Anissa Jones

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Anissa Jones
Born Mary Anissa Jones
March 11, 1958(1958-03-11)
West Lafayette, Indiana
Died August 28, 1976 (aged 18)
Oceanside, California

Mary Anissa Jones (March 11, 1958 – August 28, 1976) was an American child actress best remembered as "Buffy" on CBS's Family Affair. She died of a drug overdose at the age of 18.

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[edit] Early years

Mary Anissa Jones was born in West Lafayette, Indiana. Her first name is pronounced Ah-NEES-ah (rhymes with peace) and in Arabic means little friend. Jones' maternal grandparents were Lebanese. When she was born her parents were students at Purdue University. They soon moved to Playa Del Rey, California. When she was two years old her mother enrolled Anissa in dance classes. In 1964 when she was six her mother took her to an open audition for a cereal commercial which became her first television appearance.

[edit] Child actor

Anissa was eight when her acting skills drew the attention of television producers and she was cast as Elizabeth "Buffy" Patterson-Davis on CBS's sitcom Family Affair (1966). Her character was one of three siblings sent to live with her Uncle Bill (Brian Keith) and his butler, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) after their parents died in a car accident. Jones soon became one of the most recognizable child actors in Hollywood.[1][2]

Her Buffy character had a doll named "Mrs Beasley" which she claimed talked to her, often making funny comments. Later marketed by Mattel this became the best-selling doll in America at that time. When the show was cancelled in 1971 the then 13-year-old Jones expressed relief she would no longer need to be seen with the doll. Along with the Mrs Beasley doll Jones took part in several other lucrative Family Affair marketing campaigns including Buffy paper dolls, lunch boxes, a clothing line, coloring books and a 1971 cookbook featuring her picture on the cover.[3]

Playing Buffy was a grueling, full-time, year-round job for Jones. She was often either shooting or promoting the show seven days a week. The first three seasons consisted of up to 30 episodes each, unlike modern series, which usually shoot fewer than 25 episodes a year with more breaks in filming and fewer promotional appearances for the actors. When Jones broke her leg on a playground in April 1969 the producers had the injury written into the show because they thought her role was too important for her to be sidelined while she healed.[4][5]

She often got presents from admirers but if there was no present for her brother Paul she would later give the present away in deference to him.

In 1969 at age 11 Jones played the role of Carol Bix in her only film, The Trouble With Girls alongside Elvis Presley.

Family Affair ended in 1971 after 138 episodes over a five-year run. Jones unsuccessfully auditioned for Regan MacNeil in the film The Exorcist and was unable to find any other work in films. After Family Affair was cancelled Brian Keith kept in touch with Jones through letters and offered her a young-adult role on his new television show The Brian Keith Show (1972-1974). Jones was told she would not have to audition if she wanted the part but she chose to stay retired from television work.

[edit] Later teens

Jones' acting career kept her away from regular schools. Believing she had been typecast, Jones returned to public school and a life outside the entertainment industry. She attended Paseo Del Rey Grammar School, Orville Wright Middle School and Westchester High School

Jones' parents had gone through a bitter divorce in 1965 and continued to feud over custody of the children for some time afterward. In 1973 custody of Jones and her year-younger brother Paul was awarded to their father, who died shortly thereafter of heart disease. When her brother moved back in with her mother Anissa moved in with a friend and began skipping school. Anissa's mother reported her as a runaway and she was sent to juvenile hall for several months. After her release and return home Anissa began shoplifting and taking drugs. She flunked out of high school and briefly worked at a doughnut shop in 1975.

When she turned 18 Jones gained control of approximately USD$180,000 in the form of a trust fund and U.S. Savings Bonds that had been created with part of her earnings from Family Affair. Jones and her brother Paul then rented an apartment together. She started dating Allan Kovan, who was also involved with drugs.[6][7][8]

[edit] Death

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On August 28, 1976 after partying all night in the beach town of Oceanside, California Jones was found dead in the bedroom of a friend's house. The coroner's report listed her death as an accidental drug overdose. Cocaine, PCP, methaqualone and Seconal were found in her system during an autopsy. The coroner who examined Jones reported that she had died from one of the most severe drug overdoses he had ever seen.

She left $63,000 in cash and more than $100,000 in savings bonds when she died.

Jones had no funeral and no grave marker because she had not wanted her grave to become a tourist attraction. Her body was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean on September 1, 1976.

In 1984 her brother Paul Jones also died of a drug overdose.

[edit] Cultural references

Owing to the continued syndication of Family Affair reruns, along with her early death in relative obscurity on the coast of Southern California, Jones became a minor icon of North American pop culture. The Canadian pop-punk band The Diodes sang about Jones's turbulent life and overdose in the song "Child Star." The spoken word poem Ode To Buffy, written and read by Marilynn Fowler, appears on the Voice Farm album Bigger, Cooler, Weirder. The 1980s novelty song "Buffy Come Back" by Angel and The Reruns paid homage to Jones's Family Affair character.

[edit] Quotes

  • "I can read...except for a very big word we sometimes have. Like the word philosopher. Do you know what a philosopher is? Well ... it's a man that thinks a lot, but doesn't do anything much about it." (TV Radio Mirror, March 1967)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Anissa Jones, and the cast of "Family Affair"
  2. ^ When Young Stars Burn Out
  3. ^ Mrs. Beasley Talks!
  4. ^ Mrs. Beasley Has Left the Building: Anissa Jones, TV's Buffy, Dies of a Massive Overdose
  5. ^ Personal Website with Family Pictures of Anissa
  6. ^ Anissa Jones Page
  7. ^ Anissa Jones Photos
  8. ^ Anissa Jones on Find-A-Grave

[edit] External links