My son is 6 years old and every since he was 5 and started wearing his hair curly, we get stopped at stores, church or restaurants for people to say to us, "Oh my goodness, he looks just like the little boy from that of TV show 'Family Affair". SO FUNNY! My husband and I are both in our 30's, so we do not remember the show but we looked it up and our mouths DROPPED! So now when people ask, we know what they are talking about. We will probably start buying some of these old shows if we can find them because these are really good shows! I wish the would redo these shows so we can show our kids. There are so many shows (even commercials) that we don't like them to watch. The cute, innocent and respecting kids on these TV shows truly MADE TV. And the little boy is so cute!
... View MoreThis was a family favorite, when I was a child growing up. Uncle Bill played by Brian Keith took in a nephew and two nieces to raise in his New York Penthouse Apartment. However he was a great guardian parent figure as well as Mr. French played by Sebastian Cabot. Kathy Garver, who played Cissy a teenager was a bit wayward. She was made to take responsibility to Buffy and Jodie. Sometimes she neglected her duties. I really like this show better than The Brady Bunch & Partridge Family. Into the 1970's family values changed. Kids wearing long hair, bell bottom jeans and the extreme clothing. I hated to see that happened. I wish we had more shows like Family Affair. I'm very sorry Anissa Jones died of a drug overdose. It's a sad situation to see such a young person end their life. That's what I meant about the change of values. America is in desperate need of change.
... View MoreThis is an engaging little series that I grew up with, hearkening back to a more innocent age of cute family programming. It revolves around a bachelor engineer, Bill Davis, who has been living a carefree playboy life in his Fifth Avenue apartment. His household needs are tended to by his very efficient English butler, Giles French. Suddenly Bill's life is turned upside down when he inherits three young relatives, who have been orphaned as the result of a car accident. Both Uncle Bill and Mr. French must accustom themselves to this trio of newcomers, pretty 15 year old Cissy and her adorable but challenging younger twin siblings, Buffy and Jodie.Brian Keith is wonderful as Uncle Bill, the playboy uncle turned surrogate father. The younger stars are also perfect in their roles, especially little Anissa Jones who plays Buffy. Sebastian Cabot is the real jewel of the series in his brilliant portrayal of the butler, Mr. French, who always appears so very proper and gruff but is actually quite charmed by these three kids.Various amusing and touching scenarios would unfold weekly as the two adults and their three charges grew accustomed to life together. For me, the show was notable (apart from the butler) for Mrs. Beasley, Buffy's bespectacled granny doll. She was a prominent feature in most episodes, always getting lost or whatever, and naturally Buffy was VERY attached to her. All in all, it was a sweet, heartwarming show from nostalgic years of yore when kids were, happily, much less sophisticated than they are today. Pity there aren't more such family programs these days and a demand for them.
... View MoreBrian Keith proved to be so good working with little kids: he is warm and paternal, tough but never rigid, always bemused by their antics and reassuring everyone with his calming smile when their spirits were down. When Buffy makes friends with some kids from the bad section of town, Uncle Bill buys her hand-me-downs to wear so she'll fit in (and even tags along and makes friends with a parent, Jackie Coogan). Sebastian Cabot made the perfect valet; he too is charmed by these kids and pretends to be surly even though the idea of having a real family suits him and somehow appeals to him. Kathy Garver is a gregarious big sister and Johnny Whitaker a loyal, dependable brother who rarely got mischievous (he's very grounded and sometimes gravely serious). As for Anissa Jones as Buffy, she didn't seem to be just reading lines that an adult wrote for her, she really WAS Buffy. When her doll gets lost, or when she loses her spot in the Scout Troop, or when the Mod Maidens hurt her feelings (in the terrific episode "The Joiners"), Jones works the most tender of childhood emotions in a way that is neither flashy nor incredible. She was a very subtle little actress with a beaming smile that could appear out of nowhere.
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