Tag Archives: Sebastian Cabot

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Family Affair Friday(ish): Episode 13, The Thursday Man, 12/12/1966

I apologize for the lateness of this week’s entry in my Family Affair series.

Episode 13, “The Thursday Man,” 12/12/1966

Written by: Edmund Hartmann (the show’s executive producer). Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

Cissy’s attempt at a composition about Mr. French leads her to the conclusion that people are truly unknowable (rather a pessimistic thought for a TV teen).

At least Cissy's classmates find her composition interesting.Well, maybe that one in the front left does.

At least Cissy’s classmates find her composition interesting.
Well, maybe that one in the front left does.

Her teacher challenges her to find out more about Mr. French, and Cissy begins a great deal of snooping.

withers

All she gets from French’s frenemy Withers is a description of French as “opinionated, stubborn, aloof, difficult, and stiff-necked.” Oh, and apparently French becomes unhinged if you mention “Old Bertie.”

So what does Cissy do next? Confront Mr. French about Old Bertie, of course.

French's reaction is painful to behold. You'd think this might stop Cissy, but no...

French’s reaction is painful to behold. You’d think this might stop Cissy, but no…

She really crosses the line by pretending to check his credit references with an old lady he secretly visits every Thursday. When Cissy confesses her true identity, Mrs. Allenby tells her the sad truth: Mr. French was once in love with a girl who died in the London blitz.

And “Old Bertie,” a name that provokes a strong reaction in French? It’s a stuffed dog he won for his girl and the only trace of her he found after the blitz. Cissy vows to keep the secret and refrain from violating the privacy of others.

Old Bertie

Old Bertie

Commentary

It’s painful to watch Cissy nosing around in the life of someone who so clearly values privacy (and what kind of teacher would turn a student into a junior Kitty Kelly?).

The teacher in question. Between her and the teacher we'll meet next week, I'm wondering if public school was such a good idea.

The teacher in question. Between her and the teacher we’ll meet next week, I’m wondering if public school was such a good idea.

Sebastian Cabot does a wonderful job conveying hurt and indignation when Cissy confronts him with the name “Old Bertie.” Cissy really goes over the line by pumping Mrs. Allenby for information, but watching her realize that she really would rather not have known the sad truth is gratifying.

Cissy and Mrs. Allenby.

Cissy and Mrs. Allenby

It’s wonderful to get some back-story on Mr. French, and a scene between him and Old Bertie and Buffy and Mrs. Beasley is sweet.

Guest Cast

Mrs. Allenby: Kathryn Givney. Freddy: Eugene Martin. Withers: Richard Peel. Mrs. Mariani: Lillian Adams. Miss Elliot: Ila Britton. Miss Faversham: Heather Angel.

Fun Facts

Mr. French was born in the West End of London. His father and grandfather were both butlers. He has worked for Uncle Bill for nine years–they met when Uncle Bill was working on a project in London. Mr. French’s first name is Giles, and his day off is Thursday.

Notable Quotes

Cissy: “It kind of scares me…I mean, trying to get personal with Mr. French.”

Cissy: “Maybe men aren’t as inquisitive as women.” Uncle Bill: “Maybe we respect each other’s privacy, too.”

Today’s Bonus Feature

An article about Sebastian Cabot from Photoplay, October 1967.

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Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 12, Love Me, Love Me Not

TV Radio Mirror April 1969

Welcome to the latest installment of my weekly Family Affair series!

Season 1, Episode 12, “Love Me, Love Me Not,” 12/5/1966

Written by: Peggy Chantler Dick. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

In the opening scene, Jody accidentally breaks a vase with Uncle Bill’s golf club. Bill reacts with typical restraint, noting that accidents happen.

Later, Jody accompanies French to an Italian grocery and witnesses his friend Pepino being spanked for breaking a window.

Pepino gets tough love from his father, a character who escaped from Life with Luigi

Pepino gets tough love from his father, a character who apparently escaped from Life with Luigi

When Jody expresses his confusion, Papa Umberto explains that he punishes his son out of love.

Pepino himself seems less convinced about the spanking=love argument.

Pepino himself seems less convinced about the spanking=love argument.

Suddenly, Uncle Bill’s patience begins to seem like indifference, and Jody tries to provoke a spanking.

First, Jody gives Scotty the doorman Uncle Bill's favorite skiing sweater. This only earns Jody a commendation for generosity.

First, Jody gives Scotty the doorman Uncle Bill’s favorite skiing sweater. This only earns Jody a commendation for generosity.

Jody’s second transgression is disturbing the chess game Mr. French is playing by mail. But what finally sets Uncle Bill off is his worry when Jody runs away at night (though Jody never actually leaves the building).

The little runaway.

The little runaway.

The little runaway, discovered.

The little runaway, discovered.

Uncle Bill delivers a stern–though not physical–punishment but promptly begins to doubt himself and relent. Finally, he realizes where Jody’s coming from and gives the boy a punishment and a gentle spank (“for thinking for one minute that I don’t love you”).

preparing to spank

Preparing to lay the smack down.

Random Thoughts

This episode shows why Brian Keith’s Uncle Bill is such an ideal father figure–affectionate, playful, understanding. In these early episodes, Uncle Bill is warm and demonstrative with Jody in a way that seems unusual and refreshing for a 1960s TV father and son.

Aww...

Aww…

Johnny Whitaker is also adorable in this episode, especially in the scene at the end when he’s waiting for his spanking with closed eyes and gritted teeth.

Is this cute or what?

Is this cute or what?

Uncle Bill’s self-doubt with regard to parenting is realistic and continues the theme of adjustment which has been building all season.

Guest Cast

Pepino: Ricky Cordell. Umberto: Romo Vincent. Scotty: Karl Lukas.

Continuity Notes

The kids’ favorite TV show, Captain Hippopotamus, is mentioned twice. Uncle Bill’s partner, Ted Gaynor, is mentioned, though not seen.

Okay, this is a Jody episode, but how about a little random Buffy cuteness?

Okay, this is a Jody episode, but how about a little random Buffy cuteness?

Notable Quotes

“I wish I could get Uncle Bill to love me enough to sock me.”–Jody

“When he socks me, half of it will be yours.”–Jody to Buffy

“An apology is the act of a real man when he knows he’s wrong.”–Uncle Bill

aww again

So manly and rugged and yet so gentle and loving with kids…sigh.

Today’s Bonus Feature

This might be a little hard to follow. TV Radio Mirror April 1969 featured two articles that both had a split focus on Brian Keith and Diahann Carroll. The “TV Kids” article is worth reading, especially for the description of interaction between Keith and Johnny Whitaker.

(The other headlines on this magazine cover are ridiculous, and why did they use a cover photo that showed Anissa Jones at such a disadvantage?)

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Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 11, “Take Two Aspirin”

Welcome to the latest installment of my weekly Family Affair series!

Season 1, Episode 11, “Take Two Aspirin,” 11/28/1966

Written by: George Tibbles. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

The prospect of spending three months in New York makes Uncle Bill restless, both at home and at work.

Buffy and Jody spy on a jumpy Uncle Bill. Prominent here is the rarely seen Davis TV, rabbit ears and all. You might think that, like Chekhov’s gun, the TV will become important later. It doesn’t.

He jumps at the chance to work with his old friend Dave McCovey on a project in Mexico. Dave is building a pipeline, and three other engineers have disappointed him.

“You have to go around that shale,” Uncle Bill tells Dave. That’s the kind of engineering advice you can only get from Bill Davis (and only on site).

Besides respecting Bill’s engineering acumen, Dave also admires his friend’s attitude toward family. “You love ’em but you don’t get tied down,” Dave says, launching Bill into a tizzy of worry.

Meanwhile, at home, Cissy leaves to spend the weekend with a friend, and French comes down with the flu. Buffy and Jody do their best to take care of French, and you can imagine how that goes.

On a call home, Bill gathers that French is sick and that the twins are cooking. Understandably, he becomes alarmed. First grader Jody doesn’t even know the difference between the words “fly” and “flu.” These are definitely not kids who should be trusted near an oven.

French feels better after a nap–until he sees what Buffy and Jody have prepared for him.

Buffy’s “omelet”

Jody’s peanut butter sandwiches (laced with aspirin!)

French’s reaction.

After a quick swoon, French rallies enough to take the twins out for dinner. Cissy arrives home unexpectedly to an empty apartment and becomes alarmed. Uncle Bill picks that moment to phone home again, and his own nervousness increases.

Odd overreactions drive this episode. I’m fan-wanking that the sudden death of the kids’ parents left all the Davises with PTSD and hair-trigger nerves.

Uncle Bill does reach French later and finds out that he’s okay. While they’re talking, the twins break a vase in the hallway, and French announces that “the Ming” is gone. The phone line cuts out, and Bill’s left believing that the family has been robbed.

The “Ming”

Bill decides to head for home. By the time he arrives, of course, everything’s fine. He suggests a school composition topic for Cissy–the tricks that the imagination can play. (Cissy’s planned topic was long hair on men!)

My Thoughts

This rather choppy episode is not one of my favorites. Mr. French is at his irritable best sick in bed, though.

“Sloshing damp rags on a chap when he’s lying down–that’s not cricket.”–French after Jody awakens him by dropping a wet cloth on his head.

The twins’ attempts to cook are also funny.

Guest Cast

Dave McCovey: Norman Alden. Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard.

Norman Alden’s voice was perhaps more memorable than his face. He was a ubiquitous guest on 1960s and 1970s TV shows. Generation Xers like me might remember him as Polly’s father on My Three Sons, Frank Heflin on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, or the voice of Aquaman on Superfriends. He died in July of this year.

Continuity Notes

Jody’s turtle gets a final mention–he dies while Uncle Bill is out of the country. (Previously referred to as Dinky, the turtle is called Alexander in this episode.) Scotty the doorman is mentioned but not seen. Uncle Bill’s service in Korea comes up again. (He contracted malaria, but he didn’t let it slow him down.)

Random Fashion Moment: The kids’ going-out-to-eat-on-a-rainy-day clothes are cute.

Today’s Bonus Feature
This article about Anissa Jones is from TV Radio Mirror, March 1967. It includes adorable publicity photos of Jones, Johnny Whitaker, and Sebastian Cabot on an outing at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Enjoy my whole Family Affair series!

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Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 10, Beware the Other Woman

I’m sorry that this week’s installment of my Family Affair series is late. Yesterday was my birthday, and I was caught up in a mad whirl of festivity. (Actually, I was so exhausted from my work week that I fell asleep at 9 p.m.)

Season 1, Episode 10, Beware the Other Woman, 11/21/1966
Written by: Elroy Schwartz. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

An old friend–Louise Marshall–re-enters Uncle Bill’s life. Meanwhile, Cissy finds a new friend, Sharon.You can tell that Sharon is sophisticated because she describes herself as “between mothers,” with the third one having left recently. She’s also a total you-know-what stirrer, who convinces Cissy that Uncle Bill will marry Louise and ship the kids back to Terre Haute.

Sure, Sharon looks sweet here, but she sets a total Davis weep-fest in motion.

Cissy’s first impulse is to make sure that she and the twins are meeting Uncle Bill’s every need, so that he has no wish to marry. At her age, she should be able to see the fatal flaw in this plan.

The kids “help” Uncle Bill prepare for an evening out.

When that doesn’t work, she shares her fears with the twins–way to go, Cissy! Soon, everyone is bawling.

These tears aren’t terribly convincing.

Uncle Bill is able to set things right, of course. He says he has no immediate plans to marry, and marriage wouldn’t mean separation for their family anyway. He also reveals that Louise’s husband with killed in the Korean War, a few feet from where Bill was standing. (Then, he switched their dog tags and headed for Manhattan…Whoops. Right city and decade. Wrong show.)

Commentary

This episode gets way too maudlin, but it has a few nice moments.

Cute horseplay-with-Uncle-Bill scene.

Elroy Schwartz is the brother of Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz and a prolific TV writer in his own right. His Brady Bunch writing credits include the one where Marcia and Greg run against each other for student body president and the one where Tiger gets lost.

Guest Cast

Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard. Sharon James: Sherry Alberoni. Louise Marshall: Rita Gam.
Sherry Alberoni was a Mousketeer in 1956-57.

Source: Wikipedia

She worked frequently in TV in the 1960s and would appear in several more Family Affair episodes. In the 1970s and 1980s, she provided many cartoon voices, such as Wendy in Superfriends.

Rita Gam won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1952. She’s best known for serving as a bridesmaid for Grace Kelly, a subject on which she’s given many interviews.

Rita Gam must have been very tall or worn mega heels to achieve a height so close to Brian Keith’s.

Fun Facts

Cissy is good at chemistry. Sharon lives in apartment 12B. Uncle Bill is a Korean War veteran.

Continuity Notes

This episode is filled with poignant references to abandonment and separation in Terre Haute.

Notable Quote

“It just happens that I love you so much I’m not ever gonna let you down, you got that through your head?”–Uncle Bill

Read my whole Family Affair series!

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Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 8, Who’s Afraid of Nural Shpeni?, 11/7/1966

I apologize for my lateness in bringing you this installment of my weekly Family Affair series.

Season 1, Episode 8, “Who’s Afraid of Nural Shpeni?”

Written by: Cynthia Lindsay. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

A Middle Eastern theme pervades this episode, which begins with French reading to the twins about Sinbad the Sailor.

Jody seems pretty excited about this story.

With Uncle Bill soon to return from a project in Beirut, French decides to brush up on his Lebanese culinary skills. But a trip to Fuad’s Middle Eastern Delicacies leads to cooking lessons from Nural Shpeni and then to her family’s demands that French marry her.

The prospective bride. French could do a lot worse.

Dr. Sarkis, an associate of Uncle Bill, reminds Nural’s brothers that the traditions they are relying upon to force French into marriage also demand a large dowry from them.

When Buffy and Jody open the door and see this group, they scream and run. It’s kind of funny, if politically incorrect.

French is thrilled when Nural finally announces she’d rather marry Officer Chamas, the local cop on the beat.

Vic Tayback as the cop. Hmm, Mr. French or Mel Sharples? Tough call.

Random Thoughts

This is the episode the Cleveland Amory mocked in his TV Guide review of Family Affair. It is pretty bad, actually. It’s always fun to see Mr. French in a state of extreme discomfort, however. And it has some other compensations.

Compensation 1: French using a hookah!

Compensation 2: Uncle Bill buys Mrs. Beasley this cute outfit in Lebanon.

Here she is later wearing the outfit.

Guest Cast

Fuad: Nestor Paiva. Nural: Magda Harout. Alam: Henry Corden. Mohad: Peter Manahos. Policeman Chamas: Vic Tayback. Old woman: Kay Koury. Dr. Sarkis: Abraham Sofaer. Most familiar is Vic Tayback, who played Mel in the 1974 movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, as well as the subsequent TV series Alice. Nestor Paiva, who had a long career in movies, died before this episode aired. Magda Harout, on the other hand, is still alive and continued to act as recently as 2010, with an appearance on Fringe. Attention Seinfeld fans: she appeared as Stella in the 1991 episode “The Pen.” Henry Corden voiced many cartoon characters, including Fred Flintstone. He was Marcia’s boss, Mr. Haskell, in the ice cream parlor episode of The Brady Bunch.

Fun Facts

Mr. French speaks Arabic and once worked for the Shah of Morocco. Jody is five minutes older than Buffy.

Read my whole Family Affair series!

Today’s Bonus Feature

An article from TV Radio Mirror, July 1967. These fan magazine articles are not to be trusted completely, but the photos are nice. Here, you can see Johnny Whitaker’s real family.

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Family Affair Friday: Episode 5, Season 1, “Marmalade”

This is part of my weekly series about the classic CBS sitcom Family Affair.

Season 1, Episode 5, “Marmalade,” 10/10/66

Written by: Henry Garson and Edmund Beloin. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

Uncle Bill’s latest love interest, Ellen Latimer, is an advertising firm employee who thinks French would be perfect in a “small” ad for Dunholt Marmalade.

The lovely Miss Latimer

French reluctantly agrees and endures the photo shoot.

“Must I go through with this pitty-patting on my brow?”

When the resulting full-page ad attracts contempt from fellow gentleman’s gentleman Withers but adulation from the ladies, French begins to like and even court the attention.

French and his fan club

He readily agrees to a five-week national promotional tour–until he actually tastes the marmalade.

The taste

Random Thoughts

Sebastian Cabot is very funny as he runs the gamut from disdainful to enthusiastic and back in the world of advertising.

This script seems to have more funny lines than most.

The kids react to the ad:
Buffy: “He’s pretty.”
Jody: “Maybe he’s smiling ‘cause we weren’t there.”

Notable Quotes

“We are not a male model, sir.”—French

“Never let it be said that Bill Davis didn’t do his best to promote a pretty girl.”—Uncle Bill

“It might have been easier with Laurence Olivier”—Uncle Bill

Guest Cast

Ellen Latimer: Mary Murphy. Mr. Hayden: Woodrow Parfrey. Withers: Richard Peel. Miss Reynolds: Nora Marlowe. Miss Peters: Peggy Rea. Miss Howard: Pauline Drake. Woman: Kathryn Minner. Photographer: Lou Krugman. Mary Murphy’s other TV credits from the ’60s include Perry Mason, Outer Limits, Honey West and The Fugitive. She had a memorable movie appearance with Marlon Brando in The Wild One.

Random fashion note–I like hats.

Woodrow Parfrey appeared in many TV shows and movies. Of note are roles in Planet of the Apes and Back to the Planet of the Apes. He also played Ike Godsey in The Homecoming, the original Waltons special that preceded the series.

Woodrow Parfrey plays Miss Latimer’s boss. Hmm, his office sports the same green paint that pervades the Davis apartment and Bill’s office.

Nora Marlowe also had a Waltons connection—she played the recurring role of Mrs. Flossie Brimmer. And Peggy Rea played Rose on The Waltons. Her other TV credits included the role of Lulu Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard and regular roles in Step by Step and Grace Under Fire. Both Murphy and Rea died last year.

Fun Facts

WXOY is having a Velvet Vultures festival. Mr. French reads Punch.

Continuity Notes

This is the first appearance of the snooty Withers.

A Withers-ing glance

Bonus Feature

Coloring book, Whitman, 1968

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Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 4, A Matter of School, 10/3/66

This is part of my weekly series about the classic CBS sitcom Family Affair

Season 1, Episode 4, “The Matter of School,” 10/3/66

Written by: Henry Garson. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

It’s time to enroll the kids in school. While it’s a simple matter to enroll Buffy and Jody in first grade, Uncle Bill is less certain about what’s best for Cissy. He rejects immediately French’s suggestion of Miss Haycroft’s School in London but reluctantly considers sending her to Bryerfield, a boarding school in Connecticut. Cissy really wants to go to Lexie High, a public school in the city, especially after grocery delivery boy Freddy sings the school’s praises.

Freddy wants to share more than Sugar Pops with Cissy.

But she misinterprets Uncle Bill’s mention of Bryerfield as a hint it would ease a burden on him if she lived at school. She chooses Bryerfield, and Uncle Bill promises her a big evening her first weekend home–dinner at 21, a musical, and a visit to a nightclub. Business makes him forget his promise, though, reinforcing Cissy’s idea that she should be “out of his hair.”

Cute dress. This is a good fashion episode for Cissy.

When she mentions this to Buffy and Jody, they decide to get out of Mr. French’s hair and attempt to take a cab to Connecticut. Talking to the kids, Bill uncovers Cissy’s misconception, and French reminds him about the plans he forgot with Cissy. Uncle Bill rushes to Connecticut to bring Cissy home, and later he finally escorts a lovely Cissy on that special date.

Cissy dressed for her evening out

Random Thoughts

The bonding between Cissy and Uncle Bill is touching, and the ending is sweet. Buffy and Jody provide comedic counterpoint to main story, especially in the scene in which exasperated Mr. French registers the twins for school. (First grade is taught in morning and afternoon sessions, and French asks if the kids can attend both!)

Buffy tries to show her principal exactly where she got vaccinated

This episode introduces a pervasive Family Affair idea that the children will be interacting with peers from many different backgrounds. Freddy tells Cissy and Uncle Bill that kids from penthouses and kids from basements attend Lexie High, and Buffy and Jody quickly make friends with a cabdriver’s son. The principal also notes that the twins will hear a variety of languages spoken in their class.

Uncle Bill’s clients from Afghanistan. The Davis world is a cosmopolitan one.

Guest Cast

Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard. Mrs. Brown: Sarah Selby. Mrs. Hedgemot: Gertrude Graner. Mr. Kabul: Aly Wassil. Freddy: Eugene Martin. Mr. Razini: Naji Gabbay. Mr. Chill: Reginald Lal Singh. Barbara: Liza Garson. Murray: Tony Campo. Sarah Selby had a recurring role for many years as Ma Smalley on Gunsmoke, and she was Aunt Polly in a 1974 TV version of Huckleberry Finn. She would appear in four more Family Affair episodes. Campo, who would return as a different character in season five, was the third Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital; Johnny Whitaker was the first. Gabbay and Wassil would both reappear in season two’s “The Beasley Story,” and Martin would appear once more as Freddy. Hubbard, who would reappear in several episodes as Uncle Bill’s partner, starred in many largely unmemorable films of the 1940s. I strongly suspect Liza Garson is a relative of producer and sometimes writer Henry Garson. Her character struck me as oddly superfluous in her scene even before I noticed the familiar last name.

Barbara’s job is to stand awkwardly behind the principal

Fun Facts

Buffy and Jody attended kindergarten in Terre Haute. In his reluctance to progress to first grade, Jody shows the first sign of being less academically minded than Buffy. The Davis’ apartment building is at 600 E. 62nd Street.

Continuity Notes

Cissy’s desire not to be a burden to Uncle Bill stems from her fear that she was “dumped” on him. We have Terre Haute references. Miss Faversham is mentioned.

Notable Quotes

“She’s like Cinderella, but tomorrow she’ll be our sister again.” Buffy, on Cissy

Today’s Bonus Feature

A Family Affair parody from Mad Magazine, April 1969

If you enjoyed this post, read all my Family Affair entries!