Family Affair is a situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from September 12 1966 to September 9, 1971 The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil 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's stuffy English butler Mr. Giles French (Sebastian Cabot), also had adjustments to make as he was usually 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).

The show ran for 138 episodes. Family Affair was created and produced by Don Fedderson, best known for My Three Sons.

Brian Keith was nominated three times for an Emmy for his role as "Uncle Bill." The theme music was composed by Frank De Vol.

Buffy's doll "Mrs Beasley", which she constantly carried with her, became a popular toy in real life in the United States.

Production

Like Don Fedderson's other program, My Three Sons, Family Affair utilized a sixty-day production schedule for Brian Keith. All of his scenes for the season would be shot in two thirty-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 Fred 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 thirty-odd scripts.

The original series was extremely popular, but was canceled after the fifth season, as CBS began leaning towards more adult-oriented sitcom fare. The series was almost picked up by ABC, but the network instead decided to promote the similarly-themed The Brady Bunch.

Brief revival

A short-lived revival of the series aired on The WB Television Network from September 12 2002 to March 13 2003. This version was produced by Turner Television for Warner Bros. Television and lasted for 16 episodes (14 of the 16 were aired). Although the one-hour pilot had good ratings, the subsequent episodes declined against stronger competition such as Friends. Johnnie Whitaker and Kathy Garver appeared in the Christmas episode.

The cast

Original series (1966–1971)

• Bill Davis — Brian Keith
• Giles French — Sebastian Cabot
• Catherine "Cissy" Patterson-Davis — Kathy Garver
• Jonathan "Jody" Patterson-Davis — Johnny Whitaker
• Ava Elizabeth "Buffy" Patterson-Davis — Anissa Jones
• Miss Faversham (Mr. French's friend) — Heather Angel
• Nigel "Niles" French (Mr. French's brother) — John Williams
• Emily Turner (Bill's maid) — Nancy Walker
• Ted Gaynor (Bill's partner) — Philip Ober & John Hubbard
• Miss Lee (Bill's secretary) — Betty Lynn
• Sharon James (Cissy's Girlfriend) — Sherry Alberoni
• Gregg Bartlett (Cissy's Boyfriend) — Gregg Fedderson
• Scotty (the doorman) — Karl Lucas

Revival (2002–2003)

• Bill Davis — Gary Cole
• Mr. Giles French — Tim Curry
• Sigourney 'Sissy' Davis — Caitlin Wachs
• Jody Davis — Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak
• Buffy Davis — Sasha Pieterse
• Jody Davis (pilot) — Luke Benward

DVD releases

MPI Home Video has released all 5 seasons of Family Affair on DVD in Region 1. CBS Paramount Television owns the domestic television distribution rights to the series, while the home video rights are owned by MPI Home Video (under license from the Don Fedderson estate). The DVD sets have the logo for Universal Television Distribution at the end of the closing credits (as Universal holds the international television rights).

External links

• Family Affair - Classic TV website with Episode Guide, Theme and Gallery
• Apartment 27A - ''Family Affair'' Fan Page - Cast bios, collectibles, links and more on the 1960s television series Family Affair.

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