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Family Affair aired on CBS from September 1966 until September 1971.
This saccarine sit-com was salvaged by the cuteness of its 2 youthful co-stars. Bill Davis' ( Brian Keith)carefree existence as a swinging bachelor was just about perfect. A highly paid consulting engineer, he maintained an elegant apartment off Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and had his domestic needs carred for by a very English Gentlemen's Gentlemen, Mr. Giles French( Sebastian Cabot). Into this life of Independence came 3 young orphans, the 6 year old twins Buffy and Jody ( Anissa Jones, Johnnie Whitaker), and 15 year olsd Cissy ( Kathy Garver). Their parents Bill's brother and sister-in-law had died in an accedent and other relatives felt that Bill could best provide for them. Despite initial misgivings, Bill and French became very attached to the children and learned to adjust their lifestyle to make room for the new members of the household. Mr. French, a stickler for neatness and order had the toughest adjustment to make as he was with the children all the time while Bill was out of town on assignments but he and the children managed to compromise and learn to live with each other. The premise of each episode was seldom complicated. In one episode Buffy was distraught when her prized doll Mrs. Beasley was lost and in another, Cissy had troubles with her new job as a candy striper. It was always a safe bet that whatever confusion the children ran into, it could always be solved with the intervention of Mr. French or " Uncle Bill" both of whom were the typically wise adults found on such television shows.
For a period during the show's first season, Co-Star Sebastian Cabot was taken ill and was replaced in 9 episodes by John Williams. In the storyline Giles French was called away to special service of the Queen of England and his brother Nigel arrived at the Davis Residence to serve the family during his absence. Although not a full time member of the cast Nancy Walker appeared in the continuing role of Mr. Davis' part-time housekeeper Emily during the last season. Greg Fedderson was also occasionally seen as Greg Bartlett, Cissy's occasional boyfriend. Young Fedderson was the son of Don Fedderson, executive-producer of the series.
Following the cancelation of the show in 1971 ( after 138 episodes), Johnnie Whitaker continued to be seen regulary on tv. He was a regular on Sigmund And The Sea Monsters and was featured in several Walt Disney Productions. His Co-Star Anissa Jones appeared rarely on television. In 1976 she was found dead ( from drug related causes) in her California home. A few other cast members also met tragic ends. Sebastian Cabot died of a stroke in 1977 at the age of 59. Star Brian Keith had more success after Family Affair starring in The Little People/ The Brian Keith Show from 1972-1974 and later Hardcastle And McCormack from 1983-1986. Brian Keith's life came to an end when he commited suicide in his Malibu Home in 1997. The 75 year old actor was suffering from lung cancer and emphysema and was apparantly distraught over the suicide of his 27 year old daughter 10 weeks prior. Like her father, Daisy L. Sampson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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