Family Affair

Family Affair
Genre Sitcom
Created by Edmund L. Hartmann
Don Fedderson
Directed by Charles Barton
William D. Russell
Starring
Theme music composer Frank De Vol
Composer(s) Jeff Alexander
Nathan Scott
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 138 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Don Fedderson
Producer(s)
  • Edmund Beloin
  • Henry Garson
  • Edmund L. Hartmann
Cinematography
Editor(s)
  • James H. King
  • Charles Van Enger
  • Richard L. Van Enger
  • Sam Vitale
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 25 minutes
Production company(s) Don Fedderson Productions
Family Affair Company
Distributor CBS Television Distribution (domestic)
NBCUniversal Television Distribution (internationally)
Release
Original network CBS
Picture format Color
Audio format Monaural
Original release September 12, 1966 (1966-09-12) – September 9, 1971 (1971-09-09)

Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Brian Keith) as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional English gentleman's gentleman, Mr. Giles French (Sebastian Cabot), also had adjustments to make as he became saddled with the responsibility of caring for 15-year-old Cissy (Kathy Garver) and the 6-year-old twins, Jody (Johnny Whitaker) and Buffy (Anissa Jones).[1]

Family Affair ran for 138 episodes in five seasons. The show was created and produced by Edmund Hartmann and Don Fedderson, also known for My Three Sons and The Millionaire.

Storyline

William "Bill" Davis, originally of Terre Haute, Indiana, is a successful civil engineer who develops major projects all over the world. A wealthy bachelor who often dates socialites, Bill lives in a large apartment on East 62 Street off Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, and has a quintessential gentleman's gentleman, Giles French, for a valet. His quiet lifestyle is turned upside-down when his two nieces and nephew move in.

Bill's brother Bob and sister-in-law Mary had died in an automobile accident a year prior to the premiere episode (the DVD collection's notes mistakenly state "tragic plane accident"). Their children—15-year-old Cissy and her young twin siblings, Buffy and Jody—had been dispersed among relatives in Terre Haute for that year, but none of them wanted to continue raising the children, so they all attempted to give the responsibility to Bill. "Uncle Bill" is not keen on the idea at first, but the children endear themselves to him. First, comes Buffy, followed by Jody and, finally, Cissy. Mr. French is initially mortified by the situation, becoming effectively the children's nanny on top of his valet duties. As time passes they all become a family, albeit an accidental one.

When Sebastian Cabot became ill, Giles' brother, Nigel "Niles" French (John Williams) was introduced. He worked for the Davis family for nine episodes in 1967, while Giles was said to be touring with the Queen in the Commonwealth countries. In the last season, Bill hires a part-time housekeeper, Emily Turner (Nancy Walker), to assist Mr. French.

Various other characters were also seen regularly, including several acquaintances of Mr. French's who are in service (most notably Miss Faversham, played by Heather Angel), colleagues of Bill's, and friends of Cissy's.

Production

As Don Fedderson's other program, My Three Sons, had done for Fred MacMurray, Family Affair used a 60-day production schedule to accommodate Brian Keith. All of his scenes for the season would be shot in two 30-day blocks, while his co-stars would fill in after the actor's work was completed. This enabled Fedderson to harness actors like Keith and MacMurray into television commitments, while still enabling each to make motion pictures. As a result, each season had a single director for each of the 30-odd scripts.

Due to the popularity of the series with girls, Buffy's doll, "Mrs. Beasley" (which she often carried with her), was marketed as a Mattel talking toy in the United States. Mattel went on to produce two additional dolls, as well, patterned after Buffy: the "Tutti"-sized Buffy and larger "Small Talk Buffy" (talking doll), both of which featured accompanying miniature Mrs. Beasley dolls.

Opening

The theme song was composed by veteran television composer Frank DeVol. The opening featured credits appearing over a kaleidoscope-patterned background.

There were several episodes opening with Sebastian Cabot saying, "Good evening, so nice of you to join us." and closing the episode saying, "It's been very good of you to watch and we do hope to see you again next week on Family Affair.".

Cast

Main cast: Kathy Garver (Cissy), Anissa Jones (Buffy), Johnny Whitaker (Jody), Brian Keith (Bill Davis) & Sebastian Cabot (Mr. Giles French)

Notable guest stars

Broadcast history and Ratings

Season Time Rank Rating
1966–67 Monday at 9:30–10:00 pm No. 15[2] 22.6 (tied with The Dean Martin Show)
1967–68 No. 5[3] 25.5 (tied with Gunsmoke and Bonanza)
1968–69 No. 5[3] 25.2
1969–70 Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm No. 5[3] 24.2
1970–71 Not in Top 30[4] N/A

Post-series

From Monday, September 7, 1970 to Friday, January 12, 1973, The Family Affair Morning Show aired on CBS-TV Daytime at 10:30-11:00 AM Eastern.

From 1969 to 1971, the show aired Thursday nights at 7:30-8:00 PM Eastern. After September 10, 1971 (the day after the primetime show ended), the show aired episodes from the best of the five-season period from 1966 to 1969, on Monday nights at 9:30-10:00 PM Eastern.

As discussed by Kathy Garver on the final season’s DVD features, the show’s cast suffered several deaths, most of which came prematurely: Anissa Jones (who played Buffy) died of a drug overdose (of sleeping pills) in 1976, aged 18.[5] Sebastian Cabot (who played Mr. French) died of a stroke in 1977, aged 59.[6] Brian Keith (who played Uncle Bill) committed suicide by gunshot in 1997, aged 75, two months after the suicide of his daughter and having lived with cancer for some time.[7][8]

Episodes

DVD releases

MPI Home Video has released all five seasons of Family Affair on DVD in Region 1 by MPI Home Video (under license from the Don Fedderson estate).

DVD name Ep. # Release date Special features / notes
Season One 30 June 27, 2006
  • Family Affair: Behind the Scenes with Kathy Garver
  • Photo Gallery
Season Two 30 November 21, 2006
  • "An Affair to Remember" (interview with Kathy Garver)
  • "Memories" (Five-minute piece with Garver showing Family Affair memorabilia)
Season Three 28 March 27, 2007
  • The Family Affair Reunion Special
Season Four 26 October 30, 2007
  • A Conversation with Johnny Whitaker
  • "The Child Stars"
Season Five 24 February 26, 2008
  • A visit by Kathy Garver to the CBS Studio City lot where the series was filmed
The Complete Series 138 November 25, 2008
  • Repackaging of Seasons 1–5 in a slimmer case

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominee Result
1967 Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy Edmund L. Hartmann
For episode "Buffy"		Nominated
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy William D. RussellNominated
Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Brian KeithNominated
1968 Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Brian Keith Nominated
Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Sebastian Cabot Nominated
Outstanding Comedy Series Edmund L. Hartmann Nominated
1969 Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series Brian KeithNominated
Outstanding Comedy Series Edmund L. Hartmann Nominated
1971 Golden Globe Awards Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
—
Nominated
2004 TV Land Awards Best Broadcast Butler Sebastian Cabot Won
2010 Young Artist Awards Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award Kathy Garver[9]Honored

Revival series

A revival of Family Affair by Sid and Marty Krofft aired on The WB from September 12, 2002 to March 13, 2003. This version was produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, Pariah Films, and Turner Television, and lasted for 16 episodes (14 of which were aired). It was filmed in the same CBS Studio City lot as was the original series. Although the one-hour pilot had good ratings, the subsequent episodes declined against competition such as Friends, Survivor, and WWF Smackdown. Johnny Whitaker and Kathy Garver appeared in the Christmas episode. On March 24, 2003, it was announced that the WB had canceled the series after only airing fourteen of the sixteen episodes; the remaining two episodes that were ordered were burned off beginning June 9, ending on June 16, 2003.

Revival cast

Episode list

Nº Title Air date
1"Pilot: Part 1"September 12, 2002 (2002-09-12)
2"Pilot: Part 2"September 12, 2002 (2002-09-12)
3"French Lessons"September 19, 2002 (2002-09-19)
4"Mrs. Beasley Disappears"September 26, 2002 (2002-09-26)
5"Skivvies"October 3, 2002 (2002-10-03)
6"Ballroom Blitz"October 10, 2002 (2002-10-10)
7"No Small Parts"October 17, 2002 (2002-10-17)
8"Nightmare on 71st Street"October 31, 2002 (2002-10-31)
9"The Room Parent"November 7, 2002 (2002-11-07)
10"I Know What You Did Last Sunday"November 17, 2002 (2002-11-17)
11"Holiday Fever"December 5, 2002 (2002-12-05)
12"Sissy's Big Fat Moroccan First Date"February 27, 2003 (2003-02-27)
13"Miss Turnstiles"March 6, 2003 (2003-03-06)
14"Crushed"March 13, 2003 (2003-03-13)
15"Space Invaders"June 9, 2003 (2003-06-09)
16"Uncanny Nanny"June 16, 2003 (2003-06-16)

Appearances in other media

Gold Key Comics, an imprint of Western Publishing, published four issues of a Family Affair comic book series from January to October 1970.[10]

Merchandising efforts centered on Anissa Jones' "Buffy" character. Several books were published, including the 1970 hardback Family Affair: Buffy Finds A Star by Gladys Baker Bond and Buffy's Cookbook. There were dolls (Mattel's "Small Talk Buffy" and Mrs. Beasley, Buffy's doll on the show) and various other toys.[11]

A Mrs. Beasley doll, with her glasses missing, appears in the music video for the song California Tuffy by the Geraldine Fibbers.

In Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, the character of Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) is seen watching the show in one scene, but ultimately turns it off after stating it's a "re-run".

References

  1. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1995). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present Sixth Edition. Ballantine Books. p. 336. ISBN 9780345397362.
  2. ↑ Brooks and Marsh, p. 1263
  3. 1 2 3 Brooks and Marsh, p. 1264
  4. ↑ Brooks and Marsh, p. 1265
  5. ↑ Benoit, Tod (2009). Where Are They Buried?: How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy. Black Dog Publishing. p. 163. ISBN 1-57912-822-X.
  6. ↑ Eder, Bruce (2010). "Sebastian Cabot". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ Simon, Stephanie (June 25, 1997). "Actor Brian Keith Found Dead in Apparent Suicide". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ Rice, Rice (August 15, 2002). "An Affair to Remember". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ "31st Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. April 11, 2010. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  10. ↑ Family Affair at the Grand Comics Database
  11. ↑ Mansour, David (2005). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 251. ISBN 0-7407-5118-2. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
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