly, eventually; anoxia is the diagnosis. Actually, as I understand it, he was rescues by an intervention before the levels did him in. I never did trust Paul Harvey; his stuff was too pat! Maybe Harvey, and the tabloids, were merely presaging out current non-news news?
I don’t know for sure if in fact, that Robert Young tried to commit suicide. This is the first time I have heard of it. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but why would Robert Young, a very successful actor want to commit suicide. I would like to know more about his “suicide attempt” and possible motive.
Hello to Andrew and Everyone on this forum and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! I just finished watching an Episode of “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, TITLED: “BUD LIVES IT UP”. To everyone who has seen this episode, please bear with me. I’ll try not to spoil it to much for those who haven’t seen it. It’s a cute, funny episode which lands BUD in hot water with his Debating Team, and his future in College, when he goes all out to impress a girl: “NANCY MILLBROOK”, played by ACTRESS “CYNTHIA BAXTER”, by overspending on their DATE IN CHICAGO, when his Debating Team travel there to challenge another Debating Team. This Episode is in Season Six and it has one of my favorite Actors, “SKIP YOUNG”, from “OZZIE And HARRIET”, portraying one of the Debators on “BUD’S TEAM”. This Episode was prior to the last Episode of the Series. I viewed “DADDY’S GIRLS” Part 2, on “FATHER KNOWS BEST” SEASON 2. ELINOR AND LAUREN are further discussing “ROBERT YOUNG”, “BILLY GRAY”, AND THE DIRECTOR “PETER TEWKSBURY”. I haven’t watched the Episodes, as I wound up with quite an amount of shows to go through, for CHRISTMAS. So here it is, A NEW YEAR, and for awhile, I’ll be viewing Episodes of “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, “DENNIS, THE MENACE”, “MR. ED”, “THE DONNA REED SHOW”, “LEAVE IT TO BEAVER”, “PERRY MASON”, AND “MY THREE SONS”. I think I will have quite a bit of “Fresh Entertainment” for awhile.
Skip died 24 years ago in 1993 at the age of 63. He was one of my favorites from Ozzie and Harriet too. Those shows you will be watching are all some of my favorite shows. Sounds like you had a great Christmas.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EARLENE AND EVERYONE ON THE FORUM!!
Hi Andrew, Thank You for responding to my most recent post. You’re right! “Skip Young” did pass away at the the ripe Young Age of 63. It was 3 days after his 63rd Birthday. He had had some Health Issues over the years. I wish that the “NELSON ESTATE” would release the rights to all of the OZZIE & HARRIET SEASONS. That way we, who have seen the show, can enjoy them the way they aired, instead of scattered episodes over the series, in no particular order. Some people seem to like them when DAVID AND RICKY WERE YOUNGER. I liked them after they were older and in high school and college. SKIP YOUNG was in over 90 Episodes including the Final Episode. I really enjoyed him when his Girlfriend, “GINGER”, played by “CHARLENE SALERNO” were in Episodes that he was in. They were hilarious together. Her last EPISODE APPEARANCE WAS IN: “KRIS AND THE QUEEN”. Though I received “MY THREE SONS” for “CHRISTMAS”, it is Volume 2 of Season 1, which does not contain the only Episode on “MY THREE SONS, in which “SKIP YOUNG” appeared in. I’ve been an AVID FAN of his since I first saw him on the OZZIE & HARRIET EPISODE: “KRIS AND THE QUEEN”.
Father Knows Best will be releasing Season 5 DVD on April 11.
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Father-Knows-Best-Season-5/22936
I don’t know if you already have these Ozzie and Harriet Seasons 1-5 shows. They are on 5 DVD’s and run for 600 minutes:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Father-Knows-Best-Season-5/22936
It’s been a long time since I’ve commented here, but as a reminder, Father Knows Best was in my top 5 favorite tv shows of all time (my life so far, age 54).About Ozzie & Harriett… Not as familiar with that show, but I didn’t really like Ricky singing in so many episodes. BUT… I completely understand they wanted to take advantage of his talent, although I personally felt it was too much. They did the same thing with the Donna Reed Show, with Paul Petersen. Yes, he had a decent voice, but I feel so much attention on such a young guy made him a bit cocky. (Not sure about Rick Nelson, although I think he was more talented.) But anyway, wanted to throw that out there to see if anyone else felt the same way. Either way, right or wrong, it’s only my opinion.
I can see why Ricky sang so much on the shows. It was a way of them having millions of people listen to his music, then go to the record stores and buy his music. They had a platform that most singers never had, and they took advantage of it.
However, I can understand you not liking him singing, since it took time away from the show itself, and it turned into the Ricky Nelson Show at the end of those shows.
We teens really anticipated Ricky’s song at the end of the show – even though he rendered it with about as much emotion as a coma victim — as the best part! Really, I thought O&H was the most mediocre, flatly-acted and simplistic of all the really popular sitcoms. The plots were un-engaging, characters stereotyped, (okay, I know we don’t expect much of sitcoms of that era) and the acting amateurish — and it never improved, so the music saved the show for we kids! Likewise, even teens didn’t expect their dance music to be intellectual; that’s now what it was all about. We’d been raised on Big Bands and show tunes; Como, Sinatra, and Paige were good but belonged to our parents era. You’ll notice that in American Grafitti, the TV in the store window is showing Rick in his music segment? Significant. At least Ozzie knew to hire the very best band and backup group for Rick. Wonder if David ever auditioned, or what he thought about his over-achiever little bro? Cocky, probably, and he was!
Of course, I don’t think that Elvis ever appeared in any TV drama or sitcom, and he was the big stud duck of the era; likewise, very few shows or mainstream movies really showed the teens enjoying or dancing to real rock n roll. Usually progressive jazz or even bland pop/swing type music was featured — much less black r&b wildmen like Little Richard or Chuck Berry!
Wick, Class of ’63
Aside: the writers of the Beaver show (!) were often critical of TV, and satirized their medium; In the episode where Beaver adopts a monkey, Ward and June see the ape watching raptly at their b&w TV, and Ward comments “I guess that television may have found it’s true audience!” There was probably more real critical thinking going on back then than there is now, folks!
My wife and I (68 and 71 years of age) really like FKB; even though Jim didn’t always know best — as everyone in the ‘fifties realized; the title was a bit satirical — it was reassuring that he always tried his best.
To my wife, a Hispanic who had to pick fruit to help her family survive, the ‘middle American sitcoms — FKB, Donna Reed, Beaver, etc. — are of a world pretty alien to her memories, but there seems to be a universal attitude, despite some level of idealized unreality, that appeals to us as grandparents. Our grandkids know all the characters of the three above, and from our DVD’s have prob watched every episode more than once. They wonder why no persons of color ever appear except as servants in the B&W era. Of course, we don’t have cable or satellite TV; don’t watch broadcast shows or news at all, period. Too aggravating for old folk!
My opinion, Carl, is that Ricky Nelson was a performer of some talent, but one who as kid star of the first real family sitcom (not discounting Lucy!) had an advantage over many other aspiring pop singers — beside being teen-idol handsome. Ozzie and Harriet had been in the music business as band leader and girl singer in the swing era; they new the territory. Rick suffered from the stigma of ‘little rich boy’ even in that era, vs. rockers like Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly, who were also innovators in the new genre. But, as a kid in high school in ’59, I still admit most of his hits among some of my favorite tunes, esp Poor Little Fool, penned by Cochran’s lady friend.
Paul Peterson, likewise, had an ‘in’ by being a TV star; whether his two hits would have ever been produced without his show biz contacts is problematic, but neither were bad songs, nor done poorly. Middle-road singer James Darrin was on the show (singing) at least twice, and re-did his Off to Join the Circus hit just for one episode Off to Join the Army, that may have been the tie-in. Of course Shelly Fabres number one hit Johnny Angel is hard to deny; it was sweet and positioned right in the center of the rock/pop market; success guaranteed. She did a follow[up that was unremarkable and went no where. She, of course, was the niece of actress Nanette Fabray.
It’s interesting, in closing, to note that the Petersen song My Dad is a daring departure from the June/Moon/Swoon type of love ballad or dance tune that was the staple of RnR; only Eddie Fishers smaltzy Oh My Papa, or Connie Francis’s Mama are comparable in topic matter. I lost my dad to a heart attack in ’58, and that song sort of hit me… I still can sing it. Jerry Beaver Mathers also cut a record but I’m sure he’d rather we all forget the fact! It was Tony Dow – -a real-word jock — whose face was on most of the fan magazines, however. (He and I are of an age, and both do art, but that’s where the similarity ends!)
I imagine all the show-biz boy stars were born smart-alecks, really; they were actors, and it was part of their appeal. It was probably a ‘vast wasteland’, but many avid viewers of that era weren’t so callow or uncritical as all that…
Thx!
Wick
Very interesting about how Shelly did a follow up to Johnny Angel that was unremarkable and went no where! I bet that burst her bubble, if she had intended to go into singing or not, i don’t really know. About Paul Peterson’s song, “My Dad”… I LOVED it. I thought it was VERY appropriate to the show… and even “She Can’t Find Her Keys” was cute, but honestly, I always thought he was a bit of a brat (or smart aleck), anyway, so if something went to his head, I wouldn’t be able to tell. 🙂 Maybe I was wrong (those were my opinions from my childhood in the 60’s) but I always thought Dody on My 3 Sons was a terrible brat, too! 🙂 But as an adult, I saw some reruns last year, and she’s really adorable, ha. And when I discovered her real-life brother is former teen idol Leif something (name forgotten), I thought, “now it makes sense”. (Ha, I am NOT a fan!) If she ever writes a tell-all book about him… oh, now I am just rambling. I really enjoy this conversation, I’m unable to discuss such things at work, most of my co-workers are younger than I am. If I could, and it was available, I would love to watch documentaries about ALL of those old tv shows and actors, BEHIND THE SCENES stuff! I’d really love that.
Agreed. My wife and I recalled that Donna Reed was really a ‘hip’ sitcom — in our memories — because it at least featured some pop songs that were ‘top 40’, but after buying the DVD’s for the first five seasons, it seems a little disappointing. The acting was pretty consistantly excellent (Oscar-winner Donna was the least vivid, alas) but the writing was uninspired, often. Both FKB and Beaver come over better nowadays for us; FKB had a better pace — Beaver dialog was often a bit slow and etherial — and both had some pretty hokey stories, but only occasionally. However, it’s obvious that the producers never conceived that their shows would be watched on huge HD screens and pondered over sixty years later! (You can tell that our teen idols had zits too!)
My best friend — and I use the term advisedly — in the 1952-66 era was a tougher version of Eddie Haskell. In one episode, June comments — and I prob. misquote — to Ward Cleaver: “Dear, your best friend is Fred Rutherford, and Wally’s is Eddie Haskell; what does that mean?” I think he says “We Cleavers are great humanitarians, I suppose?”.
Aside: even the doctors in our small CA town didn’t have as nice houses as the Cleavers and Andersons; the Stones pad was more like it. Who remembers doctors making home visits?! The two shows do communicate an upper middle-class society with a lot of warmth and decent values, tho. :-<) Ethics and human values; we're gonna' miss 'em!
Interestingly, regarding the musical segment of O&H; a couple of DVD sets we bought at like The Dollar Store bins are sold without Rick's performance attached; makes for a very short show! I think some of the Nelsons' must have been allowed into the public domain?
Ricks twin boys do and interesting show on SiriusXM radio on their dad's music; engaging if hyper-focused listening! Amazing how many old standards Ozzie had him record!! I sought Rick with a copy of his first album after a performance in the late '70's to get him to autograph it, but he hid and wouldn't. Oh well…
Paul Petersen and Shelly Fabares both had the same break, that Ricky Nelson had, but they never came close to being the star that Ricky was. I cannot even fathom Jerry Mathers as a singer. Thanks for the comment.
Mathers: apparently, neither could anyone else.:-<)
Hi Wick, Good thing that Jerry Mathers didn’t depend on his singing to make a living. He did have a band once named the Trappers.
Leave it to Beaver will be celebrating their 60th anniversary in 2017.
Andrew,
Interesting: Beaver and the Trappers? Cornball, but so were a lot of other group names. Wonder how many celeb or TV star kids were in bands? Dino Martin (withe Desi Arnaz Jr, and a Billy?), Gary Lewis (and the Playaboys), and ?? I guess Bonnie Raitt, daughter of John Raitt, Sean Lennon, etc?
Billy Gray was featured with Doris Day and John Raitt, I believe, in By the Light of the Silvery Moon, a Holiday movie, cop off of Booth Tarkington’s PENROD stories — but his name was Wesley. A couple of years before FKB, and he was very good, as always.
BTW, have you seen J. Mathers on Lucy and O&H? Also The Trouble with Harry?
Am I starting to ramble on?
Hi Andrew, I saw that “Season 5” of “FATHER KNOW BEST” is being released again and l wondered how come Season 6 is still available, yet Season 5 became unavailable for awhile! I meant to mention it earlier, but somehow it slipped by me. I bought some of the other COLLECTIONS OF OZZIE & HARRIET. The Volumes that you may be referring to all have about 4 Episodes per Volume. Some of those available Volumes just aren’t worth it to me because I would be willing to bet Ten to One that some of those have been released on some of the gathered Collections that I already have. I’m trying not to duplicate my Collection. Many fans will wind up duplicating their Collections, if they don’t check out the Titles before purchasing. It’s awful steep, but if I’m willing to pay One Dollar for every Episode that I don’t have then I’ve done well. It works like this: Lets say there is a Collection selling for $19.95 and the Collection has 24 Episodes, if there are at least 20 Episodes on there that I don’t have, then I’ve made a sound investment. I will already have about 4 of the Episodes, but I haven’t lost anything. Fresh Episodes aren’t that available right now. And of course I buy from “AMAZON”. I am definitely looking forward to purchasing SEASONS 5 & 6 of “FATHER KNOWS BEST” since I don’t yet have those. Seasons 5 & 6 has been notorious for being and then not being available, on both “SHOUT FACTORY” AND “AMAZON”, with such outrageous pricing. IT’S INCREDIBLE!
Hi Earline, That is strange that Season 6 came out before Season 5 of Father Knows Best. That is false advertising to make it look like they are selling complete seasons of Ozzie and Harriet, when they are only selling 4 episodes a season. Those are only about 10 percent of a season, so not even close to being a full season.
Hi Andrew, I’ve too, read that Robert Young attempted suicide. I don’t think that I would have brought that up in this forum, since it is probably meant to be for fun discussion on old shows. I read and understood that Robert had been alcoholic and was suffering from depression. I also read that he wanted his wife to go with him. I’m not sure, but I don’t think Robert had much of a career after “MARCUS WELBY, MD”. That may have contributed to his undoing. Once in awhile we do hear of a successful Actor taking their own life. Maybe that person don’t think that there is anything else after such success. Or perhaps that person is to afraid to face the idea of not being able to maintain the success. Who knows. IT’S A PITIFUL SHAME!
Hi Earline, I just checked and saw Robert Young’s last appearance was in 1988 in a Marcus Welby TV movie. He died 19 years later in 2007 at the age of 91.
IMDB.com says this about his suicide attempt:
Attempted suicide in 1991 as a result of a chemical imbalance and while battling Alzheimer’s disease and heart problems.
Hi Andrew, I wonder how much will they ask for “FATHER KNOWS BEST SEASON 5” this time!? I wonder what has the fuss about Seasons 5&6 really been about, as far as their availability and price. There hasn’t been any issues with getting Seasons ONE TO FOUR. But the prices bounce up and down constantly. This year I hope to finish some of my Collections. I’m looking forward to completing such favorites as: “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, “BEWITCHED”, and “GILLIGAN’S ISLAND”. I could have included “MY THREE SONS” and “THE DONNA REED SHOW. However, these two shows are not yet available in their entirety. “MY THREE SONS” only have two Seasons available, in Volumes 1 & 2 Each. And “THE DONNA REED SHOW” has only made 5 of its Seasons available. I know that this forum mostly on focuses on “OLD SHOWS” however “THE LOVE BOAT” SEASON THREE IN VOLUMES ONE AND TWO WILL BECOME AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK ON JANUARY 17, 2017. I HAVE ORDERED MY COPIES.
Surprised that My Three Sons is still not complete, considering how liked the show was.
Hi Andrew, I think I should have made something clear: I’m not against buying Ozzie & Harriet by Volumes, if I am getting Episodes that I don’t already have. Some of the individual Volumes are selling at about $6.00 per Volume. That’s about $1.50 per Episode, since there are 4 Episodes on Each Volume. A few years ago “SAM NELSON”, “RICKY NELSON’S YOUNGEST SON”, was in negotiations to have the Series set to sell by the Season, instead of the tedious Volumes that we keep having to rake through. I understood that Sam wanted Control of the project, and it fell through. I don’t know if that meant selling the “RIGHTS”, or something else. This is a shame! This is one of the best earlier Family Shows that I’ve ever seen. Hopefully something else can be worked out. It would be a shame for this show to go into obscurity.
Hi Earlene, I too hate that the shows may not be seen, after Sam Nelson wanted to do the shows season by season. Now we can only see a fraction of the 435 episodes of the shows made in their 14 year run.
Wick, some of your details are wrong. “BILLY GRAY” did appear with “DORIS DAY” on “BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON”, except it was with “GORDON MACRAE”, not “JOHN RAITT”. The movie in which “DORIS DAY” AND “JOHN RAITT” were in together was “THE PAJAMA GAME”. “BILLY GRAY” also appeared in “ON MOONLIGHT BAY”, in which “BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON” was the sequel.
Thanks, I should have looked those up. Raitt and McRae sang a lot alike, anyhow.
You knew that the two movies were based on Tarkington’s “Penrod” stories? I grew up on them, as we weren’t allowed TV at home. Tom Sawyer, but set in 1914, and tamed down somewhat.
I think that Billy got a tremendous amount of good story lines on FKB, and did a good or excellent job on most — the writers seemed to like his character. As a geezer, if not quite his age, I think that a lot of Bud’s ‘problems’ in school and life were pretty honest and accurate, and that appealed to us boys. Poor ‘Princess’ stiuations were so melodramatic; but perhaps she just had a melodramatic character to portray. ‘Kitten’, she was such a twerp in the early shows, and a pale imitation of big sis in the later ones — not very simpatico. As I say, I’m more of a fan of FKB now than back when it was on the air, I suppose.
Aside: am I missing out on something in not putting actors names in “quotes”? :-<)
Hey Wick,
Good stuff about the musical talents of some of our favorite child actors. How about this one : Johnny Crawford who played Mark McCain on The Rifleman with dad lead Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain. He had his own band at one time.
Marc,
Yep, that I knew because they still play “Cindy has a birthday”* and ‘Your nose is gonna’ grow’ on Sirius Fifties on 5… almost every day! They weren’t that big of hits, as I recall.
As an aside: we GI’s in the ’60s had a lot of contempt for Crawford, as he made some really obnoxious training films — moral guidance, they called it — that we were forced to sit through. Crawford always played a ‘good soldier’ who was rewarded for behaving himself: in one I recall best, he actually rides off into the sunset with some babe on a horse (we suspected the gal as being the Colonel’s daughter, I recall) wearing a smirk and a roll-neck Bobby Rydell sweater! Anyhow, his character was a real ‘sister Susie’ type, and we were very cynical by 1968; didn’t seem to chime with what was going on in ‘Nam, after all.
Other kid actors that had Top 40 songs were of course Shelly Fabres (a chart topper), Paul Petersen (2, at least), Sal Mineo (1 anyhow — he played bongos), and Eddie Hodges. Connie Stevens hardly rates as a child, does she? The little brother from “My Three Sons” was, of course, in The Buddy Holly Story. Wasn’t he Toad, also? I used to know!
Of course, in the ’60s, everybody was a rock star, not just the Monkees or Partridges. Happy Days; very in-authentic; I couldn’t watch it, but I’m a purist.
One of the worst FKB’s was where Kaye Ballard (?) with Gayle Gordon has a musical family, all stiffs, who try to break in a new sitcom on Donna Reed. One of those same actors also was featured in one of the worst Dick VanDyke’s (hard to imagine his show being poor) where they try to promote a dance called “The Twizzle”. Embarrasing! Guess “Bye Bye Birdie” went to his head!
What other ones can you guys name? I’m sure there were some — my old memory is so vague!
Wick
*Something like that?
Wink, No! You do not have to put Actors Names with quotation marks or even capitalize some words used in a general way. I do that to draw attention to the key words in what I’m saying. Some people find it annoying, but that’s their problem. It’s not incorrect to do that. Sometimes when I write reviews on “AMAZON” I write them in all capital letters. Of course someone would complain about it. It’s just a writing style. No one has to read my reviews. I’m not being paid to write them. So to use quotation marks or to not use quotations marks, is entirely up to you!
Sorry, it’s WICK, short for Wickersham. Close, though.
WH
Wick,
Thanks for that info on Crawford’s so called teasing films. Very interesting. And from one grateful citizen to you: Thank you for serving our country and of course, Welcome Home!
MS
*training films
This is a strange observation after watching FKB every morning at 7, then again at 7:30, but I noticed something that has caught my eye on numerous occasions. Bud’s pants on the back have a buckle of some sorts that is located just below the belt line. What in tarnation is that for? Wick, Earline, or Arthur – any ideas?
Marc, Good catch….Have never noticed that before, so am no help, but hope someone knows, since I am curious about what it is.
It was an “Ivy League” styling cue, the ‘belt in the back’ look. Wasn’t really a buckle, just a simulation, and usually cheezy at that. Often seen on the ‘flat cap’ sports-car or ‘stroker’ type caps that were — and still are popular in some groups. I had a few; they went with the button-down collars, Vee-front shirts (looked like a shirt over another shirt, had a short vogue about 1956-7), and the ubiquitous Bermuda shorts. Amazing what we’ll pay for to wear on our clothes. I believe the printed tee-shirt craze began with the Triumph motorcycle tee that Bob Dylan was wearing on the cover of “Highway 61 Revisited” album — a very good one — about 1962? Of course there were advertising tees seen before that, but after that time we kids were suddenly willing to wear an advert on our clothes, and PAY for the priveledge of doing it! My crowd always took razor blades and cut all the manufacturer’s trademarks, etc. off our clothes: the “Levi’s” red tab and leather waist/length patch on the belt line; our thing was we weren’t going to give free advertising to clothes makers who charged too much anyway. I remember catching heck for trying to shave the alligator embroidery off my new Izod-Lacoste polo shirt; naturally I made a hole in it, and had to keep the reptile after Mom sewed it back on! Bud wears some pretty gauche shirts, but then: he was a screen star in L.A., and I was in a little cow-town in the exact opposite end of the Great State — so who knew best? He always seems to be fit and in great shape!
I personally liked the vee-necked bulky sweaters that Bobby Rydell made popular; but expensive!
Wick
Wick and Arthur,
Bud was trying to make a fashion statement apparently. Very interesting insights of past trends about printed tees and sweaters. I remember that Andy Williams would wear his custom V neck sweaters with a very pronounced block v in the pattern. Very cool.
MS
Hi Andrew, Today “Billy Gray” celebrates his 79th Birthday. It would be a nice idea for all of his fans to watch some of their favorite “FATHER KNOWS BEST” episodes as a way to celebrate with him. Some of his movies are a good idea too, like: “MA AND PA KETTLE AT THE FAIR”, “THE GIRL NEXT DOOR”, “ON MOONLIGHT BAY”, AND “BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON”. I really wish that I had copies of SEASONS FIVE AND SIX, so that I could pick from those too.
Hi Earlene, Hard to believe Bud Anderson is 79 years old. The news that today is his 79th birthday makes me feel older than my 72 years. I don’t think I ever saw any of the movies that he was in.
Hi Andrew, I had never heard of or even remembered “Billy Gray” until I first saw him in “ON MOONLIGHT BAY”, in “1997” when I began buying “DORIS DAY FILMS”. I haven’t seen most of his work. But he did appear in a film of my favorite “OLD COMEDY TEAM”: “ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER”. He was a busy young Actor. I hope that you get to enjoy him too, today. And I don’t think that 72 is old.
Hi Earline, Doris Day has always been one of my favorite actresses. She had a rough life before she became famous, and sometimes even after then. I loved her TV show. Guess 72 is not that old after all, since my dad was 102 in November.
Hi Andrew, I’ve been watching some of the old shows that I got for “CHRISTMAS”. On “DENNIS, THE MENACE”, Season Two, Episode Two: “DENNIS AND THE WEDDING”, ELINOR DONAHUE plays a relative of “GEORGE AND MARTHA WILSON”, who is getting married. And then on “THE LOVE BOAT”, Season Three, Episode Six: “THE REUNION/CREW CONFESSIONS/HAVEN’T I SEEN YOU?”, JANE WYATT plays a wife who is being reunited with her husband who had been separated from her by the war for 40 Years. Elinor and Jane had both appeared on “THE LOVE BOAT” and “FANTASY ISLAND”. It’s to bad that these two wonderful shows are being released very slowly. These two shows showcased alot of long, forgotten Actors. Actors who had been out of the public eye for years. Many of those Actors I hadn’t ever heard of before those two shows. Those two shows became two of my favorites in the late 1970’s to mid 1980’s. I just finished going through Volume One, as once again this season is being sold in Two Volumes, too. I’ll get through the Second Volume later. I know that “THE LOVE BOAT” came along almost 20 Years later, after “FATHER KNOWS BEST” went out of production. Also by then Television had gotten rather risque, but some of the stories were pretty neat, and there were definately lessons in many of them. Does shows even teach lessons anymore?
Hi Earline, That had to be exciting to see Elinor Donahue and Jane Wyatt on episodes of Dennis the Menace and the Love Boat.
You make a great point about shows today being too risque. Shows back in our day had great lessons to them. Today they seem to be more interested in having stories that shock people, rather than teach lessons.
Good Morning Andrew, And to everyone else on this forum. This morning I received an E*Mail from “AMAZON” about the availability of “FATHER KNOWS BEST” “SEASON FIVE” ON “APRIL 11, 2017”. It can be “Pre-Ordered” now, for “$34.99”. And there is an “AVAILABILITY ALERT” on it too. It seems that they expect to possibly run out of stock soon. I am happy to say that I have Pre-Ordered mine.This must be a very popular SEASON, as it was only available before, exclusively by “SHOUT FACTORY” for awhile. Then it was available in the Mainstream, allowing “AMAZON” and other retailers to offer it. But then with “AMAZON”, as I mentioned before, it has gone in and out of availability. It was even unavailable from “SHOUT FACTORY” for awhile. I checked. Of course Sellers were making their copies available, sometimes with over the top, outrageously, excruciating prices. I suppose with Supply and Demand, a Seller could ask for any amount. And I checked the price for “SEASON SIX”. From “AMAZON” it is now selling for “$59.98”. Just a couple of days ago it was “$39.99”. When the price drop again on “SEASON SIX”, I hope that I can buy a copy, so that I can stop watching the yo-yo go up and down, back and forth.
Good afternoon Earline, You have something to look forward to now, since you know you should have Season 5 of Father Knows Best by the middle of April. $59.98 is too high for Season 6. When will Season 6 be sent out by Amazon? Surely it wasn’t ready before Season 5. It will be nice when Season 5 arrives, so you can watch the shows when you want, and as many times as you want.
Hi Andrew, “SEASON SIX OF FATHER KNOWS BEST IS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW”, but who wants to buy it at “$59.98?” I’ve even seen it around $70.00!. As I’ve said, SEASONS FIVE AND SIX GOES IN AND OUT OF AVAILABILTY. The thing is, the other seasons are always available. It’s truly odd. I haven’t checked to see if SEASON FIVE is available from “SHOUT FACTORY”.
Hi Andrew, Just out of curiosity I checked with “SHOUT! FACTORY” to see if they were/are offering “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, “SEASON FIVE”, too. Yep, they are, at the same price. However, SEASON SIX is being offered nearly $30.00 cheaper than “AMAZON”, for $29.99. I don’t think I’ve seen it that cheap. I haven’t bought anything from “SHOUT! FACTORY”, though that price sure is attractive. “SEASON SIX” is available to buy right now, but it’s not in my budget. I want to buy “MY THREE SONS”, “SEASON ONE”, “VOLUME ONE”. I got “VOLUME TWO” for “CHRISTMAS”. YES, SEASON SIX OF “FATHER KNOWS BEST” HAS BEEN AVAILABLE, FROM BOTH “AMAZON” AND “SHOUT! FACTORY”. Why does this available, unavailable situation keep happening is anybody’s guess! Maybe it gets pulled because of quality complaints. They certainly aren’t going to tell us.
That is a $30 savings on Season 6. Can’t figure out why Season 6 is available before Season 5. Only problem about waiting is that Shout Factory may go up on their price, when they see Amazon is selling for $30 more. I understand about the budget situation though. You can only buy what you can afford.
Hi Andrew, I am pleased to announce that Season 5 of “FATHER KNOWS BEST” has been released, as of Yesterday from “AMAZON”. The good thing is, the price went down to $27.75, shortly before it was released, which lowered everyone’s cost who had already paid for a copy. That’s better than a $7.00 savings. It was offered on Pre-order for $34.99. You probably recall that I discussed the availability of Seasons 5 and 6, how they are constantly available and then unavailable again. Well, at this time Season 6 is unavailable from “AMAZON” . And when it was last being offered, it was going for $39.99. The very last time I checked on “SHOUT FACTORY”, they were asking for the delicious price of $29.99. I’m sure that that doesn’t include Shipping and Handling or tax. Though the price was nearly $40.00 from “AMAZON”, I wish I had bought it anyway.
Hil Earline, Thanks for sharing the news about the price reduction at Amazon for Season 5.
Hi Everyone, In response to what that little buckle was on the back of Bud’s Pants, I’m simply going to say that it was probably some sort of style during that time. I’m to young to have been hip to that one, though styles come and go all the time. Also, since I’m a female I don’t pay alot of attention to fashions for men. Of course from time to time something does strike me from time to time as being really in. Though I haven’t noticed the buckle, I’ll look for it the next time I watch “FATHER KNOWS BEST”.
Earline,
See my comments to Andrew; I remember it well! Also the white socks; they were a social must! They look funny now, but are obvious in sitcoms and quite a few movies of the 1955-65 period. I had some argyles, but they were just funny.
Hi Earline, Thank you for your post. I too haven’t seen the buckle mentioned as of yet.
Hi Wick, Thank you for a great detailed description of the buckle mentioned in earlier posts.
Earline,
See my comments to Andrew; I remember it well! Also the white socks; they were a social must! They look funny now, but are obvious in sitcoms and quite a few movies of the 1955-65 period. I had some argyles, but they were just funny.
I’m probably doing this wrong: The original reason I got onto this site was to learn what color Bud’s 1930 Ford Model A touring car was… I can learn all I need to build a model replica of it from the DVD’s, but not the colors. It had a brush-painted ‘flame job’ that is not atypical of some of the jalop’s from the early ‘fifties, and I’d bet the body color was blue, but dunno. I want to pose it in a diorama with Lumpy Rutherford’s 1940 Ford ragtop, from the episode where Wally and Eddie chain his rear axle to a tree and pull it out (this came before the Holstien’s 1961 Ford cop car in AMERICAN GRAFFITI, actually) maybe even adding a few other ‘fifties classics. The car the studio got for Lumpy is a beautiful piece, and would be worth about $75K now; in one episode June Cleaver mentions that it is a ‘sickly purple’, which helps. Anyhow…
Wick
Hi Wick, I like black and white TV shows, but they were no help in finding out what color anything on the shows were. I wish I knew where to find the colors of the cars mentioned. I still remember the scene from American Graffiti, with the cop car. I identified with that movie, since advertising for it asked “Where were you in 62?” ….and 1962 happened to be the year I graduated from high school, which was 55 years ago this year.
I was (like the prez, alas) class of ’63, at Modoc Union High School in Alturas CA; extreme NW corner of the state, and very islolated. We depended on radio a lot, as there were only about three TV stations we could receive; our house only got one, thus where i might have seen Donna Reed, I would only see FTB or Beaver at a friend’s house.
Where Bob Falfa was driving a ’55 Chevy two-door sedan with hot motor in the movie, I really had one on the streets from ’61 onward. I street raced a lot — that’s all we had — and whereas I didn’t always win the drag race, I didn’t roll my car either! Actually I had to sell it in ’63 for college money, and wound up with a rusty ’51 Ford flathead for $50. At least it was cheap and easy to work on; and no one expected it to be fast! By ’66 I had another ’55, and many more later. Now I can’t even afford one!
Our clan was far, far, from rich, but we weren’t poor either. The Anderson house was a lot like my step-dad’s (the Cleavers was grander than almost anyone in our little cow-town) and I worked at the local airport as line-boy on weekends ($1.25/hr. min. wage seemed like a lot to me!) and babysat on weeknights to afford a car and a roll-neck sweater — only had the one.
Our grandkids love the old sitcoms on DVDs, the three mentioned above especially, as they feature KIDS more than adults; Beaver was supposed to be based upon real-life experiences, and some of them kinda ‘date’ the writers/producers. I sometimes explain that to them; the values were a bit old-school even for that time period, but compared to today are radically dated — unfortunately. They wonder where the people of color are in that world, as their grandma is Hispanic… ! Wick
Hi Wick, Thank you for your post about what it was like in California in the 60’s. That was a real downgrade from a 55′ Chevy to a 51′ Ford. I was 10 years old before we even got a first television, and we may have had one even later if not for my sister having poor eyesight. The doctor prescribed a television to make her use her lazy eye, and put a screen over one side of the screen that made her use the bad eye. I remember our lone station didn’t show their first show till 3:30 PM when Howdy Doody came on, and was followed by Pinky Lee. We only were able to watch NBC shows till we had more channels in later years. I saw Leave it to Beaver the first time in Missouri on vacation, and it has always been one of my favorites. Jerry Mathers was giving autographs or maybe selling them at a Portland Beavers baseball game and my son, who lives in Portland was there. Thought I was working for a low wage at $1.40 an hour and $11 for a 8 hour day, but you beat me earning only $10 a day. Great that your grandkids love the old shows we grew up with in the 50’s and 60’s. One of my favorites was Amos and Andy, especially the show where Kingfish tried to move Andy’s 42 foot wide house into Andy’s 35 foot wide lot. Have noticed some shows today have almost nobody of color on the shows. Noticed it especially on America’s Funniest Home Videos.
Andrew
Hi Wick, I’m sorry about goofing up your name. I want to respond to your trying to find out the color of that car. Someone on this forum contacted “BILLY GRAY” but I don’t remember who, when, or what about. I wouldn’t suggest that you go through all of the comments on this forum as there are quite a few now. However, if you can get ahold of “BILLY GRAY’S E*MAIL ADDRESS” and drop him a line, I’m sure that he’ll be more than happy to tell you what you’ve been trying to find out.
Hi Andrew and Good Morning to Everyone on this forum. I just want to take a brief moment and mention SEASON SIX OF “FATHER KNOWS BEST”. I’m rather surprised that no one has mention that it will be released, again, on “JULY 18, 2017”. The price is really good too, as now it’s going for $27.39. It’s in “Pre-Order”. I wasn’t about to miss that price. It went into Pre-Order almost as soon as SEASON FIVE was released, again, this past April. I’ve mentioned the price changing on SEASONS FIVE AND SIX a few times now. Believe me, this is the “BEST PRICE” I’ve seen for SEASON SIX. In fact the price has gone down. I believe that “AMAZON” is competing with “SHOUT FACTORY” because when SEASON SIX went into Pre-Order it was selling for about $29.95. “SHOUT FACTORY” was selling SEASON SIX at just over $16.00. I haven’t checked their price lately, but I would bet that it’s still better then “AMAZON’S”. Since this item is in Pre-Order, when the price goes down, the customers whom has bought a copy, pay the lower price, which is good. I HOPE THAT THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR ALL OF THE “FATHER KNOWS BEST” FANS.
I am trying to answer the post by Earline, but WordPress is only letting me type it in the Leave a Reply to Marc box instead, so hope Earline sees this. Just wanted to thank Earline for posting the great price of $16 for Season 6. I doubt anyone will top that price.
Hi Andrew, Good Morning, I suppose by now you’ve enjoyed “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, which I can’t pick up in my area because I haven’t got METV or ANTENNAE TV. I suppose it really doesn’t matter since I have 5 out of the 6 SEASONS OF “FATHER KNOWS BEST” ON DVD. I’m going to bug you and the Fans just once more about price changes. Then I’m going to leave this subject alone until after “AMAZON” releases SEASON SIX. When Season Six was being offered by SHOUT FACTORY for nearly $17.00, it was in Pre-Order. It has been released and they are now asking for $24.99. “AMAZON” will not release this SEASON UNTIL JULY 18, 2017. They are now asking for $25.39, which is only .40 cents more than “SHOUT FACTORY”. This is the second time the price has gone down since I ordered my copy. Boy, the price is getting better and better. I HOPE ALL OF THE “FATHER KNOWS BEST FANS” TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS LOWERED PRICE. “AMAZON” and “SHOUT FACTORY” has been having a tug of war with their prices since “AMAZON” began offering “FATHER KNOWS BEST”.
Hi Earline, Thank you again for posting the latest prices for the Father Knows Best shows. The only time I have seen Father Knows Best was in the VA hospital in Houston, in October of 2016 when I was there for cancer surgery and they were showing it on Antenna television. Let us know if you find even better prices….Andrew
This has nothing to do with Father Knows Best, but it involved another show from the 60’s….the Andy Griffith Show. My wife and daughter put together a surprise trip in 2017 and called it a Destination Unknown vacation. They didn’t tell me where we were going and it turned out our first stop was Mount Airy, N.C. We actually stayed overnight in the same home Andy Griffith grew up in. Hampton Inn was renting it out by the night. Was a typical frame house of that time. That night we went to a drive-in movie, and then the next day we went to New York and the next morning went to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Will never forget that vacation.
Hi Andrew, I was just going back through the comments on this forum because sometimes I miss a few. Back in December right after Christmas a person named SUZANNE wanted to discuss the show “HAZEL” with me. I know that several Shows and even Movies have been mentioned on these comments. Even I briefly discussed “HAZEL”, but I was trying to compare a similarity between what had happened to “LAUREN CHAPEN” when she showed up at the studio one day and wasn’t allowed in, to how “DON DEFORE” and “WHITNEY BLAKE” were unkindly written out of “HAZEL” without any prior warning. I discussed it for a little bit and then I dropped it because I assumed that this forum is mainly to discuss “FATHER KNOWS BEST”. I didn’t think it was fair to continue, in an ongoing way, to discuss another Show. There are other blogs and forums that are dedicated to discussing “Hazel”, though there doesn’t seem to be much discussion from the fans. The most I’ve seen about “HAZEL” has been written in Biographies about “SHIRLEY BOOTH”. If I come across a forum where the fans are serious about discussing “HAZEL”, I may join in. But to do that on this Blog would be going far afield.
Hi Earline, I have no problem with you discussing Hazel on this forum, especially since I mentioned my Andy Griffith vacation of 2006 recently. Mentioning any situation comedy is fine with me. Still gets me upset that Don Defore and Whitney Blake were given their walking papers from Hazel show.
Andrew
Yahoooo! Father’s Knows Best won the voting for best TV father!!!!!! Antenna TV is showing FNB all day!!!!! Waiting for my fav episode !!!!
Marc, Thanks for passing on the news that Jim Anderson on Father Knows Best was voted Best TV Father on Yahoo. Great that Antenna TV is showing FNB all day.
It was great being in Mt. Ary and it did remind me of a small town like Mayberry. Wonder what happened to the original set of the sheriff’s office and jail.
I wonder what is Marc’s Favorite “Father Knows Best” Episode.
Andrew,
WOW! What cool thing that your wife and daughter did to surprise you. I would love that! I’m a big fan of AG. Does Mt. Airy resemble the town of Mayberry in any way? Would love to have walked the set of Mayberry in its heyday.
I would, too. But really, I liked Mayberry RFD MUCH better than the Andy Griffith Show. They just did a Mayberry RFD marathon, but it was only for the weekend.
Hi Andrew and Everyone, I didn’t want it to get to far passed that “FATHER KNOWS BEST: SEASON SIX” was released yesterday. I didn’t check the price for what it’s being offered at today, but I believe that I wound up paying a little less than $25.00, which isn’t bad, since it was first offered, again, at less than $30.00. I think that all of the “FATHER KNOWS BEST FANS” who are interested in purchasing this Season should do so as soon as possible. Who knows what the prices may bounce back up to. As good as this show is, I still wouldn’t want to spend $70.00 for it.
Hi Earline, Thank you keep Father Knows Best fans updated on the latest releases of the different seasons. FKB was a true family show and there is no family situation comedy today, that comes close to being a show, that a family can watch together. Thank you again for your post.
I’d like to find out more? I’d care to find out some
additional information.
Father Knows Best is my all-time favorite. I was five years old when it first aired, and I remember what a wonderful time the fifties and early sixties were to grow up in. I really think FKB gave post-WWII families a family model to aspire to. Let’s face it: how many shows today teach real-life lessons and how to be a good person to our grandchildren today? Why, there are even some episodes that mention going to church!!! How I’ve longed to relive those days….
Shows today avoid mention anything about God or church, to avoid offending non-believers. I will take the 50’s over today any day of the week.
I appreciate FTB more and more; somehow it evokes a family situation a bit more than other family sitcoms of that era, tho many are good. I was nine or ten when the show opened on TV, but our family didn’t have a set… seldom got to see it until the last seasons; amazing how well I seem to recall it! Yes, some shows are hokey (like all weekly shows, have lots of varied writers — the biggest influence on the content, after all ) and some a little sickly/cute, but mostly they have some honesty and impact. My wife agrees; when she’s stressed (a mental health professional of 30+ years!) she prefers FKB for it’s calm, warmth, and fairly honest approach. The ‘going to church’ thing is pretty accurate for a middle-class family of the ‘fifties, by my recollection, if that family is white, protestant and not beset with mental health or societal issues! She is not ‘white’, protestant, nor of a middle-class background, by the way. Oh yes: You know, non-believers have morals and scruples too, and still some rights! I NEVER watch TV nowdays.
I agree 100 percent. There is almost nothing you can watch today. Situation comedies today seem to want to shock us with their bad language and sexual innunendo. You could let kids watch FNB and not worry about the content of the shows, but if you do that today they are exposed to everything bad about our society today.
Better than most folks think, and so were the other shows of the top rank. Our teen/preteen grandkids know all the characters in FKB, Beaver, Donna Reed,I Love Lucy, both Newhart shows, and MTM (and Bullwinkle!); they choose to watch the DVDs of those when they come over. Of course, we subscribe to neither cable or dish services — and why would we pay to have garbage piped into our house?! As the George Utley character (fabulous Tom Poston — remembered from the old Steve Allen Sunday night show, with Louie Nye and the wonderful Don Knotts!) said when Larry, Darryl & Darryl left a tape of amorous beavers playing on the TV “Gee, I didn’t know we had cable!” Bob Newhart often turned his satire upon his own medium, TV. Love it!
Father Knows Best with Jim Anderson and Leave it to Beaver with Ward Cleaver exemplified to me, what good parenting is. There are no characters today in any show, that come close to being the fathers that were on the aforementioned shows. Fathers on situation comedies today are foul-mouthed, with their minds in the gutter.
The one (long ago now,) that turned me off was Married With Children! Well, as a retired elementary teacher, I can tell you ‘that’s what we have now!’
I taught wonderful bright motivated kids with wonderful bright responsible parents, but I also got (increasingly) children being ‘raised’ by parents who reasoned — if that is the correct term — at no higher level than their third graders.
Jim and Ward so much remind me of my late father (we lost him in 1958!) who was wise, humorous, utterly devoted, and pretty darned strict in the bargain. I still miss him. He loved me even if I was a wise-acre under-achiever. I improved on the latter… !
ONE reason I believe FKB was a great show is this simple reason: those story lines are still relevant today, in 2017. From Betty’s angst about graduating to Kathy’s make-believe world that Bud came crashing through, and Bud feeling picked-on by his boss. I’m NOT a prude, but when 2 Broke Girls comes on, and the first 5 minutes feature 3 references to male genitalia or oral sex acts, it makes me angry that such GOOD shows like FKB are only seen in the early hours or at odd times, and shows like 2 Broke Girls are shown during evening and/or prime-time. Imagine watching a tv show without sexuality or transgender issues entering your mind! That’s how is it watching FKB. I’ve always enjoyed Father Knows Best, and Little House on the Prairie. But there’s even more… At age 55, looking back, I am able to see and understand my family, although appearing normal and decent, was dysfunctional. So I really felt like Bud, Betty, and Kathy were the family I didn’t have in real life. I NEEDED that show, and shows that were similar, to maintain my own feeling of security. So it was about MORE than simply that they didn’t cuss or exhibit immorality… In my young mind, for 30 minutes, they were my family. Just like the Brady kids, and even the Partridge kids… I felt like they were MY brothers and sisters. And to this day, almost ALL of the shows I allow in my home are the ones I watched as a child. Some people would call that being “out of touch with reality”, but, really, anyone who thinks drugs, sex, and violence should dominate our minds every other waking moment are the ones who are out of touch!
The large networks show us junk like 2 Broke Girls, while the shows that should be on in prime time like FKB are mired in the 3AM – 6AM time slot. Then one show called Modern Family is the sorriest excuse for a family show on TV today. I watched it one time and it was over and out for me.
Prime TV has become a cesspool of shows with no redeeming quality.
Hello Andrew, And Hello to everyone on this Forum. You aren’t kidding about the awfulness of Today’s Shows. I don’t even bother with them, though I do watch the Hallmark Channels. Once again I went back through some of the recents Posts, since I haven’t written one since sometime during this passed Summer. I trust that you enjoyed Your Summer, and YOUR THANKSGIVING. I suppose everyone is anxiously waiting for CHRISTMAS DAY, as it is less than Three Weeks Away. I hope that all of THE “FATHER KNOWS BEST” FANS, know by now that Seasons Five and Six are not only available but they are less than $30.00, ON “AMAZON”. Hopefully everybody has bought their copies. Or order them now, for CHRISTMAS DAY. In going back through some of the Posts, you mentioned that perhaps I had already enjoyed “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, that day. Only if I had watched it on DVD. Where I live, in CALIFORNIA, METV nor ANTENNAE TV is available. This contributes to MY PURCHASING OF OLD SHOWS. Mainly because I can watch them when I want to. And, I can select what I want to watch. Last week I received an E*mail about THE “FATHER KNOWS BEST MOVIES: “FATHER KNOWS BEST REUNION” AND “FATHER KNOWS BEST: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS”, both appearing on METV. Of course I was disappointed that I wouldn’t get a chance, this year to view either one of them. Hopefully METV OR ANTENNAE TV will eventually wind up in my CABLE AREA. I hope that you get to see them. It would be nice, too, if somebody get the brilliant idea to put them both on DVD. I’d buy them in a heartbeat.
Hello Earline, I think the Hallmark Christmas movies may be the last bastion of good TV around. Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith and Leave it to Beaver are the best of the best from our era.
We do have Antenna TV, but so far haven’t seen a FKB show on there. Probably comes on during the early morning hours.
Merry Christmas to Earline and all the other Father Knows Best fans.
Andrew
We bought a ‘collectors copy’ of the FKB shows a few years back: it was a mixed blessing. All are ‘off-air’ tapings, with flickering/wavering picture, overly contrast-y, mediocre sound, and some obviously missed parts of scenes. I’m not even sure they constitute a complete set of all seasons; don’t think so. However, they did come with the color ‘movie specials’ you want to see, and those weren’t too bad. The directors/writers try to reconcile all the ‘real life’ details in the FKB network shows into the grown-up characters, and it seems to work. Not much humor. Very sentimental, of course, and when the Andersons decide to sell the old home, it is pretty sad… Hope you see them. Wick
Sad that something so good could be so imperfect. At least the color movies weren’t too bad.
Hello To Andrew, And to everyone on this Forum. Over the past year and a half I’ve been fortunate enough to afford to purchase all of the available Seasons of most of My Favorite Shows. This includes “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, “DENNIS, THE MENACE”, “LEAVE IT TO BEAVER”, AND “GILLIGAN’S ISLAND”. Unfortunately, some of those earlier shows still have not been released in there entirety. Will they ever? I’Ve bought what I can, but just like the rest of the fans, I’m still waiting.
Hey, everybody, I am sure I heard advertised a Father Knows Best MOVIE TONIGHT, on GET-TV.
Hi, I know that you posted your comment three days ago, about the “FATHER KNOWS BEST” MOVIE appearing on GET-TV. Unfortunately where I live in California, Stations such as “ANTENNA TV”, “ME-TV”, and the above mentioned Station are not part of Our Cable Station Line-up. It would be simply wonderful if whoever owns the Rights to the Movie, release it on DVD. I found an offer for both of the “FATHER KNOWS BEST” TV FILMS to be sold on DVD but it was obvious that they were bootleg because neither of the films have ever been released on either VHS or DVD through any legitimate Manufacturer or Distributor that I know of.
I don’t know anything about cable, but I don’t have cable, it shows on regular tv here in Texas.
Hi Carl, Hopefully, we will have a national nostalgia channel someday, that is televised on both cable and satellite. Only time I have ever seen Antenna TV, was when I was at VA Hospital in Houston for cancer surgery, and do remember seeing Father Knows Best but that was 5 years ago.
Hi Andrew . .
Father Knows Best was always my favorite situation comedy show. My second was “Life with Father” which starred Leon Ames and Lureen Tuttle and ran from 1953 through 1955. It was based on the highly successful Broadway play some years earlier. It was also made into a movie with William Powell and Irene Dunn. I don’t know how many of your viewers remember it. It had exceptional acting from the entire cast and excellent scripting. I have never seen it available on DVD.
Is there anyone who knows where I might inquire or locate this outstanding series? Thanks!
It is a mystery why Life With Father only had 9 episodes. Marion Ross who was Mrs. Cunningham in “Happy Days” was in 5 of the episodes. We didn’t even have a TV till 1954, plus our local station didn’t carry CBS shows. Leon Ames went on to star in Topper and Mr. Ed.
Hello Andrew, And to everyone on this Forum. Also Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope that everyone had a fantastic CHRISTMAS. I’m responding to Don Gould, who want any information available about the TV SHOW “LIFE WITH FATHER”. From what I can tell the Show only had 8 Episodes. It was Produced by CBS. As far as I could tell this show has never been available for sale. The Movie, with the same Title is available. “LIFE WITH FATHER” was a BROADWAY PLAY, first. Then it was followed by the film, which led to the Series. This show was before my time. I’ve only heard it mentioned.
Hi Don, “CBS” produced the show. Maybe you can contact them for any further information.
Hi Earline
Thanks for your response on “Life with Father”. I can not understand how there could only have been only 8 or 9 episodes when the series ran for 2 years (1953-1955). I personally remember many more than that. I guess I could be mistaken but in those days, these types of series ran weekly. I will have to research it further. I want to wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hello Don and Earline, I have researched further on why there are so few Life With Father shows, and still haven’t found the reason for so few shows. 8 shows of a show, that ran for 3 seasons makes no sense at all. Maybe they mean only 8 shows are good enough to be watchable. This was close to 65 years ago, so the film quality was inferior to that of today.
If kinescope was used to film Life With Father then this paragraph could explain why there are so few copies left today:
Kinescopes were intended to be used for immediate rebroadcast, or for an occasional repeat of a prerecorded program; thus, only a small fraction of kinescope recordings remain today. Many television shows are represented by only a handful of episodes, such as with the early television work of comedian Ernie Kovacs, and the original version of Jeopardy! hosted by Art Fleming.
I am still surprised imdb.com doesn’t list all the shows that were shown. The answer to this mystery is out there somewhere, and hope someone can tell us the rest of the story.
Hi Andrew . .
Thanks so much for your interest and further research into the “life with Father” TV shows. I am certain that no one has original copies of this series to be available for reproduction into DVD’s. It was an excellent show and since the storyline took place during the early 1900’s it would still be appealing to viewers.
You are quite correct that there were 3 seasons of this series filmed. There may be only a handful of episodes available in archives for possible viewing.
Does anyone remember the series “I Remember Mama” with Peggy Wood, Judson Laire, and the late Dick Van Patten? It also was a dated series about a Norwegian family around the turn of the 1900’s. It ran from July 1949 to March 1957. It was extremely popular at the time. Some of these type shows are indeed “classics”.
Hello Don, I Remember Mama or as IMDB calls it Mama is like Life With Father in that it lists very few shows, so it must have had bad film, so the shows couldn’t be saved. Guess we are fortunate to have as many Father Knows Best shows available as we do.
Hi Andrew, Out of curiosity I looked again for information about “LIFE WITH FATHER”. I came across an Article Titled: “TV SERIES FINALE”. It talked about this show, in better detail. The show had 27 known Half An Hour Episodes which aired from NOVEMBER 22, 1953 – MAY 23, 1955. It was on for Three Seasons. What was that, 9 Episodes Per Season?! That was pretty short, even for that time.
That number sounds like it may have been a summer replacement show. That still is barely 2 months of shows a year though.
I, too, lived in Texas for awhile. Antenna TV and ME-TV was available in a couple of areas where I lived. Unfortunately when a TV is shared, ones favorite preferences can’t always be met. Here, where I live I have my own TV but not the luxury of many decent TV Stations. This is why I’m so Thankful for DVD’s.
Hi Earline, We do have ME TV on our cable system. I need to check if Father Knows Best is on the schedule. I don’t remember it being on their schedule here, but they add shows from time to time.
Hi Andrew, And Happy NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY.
Hi, Andrew, I was trying to comment about something negative about one of the episodes on season 6 of Father Knows Best but it kept saying “sorry, your comment can not be posted”. I don’t what could have been wrong with what I said. But I shouldn’t have been censored.
Hi Earline,
It must have been Word Press that refused to post your comment. The only posts I don’t allow are ones with bad language or are mean-spirited. You are welcome to try it again and see if will go through, but I don’t think I was even allowed to see whatever you posted, since I don’t remember even seeing it.
Andrew
Hi Andrew, I tried twice. Then it came to me that I was being censored. I wasn’t bein mean spirited. Nor did I use derogatory language of any kind. I think thst I was being censored because I was speaking about attitudes at that hat time. I think it’s a shame.
Earline, I don’t know what happened, but was wondering if you said anything *religious in your comment that was censored.
Hi Andrew, Nope! As I said, I didn’t make any sort or derogatory statement at all. Not about Religion, Race, or any other Sensitive Matter. I was referring to the Attitudes that some people had at that time, which was in the Episode. It’s a Sensitive Subject for me even now. But I was thinking, it may have been that I had pointed out the Season and the episode that I disliked. But that doesn’t explain why I couldn’t post my comment.
I did say that after watching the episode it would explain why I disliked the Episode. And l did say which Season and Episode in which I was referring to. That was all!
It is now evident that you are being censored, since the same thing happened twice. It doesn’t seem like it would matter that you mentioned a specific episode, since those shows are over 60 years old.
Hi Earline……I want to wish you and all the other readers a Happy New Year in 2018, and may God bless everyone of you.
I see no reason why your comment would be censored. Evidently, WordPress is much stricter than Facebook, to censor a harmless post. I can’t believe some of the stuff that is allowed on Facebook.
Hi Andrew, There is one consolation to all of this. Season 6 doesn’t have a “Play All” Feature. So after each episode I would have to return to MY DVD Player to play the next Episode. So the next time I watch that Season I can skip that one. As far as Facebook goes, you’really right. Some of the stuff that is posted there is atrocious. I hardly use Facebook, except to Communicate with some of my Family Members. THANKS FOR CARING.
Hi Earline, Glad you don’t have to watch that episode. I post a lot on Facebook. I post a Bible verse on our church Facebook page, plus post announcements about our church. I also post a lot of baseball stuff and have recently got involved with an old time radio site. Father Knows Best started on old time radio, but only had Robert Young of the TV cast in that show. I also post on a page for the town I grew up in. I do try to avoid controversial subjects on Facebook.
Andrew
Hi Andrew, And to everyone on this Forum. Guess what, everybody?! Today BILLY GRAY CELEBRATES HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY! HOORAY! Let’s all watch a few Episodes of “FATHER KNOWS BEST”, preferably everyone’s personal favorites. I wonder what kind of Cake does Billy like?!
Hi Earline and all the others on this forum. Billy Gray was 22, when Father Knows Best ended in 1960, so has been 58 years, since he acted on the show. His website shows that he invented the F-1 guitar pick and is selling other items.
http://www.billygray.com/
Juli W. commented on Father Knows Best Children Today
Father Knows Best was pictured as the perfect family during its run of 203 episodes from 1954 to 1963 on CBS and NBC. The show …
Andrew Godfrey, I realize that this is 4 years later from this post but I wanted to tell you that Father Knows Best in its entirety is on Hulu today in 2018. I am in the process of watching the series now! I too grew up in the 50s and my Dad and Mom were pretty much like the Anderson’s except my Mom didn’t walk around all dressed up everyday like Margaret Anderson and June Cleaver! I doubt many Moms did! Thee are a good many old shows on Hulu now! I ditched Cable 4 yrs. ago and bought a Roku! My husband and I LOVE it! Thank you for this wonderful blog! Take care.
Juli W….Thank you for the kind words. You are welcome to post any time you want. There have been many posts to this page over the last few years. Thank you for mentioning about Hulu. In fact, I watched the Big Sister episode today on Hulu. It is sad that Netflix doesn’t carry the show, but they don’t carry many of the older shows. Only problem with Hulu is all the commercials, while Netflix has no commercials.
My mom never worked, while we were growing up, so had no reason to dress up like Margaret and June.
Thank you for your post.
Andrew
Just noticed that any comments since January 13 may not have been posted. I had to manually copy and paste the comment from Juli W. and my response into the comments section.
Well, it’s February of 2019 and this my first Post since earlier last year. I am wondering how come there doesn’t seem to be any new Posts since last year in February. Since the door has been opened and some other Shows and Actors have been discussed, I thought I would share this about an Actor I mentioned.
I mentioned an Actor named “John Newton” who appeared on Shows such as: “Dennis, The Menace”, “The Donna Reed Show”, and “Hazel”, just to name a few. Unfortunately sometimes information isn’t always up to date on the internet. Last Summer I discovered that John had passed away in 2012. The date of his death finally appeared on his IMDb. I was shocked because I had been searching all over the internet for some kind of updated news about him. I became a fan of his, after I saw him on “Hazel”. After looking him up I saw that he had appeared on several shows that I enjoy. Unfortunately most of them seem to be little more than “Bit Parts”. So in one my earlier Posts, when I mentioned that he was 91 Years Old, that was not correct.
John had a love for the Stage, which he returned to when he disappeared after having been on TV for about a decade. I came across an article which has a much later photo of him and it briefly talked about his love for the stage.
After Television he moved to New York, where he worked and lived out his life. Once again, this is in reference to the “older” Actor John Newton, who was born in 1925. Not the “younger” Actor John Newton, who was born in 1965. The odd thing is how come it took over five and a half years for John’s IMDb to be updated? And how come I had such difficulty finding the Article written about him, after he died. I must have asked trillions of questions on the internet. This was a very odd event.
Earline, Thank you for posting about John Newton.
Hello To Everyone, I’ve been off of this site for well over a year. I haven’t anything new as far as an update goes. And though I had mentioned having finally bought all six Seasons Of Father Knows Best, to this date I haven’t watched them all. I’ve had more than enough opportunity. But here’s something that
I came across. I saw where there had been a “Father Knows Best” Movie, planned for the big screen, back in 2009. It was never made, as far as I know. It was mentioned that Tim Allen was being considered to play “Jim Anderson”. But can anyone imagine Tim Allen, of all Actors, playing “Jim Anderson”? No! No! No! There’s nothing wrong with him, as an Actor. He was alright in “Home Improvement”. Though that’s as far as it has gone. They would need someone with charisma and charm. Not necessarily handsome , but attractive. And the Actor would need to be believable, which I don’t think Tim Allen would be. When they go about making TV Shows into movies, the Actors has to be believable and they can’t go to far from the show. Fans don’t like that. I sure don’t.
Hi Earline…..Good to hear from you again.
I agree that Tim Allen is not a good choice to portray Jim Anderson. Trying to think of a better actor for the role, but so far am coming up empty. Hard to believe Robert Young would be 113 if still alive, and Jane Wyatt would be 110. Elinor Donahue is 83. Billy Gray is 82, and Lauren Chapin will be 75 on May 23.
It is amazing we can still see the show 66 years after it first started, and 60 years after it went off the air.
Andrew
I think that whole turning TV Shows into movies thing came out of the popularity of all of those old shows. People were longing for shows like the the old TV Shows. I can rattle off a list of old TV Shows that they tried to bring back. But they just didn’t work. Some of those old Shows that they made into movies, weren’t very good. Awful is a better word. Some of the shows that I remember being made into movies were: “Dennis, The Menace”, “The Addams Family”, “The Little Rascals”, “Batman”, “Mission Impossible”, “The Brady Bunch”, “The Fugitive”, and “The Honeymooners”. To me the best one I named was “The Fugitive”. And almost every TV Show they’ve tried to reboot just didn’t work or just didn’t last. And some of those reboots were very good. I guess the Fans taste had moved on.
As much as I like “Father Know Best” I don’t think I want to see it made into a movie unless they do something on the scale of the two made for TV Movies they did back in the late 1970’s. I don’t think any Fan of “Father Knows Best” will except them changing the characters, or putting them in questionable situations. And they would probably only use the original cast in cameo roles. I failed to get the date of that article about a possible big screen movie of “Father Knows Best”, though it was written sometime in 2009. I would rather that they release the two films from the 1970’s and forget the idea of making “Father Knows Best” for the Big Screen.
Earline,
I can’t think of many TV shows made into movies that succeeded artistically or financially. Still wouldn’t mind seeing a Father Knows Best movie, even though it would be difficult casting the actors, to play the characters.
https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/father-knows-best-movie/
There are fewer and fewer of us left that remember the show, so they need to make the movie soon, if they are going to make one. I was 16 when the show went off the air, and I will be 76 this year.
Andrew
Even if they make a movie, it will probably be too politically correct to enjoy, and they’d make one of the characters gay. :-O But seriously, I would be happy if they’d only show more of the reruns on regular tv. Maybe instead of showing the Andy Griffith Show, the SAME ones, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER, they could put FKB in it’s place. And that’s my 2 cents.
Carl, I agree that a Father Knows Best movie today would not be a movie we would really want to see, since it would be so different from the TV show we grew up with, or at least the TV show I grew up with.
I love Andy Griffith Show, but I wouldn’t mind it being taken off, to show all the Father Knows Best shows, since there are 203 episodes, which would be enough to last 5 days a week for 40 weeks and 3 days.
Well, I wonder! If a movie were to be made would they grow the family up from where they left off in the series. Or would they do something like the 1977 Father Knows Best Reunion Movie. Yesterday, May 15th, marked the 43rd Anniversary of that movie. I understand that that movie was a possible pilot for a reboot of “Father Knows Best”. But none of the networks were interested. But yet they had tried “The Avengers” again, renaming it “The New Avengers”, which I didn’t see. That lasted a whopping 26 Episodes, from October 22, 1976 to December 17, 1977. The very next day the movie: “Father Knows Best: Home For Christmas” was released to television. In the mid 1970’s they tried a reboot of “Perry Mason”, renaming it: “The New Perry Mason”. That one didn’t go over to well either. But yet no one wanted to try “Father Knows Best”?
After all of those years since the show had gone out of production, they would have had to grow the family up and move them on. The thing with that is, it isn’t always accepted by the audience. But it wouldn’t have made sense not to have moved them forward. They would had to put in real life type situations. Of course, as always the problem would have been fixed by the end of the episode. In the Reunion movie Betty was a widow and Bud was experiencing some marital problems. If they had gone on with a reboot of the show, they would have to picked it up from where the movie left off. And that brings my thoughts back to a big screen version of the show. I can’t help but to think that it would be spoiled with awful dialog and awful characters. And would they write it as the television show was? Or would they write it with the characters all grown up with adult issues, like the 1977 movie. When they rebooted the show “Dallas”, the show was set forward. The children were adults with adult problems. The Actor Patrick Duffy said that was the way it should be. And I agree. But would the Fans of “Father Knows Best” want that? Well probably never know.
It might be better to not have a Father Knows Best movie, since it wouldn’t be anything like the version we grew up with. Writers today would have to add double entendres, and it wouldn’t be wholesome TV like the original version was. You are right about the awful dialog.
The last I knew Father Knows Best is still on Amazon Video. I think it was free with no additional charge to watch it the last time I watched it. Wish Netflix had it, since they don’t charge extra for anything TV show.
We are fortunate that Elinor Donahue, Lauren Chapin and Billy Gray are still alive, since all the actors from Green Acres have passed away, and only Betty Lynn, who played Thelma and Opie are still still alive from the Andy Griffith Show. That is even more amazing that those three are still with us, when you consider Father Knows Best went off the air in 1960, which was same year that Andy Griffith Show started its 8 years run.
Hi Andrew, I saw an article about Elinor Donahue. I didn’t have time to really read it. However she said she has retired. That she is done with being an Actress. I had looked her up because I had seen her as a Child Actress on the Doris Day Film “Tea For Two”. That’s a cute, entertaining movie. That was the only Doris Day in which she appeared in. However Billy Gray appeared in two of her Films: “On Moonlight Bay” and it’s sequel “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon”. As you know Doris Day past away on May 13th last year. Sometimes on the Anniversary of an Actor’s Death, if I have time, I’ll watch as much as I have of their work. I missed out on watching “Fury” yesterday. Actor Bobby Diamond who played “Joey” past away on May 15th of last year.
I think they have to pay for so many episodes of those old shows to air them, which is why we keep seeing the same ones over and over and over. Most of those old shows are not aired in their entirety. I don’t watch the old shows on television that I have on DVD. That doesn’t make sense to me. However, I do not have The Andy Griffith Show. There is a 50th Anniversary Set that is available that I’ve wanted to purchase for awhile. It has The Andy Griffith Reunion Movie, titled: “Return To Mayberry”. However “Aunt Bee” played by Actress Frances Bavier does not appear in the movie. Also for hard core Fans Of The Andy Griffith Show, the entire series is available for purchase. The last time I checked it was a little pricey. What I find kind of odd is that they haven’t sold most of those old shows as a complete series. Mostly, the ones that are available are sold by the Season.
I don’t have stations like “Antenna TV”, “FETV”, “MeTV” in my area. At one point, when I lived in Texas I could watch Shows like “Bonanza”, “The Lone Ranger” and “The Andy Griffith Show”. Now I would have to buy them if I want to see them. And “Bonanza” had 14 Seasons. The more Seasons a show have the harder it is on the pocket to purchase them. I’ve decided to stop purchasing shows for that very reason. However I have bought Season One of “Bonanza”.
We do have MeTV on our cable system. It is on Channel 136, so I seldom even go there, since it seems like everytime I go there, that a western is playing.
Hopefully some time in the future they’ll put those stations in my area. Once again I was going back thru some prior comments. Either I had forgotten what I had already commented about or something I had said needed to be updated. In a comment I wrote on November 5th, 2016, I said that Actor Don Defore was said to have written a book. Well, as it turns out the book hadn’t been published and the Manuscript was most likely left to his family. Last Summer Don’s Youngest Son, Ron, announced the releasing of his book: “Growing Up In Disneyland”. What he did was wrote his book and placed his Father’s Manuscript in parts throughout the book. It’s interesting, but I haven’t finished it. I have less than 100 pages left to read. If the readers are interested in what Disneyland was like with all of those old wonderful attractions, rides, events and such, forget it. The book is mainly about Ron, some about his Family, his Career, his days in Politics, how he met his Wife, etc. The book is well written, and entertaining, but disappointing. I wound up buying a softcover copy and buying a special priced Kindle Copy, which was a limited offer when the book was first released. It seem to me that there was something about getting an autographed copy through his website. And I thought the same offer was on Amazon too. I bought my copy on Amazon. But my copy was not autographed.
Shame Don Defore died before he wrote the book himself. Growing up in Disneyland was not a good idea for a book title.
I like Kindle books, since I can enlarge the type. However, sometimes it is cheaper to buy a used hardback or used paperback book much cheaper.
Hope you get some of those stations in your area, that will show the shows you want to see.
Andrew, I checked recently for MeTV. But it isn’t available. I figured if that one isn’t available the others aren’t either. I see that you, too, have a Kindle. Here’s something you may or may not know. Frank Banks who played “Lumpy” on “Leave It To Beaver” wrote a book. And so did Ken Osmond, and Jerry Mathers did too. The good news is Frank and Ken’s books are available on Kindle. You can also buy Ken’s book in Paperback, but Frank’s book seems to be only in Hardcover. And Jerry Mathers book is available from new to used, in Paperback, ranging in prices. However at this time it is not available on Kindle. I checked to see if Tony Dow may have written a book. So far there isn’t any news that he has. Ken’s book is about $6.00 on Kindle. It’s about $15.00 new. Frank’s book ranges in different prices from new to used. You mentioned buying books in expensively used. That’s a good idea, except I almost always get a book that stinks. I bought a book recently titled: “Ted Key’s All Hazel”. It’s a book of the Hazel Comic Strips and it stinks. I had to wrap it in plastic. It’s ridiculous to have to put on gloves, a face mask and goggles just to read a book. I like beautiful covers. I wish my Kindle was in color. But that isn’t going to detour me from buying Frank and Ken’s books. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Ken’s book suddenly spike in sells.
Andrew, I had forgotten that last year I bought a book on Kindle titled: “Close-Ups: Conversations With Our Favorite TV Stars” written by Eddie Lucas. There were interviews with Stars like Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, Ray Fulmer, Lynn Borden, Marla Gibbs, Peter Lupus, and Alice Ghostley, to name a few. That book was so dull. And it seems to be edited. The conversations seems clipped, cut off. This is the first book that I’ve read of it’s kind. I’m mentioning the book because I mentioned Tony Dow earlier. I can’t bring myself to delete the book. It would be like lost money.
Andrew, I don’t know how much of Don’s book shows up in Ron’s book. See, he cleverly interspersed parts of Don’s book throughout his book. Even after I finish reading the book, I won’t know how much of Don’s book was used. Don may not have finished his book. And by Ron adding it into his own book, it helped to stretch out his book. I’ve had the book for nine months today. I hope to finish it by the beginning of Summer. I want to move on. I have a ton of others I want to get to.
I am reading 4 books at once. I hope to be through reading all of them by the end of the summer. One is 900 pages and another is 600 pages. I just finished reading the autobiography of Brenda Lee, and she went from living without running water, electricity and no bathrooms in several of her childhood houses, to being worth $20 million today.
Fortunately for me I’ve bought most of the old shows that I remembered or over time came to enjoy. And at this time I just want all of the Fans of Ken Osmond who played “Eddie Haskell” on “Leave It To Beaver”, to know that he passed away today. He sas 76 Years Old. He had been ill for sometime, but the article does not mention the cause of his death. It’s really odd too, because I was just thinking a few minutes ago about an interview that I Tony Dow gave. It was a Bonus Feature on one of the earlier Seasons of “Leave It To Beaver” on DVD. I just saw an episode of “Fury”: “Search For Joey” and Ken Osmond played one of Joey’s Friend. Also Bobby Diamond who played “Joey” past away last year on May 15th.
I didn’t know about Bobby Diamond passing away on May 15- that was my FIRST favorite tv show as a child (to later be replaced by FKB), and my birthday is May 15. It’s getting to the point that only a few of us still remember and appreciate those old shows. Most of the people I “meet” online are too young to even know about them.
Found out the cause of Ken Osmond’s death. His son Eric said the cause was complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and peripheral arterial disease.
Hi Andrew, It was only by a quirky chance that I found out about Ken Osmond’s passing away yesterday. I was looking for something else and an article about his passing popped up. Isn’t it odd that some Actors get much mention and fanfare when they pass away. Whereas others don’t so much as get a blip or mention at all. I guess it depends on how popular or famous they were.
Andrew, Yesterday, as soon as I saw an article about Ken’s passing away, I looked to see what caused his death, but nothing was mention. Only that it hadn’t been disclosed yet. Did you find out from a different source?
Found out in a New York Times article online.
I found out about Bobby Diamond’s passion away because of my interest in the show “Fury”. I hadn’t heard of that show until I read Barry William’s Book. He discussed that he lived near Actor Peter Graves, who also starred on “Fury”. Plus in the 1990’s some of the “old actors” were showing up on shows who were featuring “Where Are They Now” topics. By then Bobby Diamond was a Lawyer. Then I saw him on the Movie: “Billie”, and last year I saw him on The F.B.I. so I looked him up and found that there was a Collection of “Fury” Episodes available to buy. Just not a full Season. That led me to look up Bobby Diamond. I was surprised to find out that he had died. It’s a kooky way to buy shows, to buy them by having heard about them instead of having seen them. And yes, we’re losing everybody. It’s a shame but it’s inevitable.
Yes we keep losing the stars of the shows we grew up with. Best thing about your collection is that as long as there are VHS players and DVD players you can watch the shows, and not be at the mercy of cable providers, who may or may not show the shows you want to see.
Andrew, I think I’m going to pull out my “Leave It To Beaver” and watch it again. It’s been awhile. And to be honest I haven’t seen the whole series. I liked it better as Beaver and Wally got older. Here’s some trivia: Did you know that Tony Dow did a Beer Commercial for “Old Milwaukee”. He may have done more than one, but one is all that I’ve come across. I buy those old Commercials too. They’re fun as fillers when I don’t have time to look at a show or watch a movie. Or when I’m just busy and want something to listen to.
A couple of years ago, I bought a movie titled: “C’mon, Let’s Live A Little”. Oh boy, what a Turkey! I only bought the movie because it was part of the Beach Genre. Actor Ken Osmond is in it. If my memory serves me correctly Ken played a College Student. This movie is set in a Malt Shoppe instead of on the Beach. There are some recognizable People in this film: Bobby Vee, Jackie DeShannon, Eddie Hodges, and Suzie Kaye. This will never be on any reputable “must see list”. But if you’re a hard core Beach Movie Fan, this one may just wind up in your Beach Movies Collection. The unique thing about all of those Beach Films are the Music Groups they had on them. Groups like “The Beach Boys”, “Jay And The Americans”, “The Turtles”, and “The Supremes”. Even “Little Richard”, “Stevie Wonder”, “James Brown” and “Dobie Gray” popped up in those movies too. Boy, they were so bad, they were good. The movies, I mean.
At least they had good music in a lot of the beach movies. The plots weren’t so hot though.
Andrew, Those movies were cranked out inexpensively and fast. Yeah, the music was good. Their Music Guests were good choices. One of my favorites was when Dobie Gray appeared in the Beach Film: “Out Of Sight”, singing the song: “Out On The Floor”. I hadn’t ever heard it before seeing him in that movie. The Turtles also appeared in that movie singing their Song: “She’ll Come Back”. Do I need to discuss the movie?! It was awful. Those movies were worth watching for the music. Forget the plots, the acting, the girls in Bikinis, the Surfer Boys. Even that they looked as if they were enjoying themselves. I understand that some of those movies were done in the Winter Time. Can you Imagine trying to make a Beach Film in the Winter Time, dressed in Swim Gear?
They had to make the beach movies in Florida, since there is a law against singing in a bathing suit in Florida.
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I’m not sure where some of those Beach Movies were Filmed, but I know that all of those Frankie and Annette Beach Films were Filmed in California. Annette didn’t like the Beach. She said that her hair would frizz. I’m familiar with what she was talking about. What a pain! You’re kidding about the no singing on the beach in Florida, right?!
Not kidding. Real law in Florida Doubt if it is enforced.
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You found some reasonable prices on Lauren Chapin book.
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I believe the name of David Cassidy’s book is “C’mon, Get Happy”. I bought that book twice. The first time was way back in the 1990’s. Then the book was either retitled, or supposedly updated because I saw it at a local library and borrowed it. Of course it had a different cover. That was about 11 Years ago. Since I can never seem to get through books that I borrow, I bought a copy. I was very disappointed. It seemed to be the same book with little or nothing new added. I felt that that was a waste of money. David Cassidy wasn’t the only Author who had pulled that stunt.
Was hoping David Cassidy wouldn’t be that way
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Hello To Everyone On This Forum, I’ve posted a few comments on this forum lately, particularly since the Actor Ken Osmond past away. This time of year I begin getting a little nostalgic. I get in the mood for Summer Movies, Music, and Fun and Barbecuing. This coming Monday, May 25th, is Memorial Day. It’s unfortunate that we probably won’t be having the kind of Summer Fun that we would like to have this year. But we can sure have Family Barbecues. With so much of our usual fun ideas cancelled, that opens the way for more time for me to get into about three projects I’ve been putting on the back burner. Without many Amusement Distractions, I haven’t any excuse to try to get around them. So I hope everyone on this forum and elsewhere have a safe and happy Summer.
I know what you mean, I’ve been nostalgic, too. I’ve been watching music videos of 60s music, especially the 4 Seasons. But also, Petula Clark, and Glen Campbell. I used to love “See You in September”, but all it does for me now is make me sad, it seems. But anyway, back to the topic of tv, I drop everything when Father Knows Best comes on. Kathy (Lauren Chapin) is actually a Linked In connection of mine. But she’s never actually said anything to me, she only accepted my online invitation. :-O Stay sane, everybody, during this crazy time! I will be SO glad when (IF) everything gets stocked up again. Not being able to find simple disposable gloves makes everyday cleaning (including litter boxes) very difficult, if not impossible. –Carl
Carl, Stay safe. Would like to read up on Lauren Chapin, to see what she did after leaving Father Knows Best.
I want to wish you and everyone a great summer.
Carl, I wonder if you’ve got any of these Summer Music Titles: “Teen-Age Crush Volumes 1-5”, “Monster Summer Hits Wild Surf”, “25 All-Time Greatest Summer Songs”, “Banana Split For My Baby: 33 Rockin’ Tracks”, or “Another Banana Split, Please No. 2. I won’t even rattle off the Beach Films I’ve got. It’ll take you all Summer.
Earline, the only music I listen to is on the internet, my cat jumped on my DVD player years ago and broke it, ha, so sorry, no, I don’t ever listen to CDs, either. But about gloves, YES, Amazon certainly might have some left, but there is plenty of price gouging. I actually saw a box of gloves for $116.00 (yes, one hundred and sixteen dollars)! Isn’t that crazy? I reported them for price gouging, too. I actually bought some gloves today at Sam’s Club, and I was shocked they had any! They’ve been out for so long now.
$116 for a box of gloves is ridiculous. They should be banned from selling.
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Andrew, you may know that Lauren got into some trouble. She did get married. She moved to Florida. But I haven’t a clue when. She became a Teacher. And she wrote a book. I haven’t checked out it’s availability. But hopefully it’s on Kindle.
Amazon has it for $935 new and $24.95 used, but Ebay has it used for less than $8 with free shipping from more than one seller.
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Carl, If you don’t mind ordering online, you can find just anything you want right now on Amazon. We bought masks and goggle. I don’t know why we didn’t buy any gloves. I hope this helps.
Carl, We bought Masks and Goggles from Amazon. Why we didn’t buy any Gloves, I haven’t a clue. Amazon seem to be the only folks who have anything. Keep in mind though, that it may take about three weeks to get your order, unless you pay for Express delivery, if that’s offered. I hope that this helps.
Fortunately we’re hopefully be able to to play discs for awhile yet. Unlike with VHS, there are more options. A Desk Top Computer, a Laptop, an Xbox, a Playstation, an of course the old faithful DVD Player which you have to have a TV too. Do you have any of those? The thing about watching and listening to stuff on the Internet is that it sometimes disappear. Or what you want may not be there anyway. Or they’ll make you pay to watch it. I don’t know if they still have those “Beach and Summer Weeks” on TV. I do know that alot of those Summer Songs on on YouTube. The aggravation for me about using Youtube is the searching, then the going back and forth to find a different selection. It reminds me of the old Record Players, before you could stack a few on. Give me some CD’s, please!
I have a lot of VHS tapes with nothing to play them on. Amos and Andy shows and some others.
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Since I opened the door the other day when I mentioned the Actor Ken Osmond appearing in the Movie: “C’Mon Let’s Live A Little”, I want to just briefly mention a company called “The Video Beat”. If anyone on this Forum is interested in that whole 1950’s-1970’s Culture, you might just enjoy this company. Their specialty are Films from that period in genres like “Juvenile Delinquent, Biker & Hot Rod Movies”, “Monster, Surf & Teenage Movies”, and “Rock ‘n’ Roll On TV”, among other categories. Since I have the best Collection of Movies and Music in my Family, I’m the Designated Entertainer. That and I get to Barbecue too. I Wish Everyone A Happy Memorial Day. Here is the website Address To “The Video Beat”: http://www.videobeat.com. ENJOY!
Andrew, It seems to me that I recently saw an advertisement on TV about a company whose specialty is putting filmed material on disc. You may have seen it. If you haven’t I’ll see if I can catch it and post the info here. However, I don’t know the legalities of transferring videos to disc for personal use. It’s not as if you were sitting in the back of the theatre copying movies, transferring them to discs and selling them. Those are items that you’ve already bought. I’m wondering about the cost though. I had a ton of movies on VHS and have replaced most of them on DVD, which cost me a small fortune, I would bet to the tune of a few thousand dollars over the years.
Andrew, I checked out the availability of Lauren Chapin’s book, on Amazon. Depending on whether you wanted it in paperback or hardcover, the prices I saw ranged from over $3.00 and up. Unfortunately it isn’t available on Kindle. Jerry Mathers book isn’t either. And you should see some of the prices sellers are asking for that book
Since I wasn’t about to dole out the kind of money that sellers are asking right now for a copy of Jerry Mathers book, I instead bought a book Titled: “The World According To Beaver” by Irwyn Applebaum, for just over $8.00, from Amazon. I’ll try to watch to see if I can get a less expensive copy of Jerry’s book.
Somewhere, I still have “Father really does know best” and “Growing up Brady”, and I read them both years ago. I ALSO read the David Cassidy book about the Partridge Family, but I forgot the name. Reading is NOT something I enjoy, it’s a chore to read something, so I’m glad I made the effort to read those. One I never read was something about the “Joy of being Ernie”, about My 3 Sons, and might want to read that someday.
You have read some very interesting books.
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I’m a Fan of the show: “My Three Sons”. Just like so many Fans we would like to see more Seasons released on DVD. When I last mentioned “My Three Sons” on this Forum, there were only two available Seasons to purchase. Now there are five. I wish they release more and soon. I’m really interested in seeing the later years. I didn’t see those.
That is a hard show to find on TV. Ebay has seasons 3-4-5 for $215. Amazon may be cheaper.
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I used to buy more books that were written by Celebrities. About three days ago I bought “Call Me Lumpy” by Frank Bank, and “Eddie” by Ken Osmond, on Kindle. And in a recent post I mention purchasing “The World According To Beaver” by Irwyn Applebaum, because Jerry Mathers book is outrageously priced at this time. I’ve also bought and read “Growing Up Brady”. I still have it, as I almost always keep books about Celebrities. I haven’t bought or read Barry’ Book. It may be next on my to purchase list.
Hope you enjoy World of Beaver book.
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I mentioned yesterday in a post about checking out the availability on Amazon for Lauren Chapin’s book. If I buy used, I try to buy from particular sellers. Why? Because some of those books weren’t taken care of very well. I have bought books that smelled of cigarette smoke, mold and mildew. And just all together stink. Of course my way of purchasing used books won’t guarantee that I’ll get one that doesn’t stink. But it does better my chances.
I haven’t had sense of smell since getting cancer, so wouldn’t know if a book stinked.
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Andrew, I understand that there are a lot of quirky, outdated, antiquated laws on the books that are not enforced. Thank God!
Earline, of the books you’ve mentioned, I am the least interested in Beaver’s book – seriously, even as a child, the show was too slow-paced for me, and I thought it was generally dull. So I don’t really care much about what Beaver has to say, ha. :-O But I heard Lumpy’s book was a bit shocking, he was surprisingly promiscuous! And David was, too. I can certainly do WITHOUT knowing all that stuff. I thought people back then (generally) had higher morals than that, but not really surprised at David Cassidy.
Liked Leave it to Beaver a lot. Beaver and Eddie Haskell carried the show.
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Carl, I think when it come down to morals, people at that time was doing the same kinds of things that we see on TV now. The difference is people were more conscience of displaying such things and the networks wouldn’t have allowed them anyway, as they shouldn’t have. Subjects like adultery, sleeping around, divorce and many other such subjects were held in check. Now, you can pick a subject, turn on your TV and you can find it on somewhere. TV is an awful form of entertainment if you select the mess that is offered to us today as entertainment. I’m not interested in that sort of entertainment. I like the old fun shows. But I guess the filth that TV offers today is what they think people want to see. People watch what they want to. And if it’s not offered, people will claim censorship. I think one has to go with their own conscience.
Earline, don’t misunderstand what I’ve said, I prefer ONLY old shows, even the ones I wasn’t too crazy about. In other words, if any “top” popular show on right now – if i had a choice of THAT show, or Leave it to Beaver, I would turn it on Beaver, no question, even though I think it’s generally boring. I simply DON’T watch current shows regularly (almost never), I simply don’t like them. In fact, other than the local news, my tv stays on all day with Little House on the Prairie (I know this show better than any other man out there, ha), Hazel, the Donna Reed Show, Dennis the Menace (although his constant smiling is annoying), the Paul Lynde Show, Joey Bishop, Dick Van Dyke, etc., etc. The current “popular” shows I’ve seen have such a dark mood to them, seriously, I think the creators are trying to lure people into depression! But anyway, I just wanted to explain how I ALWAYS prefer the older, innocent shows over ANY new ones. So yes, I definitely appreciate the values and innocence of the older shows. 🙂
Watched LITB as a kid. Even at a young age I knew it was just a story. Especially the fact that Beaver never got a spanking and he and Wally had their own bathroom! Just saying, kids can differenciate reality from “make believe”.
Well, I mentioned the books that the “Leave It To Beaver” Boys wrote because of Ken Osmond’s passing away. It’s a shame that it took the death of Ken Osmond before I purchased his and Franks’s books. I was interested though for awhile. Plus there may have been Fans who didn’t know about the books. “Leave It To Beaver” is the first show from that era that I remember. I liked it better as Beaver was growing up and his storylines were getting more mature.
I hope nobody gets mad at me for straying from the subject of FKB (again), but I want to mention something I think is very disturbing: I remember watching “family” when I was little, Buddy seemed likable, and I could relate to her (being somewhat close to the same age). But NOW, AS AN ADULT, I see “family” every night on the “Decades” channel, and noticed something i didn’t think too much about when I was little – literally every other episode, Willie is in bed with a different woman. Seriously, whenever the episode begins with a new woman, you can almost BET she and Willie will wake up in bed together, it’s ridiculous! First of all, as a man, I can’t imagine how Willie could even be considered attractive to ANY woman, unless they felt sorry for him, and the writers decided to spice-up his life, I don’t know. But “Family” was supposed to be a “heart warming” story about a typical family in the 70s… and Willie is portrayed as wise (at least, in Buddy’s eyes), and yet, his character has been reduced to a male whore. :-O Honestly, it’s impossible for me to watch and enjoy that show ever again. As an adult, I see what a spoiled child Willie is, although he’s supposed to be an adult, and it sickens me how BOTH parents cater to him at times. What loving parent who KNOWS their son is promiscuous is going to let him continue that lifestyle by saying nothing?? Or even if they DO say something, they apologize later for interfering in his life? Thank you for letting me get that off my chest, stepping down from my soap box now. 🙂
Glad I didn’t watch Family more often.
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I don’t know much about Ken Osmond, except he got shot.
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Andrew, I hope that you’re better. And that your Cancer is gone.
Me, too, Andrew. I hope your cancer is 100% gone.
October makes 8 years cancer free.
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I’m so happy that it’s gone. “FAMILY”?! Is that that show that came on in the late 1970’s? I only know it by title. I was looking at shows like “Wonder Woman”, “The Six Million Dollar Man”, and “The Bionic Woman”. Plus some of the Comedies on TV at that time. I think I had better steer clear of the 1980’s. That decade marched in quite a few “Night Time Soap Operas”. Those were as far off of what the 1950’s and 1960’s offered for Family Entertainment as Oatmeal is from Cavier.
80’s shows went over the top
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Yes, Earline, “Family” was on from 76-80. And yes, there were some raunchy shows around that time – Mary Hartman, SOAP, etc. But nothing risque or nasty on Father Knows Best, although I read somewhere that Bud was blasting the show (FKB) for being “racist” – not having black people on it. :-O But I believe he got into drugs for awhile? Either way, it seems he, Billy Gray was the most liberal of the cast. And that doesn’t impress me in the slightest. IN OTHER WORDS, if there was another reunion or movie, I wouldn’t miss Bud if he weren’t in it. :-O
I read that Ken Osmond was shot three times. He became a Police Officer in 1970. And he retired in 1988. I’m not sure what he’d been doing for the past thirty-two years. I suppose it might be covered in his book. Ken’s character, “Eddie Haskell”, was one of those characters we loved to hate. I’m glad that Wally would put him in his place when he would mess up. It balanced out the characters.
Ken Osmond is a real life hero for me risking his life.
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Carl, Unfortunately most of those old shows did not have people of color on them. The NAACP threatened to boycott the Car Manufacturer who sponsored The Show: “Hazel” if they didn’t hired a Black Person. By the mid 1960’s more Black People were showing up on some of those shows. I know the Actor Don Mitchell appeared on “I Dream Of Jeannie” at least two times. And there was the show “Julia”, which starred “Diahann Carroll ( I don’t think this is the way her last name is spelled), later in the 1960’s. In 1969 Actor Don Marshall played the Co-Pilot on “Land Of The Giants”. I remember other Black People were sprinkled throughout “Hazel”in such roles as Waiters, Mailmen, Milkmen, and Cab Drivers. Plus they had them walking down the street, at a Rally, and at The Bowling Alley. I just Thank God that those people helped to open the door for the rest of us.
Yeah, Billy Gray did get into some trouble with Marijuana. But I haven’t come across the article about his castigating “Father Knows Best” for not using Black People. I don’t remember any Black People on “Leave It To Beaver” or “Dennis, The Menace” either. However, there was a Black Actor, who played a Police Officer on “Peter Gunn”. And there were Black Actors on “The Fugitive” too. The Networks may have thought they would lose their ratings. We can’t go back there and change any of that but we can go forward. Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll ever have shows like those again.
I don’t remember any black people on Andy Griffith either. And you know there were a lot of black people in North Carolina, so the show wasn’t true depiction of a southern town.
I never knew any blacks till I joined the Army in 1962, since we had no blacks were in my high school. All of those country shows, that used to be on TV didn’t have blacks on their shows. I don’t remember any blacks on Petticoat Junction, Green Acres or Beverly Hillbillies.
Exactly! And that’s why I think it was wrong for Billy Gray to blast FKB like he did (I can find the article if you want to read it). Like it or not, that is simply how it was back then. So for him to single out FKB, his OWN show, showed me he’s a whiny brat. Just my 2 cents.
Carl, I agree with you 100 percent.
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Andrew, I think anyone who is brave enough to become a Police Officer is a hero, as long as that person doesn’t abuse his authority.
I agree.
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Ok, I searched for maybe half-an-hour and DID find this article about Billy Gray being angry about the lack of black people on the show. http://www.tvparty.com/50-billy-gray.html And if you read the article, it goes on to say they actually considered making Bud SING (ala Ricky Nelson on Ozzie & Harriett), but they shelved that idea. And I am glad they did, I think it would have somehow cheapened the show overall. When Mary (Shelley Fabares) did Johnny Angel, and even JEFF (Paul Petersen) sang, too, on the Donna Reed Show, it put the spotlight on THEM instead of the entire cast. (Boy, she really “fell from grace” when she co-starred on “Coach”, and became coach’s lover. Wow, from super wholesome to living in sin.) But back to my original point, I think spotlighting any one of them to showcase their singing ability didn’t help the show. Again, just my 2 cents.