Biographies/Where are they now?
This section contains updates on what the cast has done or did since the show ended and the most recent picture that I could find of each cast member - also contains some biographical information when available.
Following The Courtship of Eddie's Father, he continued acting in and directing numerous
projects. His next role was on the tv series, The Magician
Bill
Bixby
Bill Bixby was born Wilfred Bailey Bixby on January 22, 1934 in San Francisco, California. He
had a long and distinguished acting and directing career before and after The Courtship of
Eddie's Father. His first tv role was on the 1961 tv series, The Joey Bishop Show. Later, he
starred in My Favorite Martian from 1963-1966 with Ray Walston. He appeared in several Elvis
movies including Clambake and Speedway. Other movies that he appeared included Under the
Yum Yum Tree, Ride Beyond Vengeance; and Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding. Also had guest
appearances on many tv shows in the 60's and 70's including: The Streets of San Francisco, The
Andy Griffith Show, and Night Gallery.
Sadly, he passed away due to prostate cancer at age 59 on November 21, 1993 in Century City, California. He was married three times: first to Brenda Benet whom he divorced in 1980 after his son Christopher died. His son Christopher died at age six due after his mother took him to Mammoth (in California) to go skiing. He had a major asthma attack and she rushed him to the local hospital in Mammoth (which, according to Bill, had a terrible reputation!). They wouldn't take him right away and Christopher died in the waiting room waiting for the doctor who was seeing another patient and removing a splinter from the man's finger (Bill was called at home by a doctor with the news). Other web site visitors have said that Christopher succumbed to an acute, fulmination infection of the epiglottis, epiglottitis - this was mentioned in a one-to-one interview with John Tesh in 1992 and in a Canadian TV Guide 1990 interview. Brenda Benet committed suicide in April 1982 shortly after the death of their son. In December 1990, he married Laura Michael - they divorced shortly after Bill was diagnosed with his illness in June 1992. In January of 1993, he met Judith Kliban and they were married in October 1993. Mr. Bixby has been sorely missed.
Brandon Cruz
Brandon Cruz was born May 28th, 1962 (I believe in Oxnard, CA but I don't know that for
a fact - that's where he lived when the show was on the air). He was only 6 years old when he landed the irresistible
role of Eddie Corbett (and 7 when the show first aired) on The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Only
a handful of acting roles would follow for Cruz, who also appeared in feature films such as
The Bad News Bears (1976) and The One and Only (1978 with Henry Winkler). He also did 1972 episodes
of Gunsmoke and Kung Fu, a 1974 episode of Doc Elliot, and a 1978 episode of The Incredible Hulk with Bill
Bixby. He eventually gave acting up entirely for music (punk rock),
and turned up on a "Where Are They Now" program in the early '80s with green hair where he
was re-united with a bewildered Bill Bixby (whom he hadn't seen in years).
Brandon is still a musician - in 1997 he released Eddie Is A Punk, a compilation of songs he’s
performed that date back to his days as Eddie. Among the highlights on the album is a punk version of "The Courtship Of Eddie’s
Father Theme Song" which features Harry Nilsson on piano and was also recorded with ex-Monkee
Micky Dolenz in 1995. Also included on the cd is an obscure song about pollution that Cruz
and Bill Bixby recorded for a 1970 TV special called "Oh, Daddy... What If?".
For more information on the cd and to order it online from Amazon.com, please visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000005ZB8/happydaysonline .
He worked a day-job as the assistant editor on the potty-mouthed animated show South Park until
they parted ways last year. He is active with A Minor Consideration (AMC), an organization
which helps child actors like him maintain their careers even after they've outgrown those
juvenille parts.
He is happily married to actress Liz Cruz (formerly Elizabeth Finkelstein) and has a son who was born in 1995 who he named Lincoln Bixby Cruz (after Bill Bixby)
and a daughter named Ruby Jean.
An update from Brandon Cruz himself (sent to me 05/26/99):
I am now working for U.P.N. as an editor. South Park and I parted ways in
January. I am writing to you from work right now. Also, I have reformed
my old band, called Dr. Know, and we are touring the U.S. and Canada
this summer on the Social Chaos Tour. So i look forward to seeing the
country and playing all of the old songs from the early punk days.
Your site gets better each time i see it. Thanks for doing this. I
appreciate all that you do. I have a new email address.
dr_know@email.com . Feel free to post it on your site.
Again, thanks, and take care, Brandon
An update from Brandon (posted on message board 12/31/99):
hi everyone, i just wanted to wish all of you who have emailed me a happy new year, and to give
a little update on what's happening. since posting my email address on this site, i have been
overwhelmed by the responses from all of the fans. i wish i could have answered everyone, but
i was just too busy. i thank you for remembering the show and its lasting impression.
on the rumor front, it is true that nicolas cage has the rights to remake the movie version of
eddie's father. i have talked to him and there is a script, now we wait for warner bros. to get
busy with the pre-production. i will have a role in the movie, and possibly some sort of
consultant position, as well. i hope it get's under way by mid 2000. you see, nick just
happens to be married to my wife's best friend, so i get to see him several times a year. he
will make a great tom corbett. as far as what's new with me and my family , my wife is expecting
our second child in april. our son is very excited, and so are we. i now work for two post
production houses in los angeles, editing promo's and episodes of several television shows. it
is busy work, but keeps me in the business. my band, dr. know, has a new label, visit
hellorecords.com, and will be releasing a new cd by
mid-march. we hope to tour and play all over the u.s., time permitting.
well, that's about it. i'm here at work on new years eve, and wish all of you the best in 2000.
thanks for writing,
brandon cruz, dr_know@email.com
An update from Brandon (posted on message board 04/28/00):
hi todd and all coef fans. i am still amazed at all the email i am getting from people who
visit this site. i want to thank you all for the kind words about bill and jimmy. i have some
good news, as well as bad, but it's life and bill taught me to press on, no matter what.
first, the good ( actually, incredible ) news. my beautiful wife gave birth to our daughter,
ruby jean cruz, on march 31, 2000. we are so grateful for the health and beauty of our
child. our son lincoln is enjoying being a big brother, too. on a sad note, my grandfather
passed away after 82 wonderful years on april 15, 2000. it was sudden, but he is no
longer in pain, and i will miss him. his name was ed brown. he helped get me into t.v.,
and he was actually the inspiration for the chico and the man character of the same
name. jimmy komack and my grandfather spent a lot of time together.
i am no longer at upn. i did a stint at divorce court, then the health network, and am
now at warner bros. for a feature film. i am busy with my band, Dr. Know, as well. we are
recording two albums for a summer release and planning a national tour with bad religion,
if everything works out. again, i want to thank all of the fans, and let you know that brandoncruz.com will be up
soon, so you can see some of my other projects there. take care, and feel free to email
me, brandon cruz dr_know@email.com
May-July 2002: Brandon Cruz has been touring and singing for the
legendary seminal punk band the Dead Kennedys
Here's an update Brandon recently posted on 02/06/04 on the message board:
It has been a busy time for me since I last posted. I dislocated my shoulder in England while performing with Dead Kennedys.
I finished the tour 5 days later, came home, promptly quit the band and went to work on the Roseanne show.
The show was cancelled after 4 months so I went to work at MTV on Viva La Bam, and now I am at the Discovery Channel
and editing American Chopper. My wife is as beautiful as ever and my children are getting bigger and smarter
every day. I have a few projects in the works, two of which are Eddie's Father projects. I will let you all know as soon as I
hear more. It's a weird business, and it takes a long time to get anything done. I wish you all health and happiness. Thanks
for visiting this site and for remembering the show. It means a lot to those of us who made it.
Take Care,
Brandon Cruz
James
Komack
James (Jimmie) Komack was born August 3rd, 1930 in New York City. Prior to The Courtship of Eddie's Father, he had
appeared in movie such as Senior Prom, Damn Yankees, and A Hole in the Head.
He also acted on stage creating the role of Rocky in "Damn Yankees" on Broadway and
reprising it for the 1958 film. He was later a regular on Jackie Cooper's sitcom
"Hennesey".
He was executive producer of The Courtship of Eddie's Father in addition to his regular role
as photographer, Norman Tinker. He also directed and wrote several episodes. Following the
series, he would continue his producer/directing career. He was a director/producer on the
popular 70's sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (which was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series
in 1976). He also directed episodes of Chico and the Man
which starred Freddie Prinze and Jack Albertson. Prior to Eddie's Father, he wrote 12 episodes of My Favorite Martian (which starred Bill Bixby and Ray
Walston) and also directed 2 episodes of the series. Additionally, he directed episodes
of several different series including: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Get Smart, Star Trek,
The Green Hornet, and The Monkees.
He later directed Porky's Revenge in 1985 and wrote the story for the 1987 movie, Back to
the Beach.
He was regarded as a keen talent-spotter, particularly for his "Kotter" sweathog John
Travolta and "Chico" star Freddie Prinze, and as a "fixer" of troubled shows.
In the 1977-78 TV season he had four series on the air.
Sadly, he died on December 24, 1997 in Los Angeles, California of heart failure. He
is survived by his wife Cluny, daugther Maxx, granddaughter Tyler, and grandson
James Marc (named after his grandpa).
Miyoshi Umeki
Miyoshi Umeki was born April 3rd, 1929 in Otaru, Hokkkaido, Japan. Prior to The Courtship of
Eddie's Father, she appeared as a regular performer on the tv series: Arthur Godfrey and His
Friends. In 1957, she won an Academy Award (Oscar) for 'Best Supporting Actress' for the movie
Sayonara. Several movies she did in 1961 and 1962 included Flower Drum Song, Cry for Happy, A
Girl Named Tamkio, and The Horizontal Lieutenant.
Besides her five films, Miyoshi did 1 Broadway show, 3 lp's, 10 singles (45's) and
many, many tv appearances.
RCA Victor Japan released a CD of her early recordings in Japan (most if which are sung in English) called
"The Early Days Of Nancy Umeki". It can be ordered as an import. She was also on the Donna Reed Show two times and was
Nominated three times for a Golden Globe.
Through the 70's-80's and at least the early 90's, she lived in the Toluca Lake/Studio City
areas of Los Angeles. She and her husband Randall Hood owned a theatrical lighting company that rented
studio/theatre lights to major studios and film and television production companies. She sold the business after his death in 1976 and
never returned to showbiz.
She died of cancer complications on August 28, 2007, at the Licking Park Manor nursing home in Licking, Missouri. Survivors include a son from her
second marriage, Michael Hood of Licking; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Miyoshi Umeki; Recorded American Pop Standards, Won Oscar for 'Sayonara' (Washington Post)
Discography:
45's:
1) Why Talk/How Deep Is The Ocean - 1956 Mercury #56
LP's:
1) Sings For Arthury Godfrey - Miyoshi Umeki Sings American Songs in English and Japanese - 1956 Mercury
Soundtracks:
1) Flower Drum Song - Original Broadway cast - Columbia 1958
Films:
1) Sayonara - 1957 Warner Bros.
TV:
1) Arthur Godfrey 1950's
Some of her other TV appearances include a great appearance on Ed Sullivan singing
"In My Own Little Corner" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Also before
coming to the USA, she was already a star in Japan as Nancy Umeki - first as
a vocalist with the Tusnoda Sextet (Japan's answer to Harry James and
his orchestra) and then in films and as a solo vocalist.
2) The Little Lost Dog (from the French film)/The Story Your About To Hear Is True - 1956 Mercury
3) Be Sweet Tonight/The Japanese Farewell Song - 1957 Mercury #38
4) The Mountains Beyond The Moon/Oooh What Good Company We Could Be (both duets with Red Buttons) - 1957 Mercury
5) Sayonara (from the WB film)/On and On - 1957 Mercury #18 and #30 (her biggest hit - both sides charted)
6) Cry For Happy/Cry For Happy - 1960 Columbia (this is an extremely rare record sent to djs only
to promote the film. She sings the song over the opening credits)
2) Miyoshi - Singing Star Of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song - 1957 Mercury (This is
a later pressing of the first lp with a new cover and 2 singles added)
3) Miyoshi - 1959 Mercury
2) Flower Drum Song - Film Sountrack - Decca 1961
2) Cry For Happy - 1960 Columbia
3) Flower Drum Song - 1961 Universal
4) A Girl Named Tamiko - 1962 MGM
5) The Horizontal Lieutenant - 1963 MGM
2) The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1972)
Kristina Holland
Kristina Holland was born February 25th, 1944 in Fayetteville, NC. I believe The Courtship
of Eddie's Father was her first acting role. In 1970 and 1971 she appeared in The Strawberry
Statement and Doctors' Wives. She also did voices on several cartoon series including
Funky Phantom,
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home and
Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kids.
She appeared in a few episodes of The Bob Newhart Show in 1975. She also had guest
appearances on Laredo, Medical Center, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Harry O. She was in the 1975
horse racing film Win, Place, or Steal. In 1997,
she did a voice for Byzantine: The Betrayal. She is no longer in showbiz and is living
in Berkeley, California according to Brandon Cruz.
Contact Form