My Three Sons
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My Three Sons was a television series situation comedy that ran from September 29, 1960 to August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicled the life of a aeronautical engineer and widower Steve Douglas, played by Fred MacMurray, and his three sons. This seemingly simple premise was a huge hit and a cornerstone of CBS in the 1960s. With 380 episodes produced, it is second only to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as television's longest running (live-action) family sitcom. The show began on ABC but moved to CBS in the 1965–66 season.
Episodes from 1960–1965 (ABC) were telecast in black and white; when the show switched to CBS in 1965, the show began to be telecast in color. Other changes happened that year; William Frawley (who had played Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy in the 1950s) was a series regular until poor health forced his retirement; he was replaced by William Demarest. Older brother Mike (Tim Considine) also left the series that year, written out with Meredith MacRae as his new wife.
To keep the show's title plausible, a storyline was developed where younger brother Chip (Stanley Livingston)'s young friend Ernie (played by his real-life brother Barry) was revealed to be living in a foster home, awaiting adoption, since his parents died. When Steve tries to adopt Ernie, he faces trouble as a single parent, until Uncle Charlie (Demarest) comes to the rescue.
Reportedly, most, if not all, of MacMurray's scenes for each season were produced in one block of filming, freeing the actor up to follow other pursuits while the remainder of season production continued. This sometimes produced noticeable continuity problems onscreen, especially as the boys grew and changed styles.
My Three Sons was created by George Tibbles and produced by Don Fedderson. CBS Paramount Television presently owns the show's distribution rights in the United States, while NBC Universal Television holds the international rights.
Cast
The actors and the characters they played:- Fred MacMurray, Steve Douglas
- Tim Considine, Mike Douglas (1960–1965)
- Don Grady, Robbie Douglas
- Stanley Livingston, Richard "Chip" Douglas
- Barry Livingston, Ernie Thompson/Douglas (1965–1972)
- William Frawley, Michael Francis "Bub" O'Casey (1960–1965)
- Meredith MacRae, Sally Ann Morrison Douglas (1963–1965)
- William Demarest, Uncle Charlie O'Casey, Bub's brother (1965–1972)
- Tina Cole, Katie Miller Douglas (1967–1972)
- Beverly Garland, Barbara Harper Douglas (1969–1972)
- Dawn Lyn, Dodie Harper Douglas (1969–1972)
- Ronne Troup, Polly Williams Douglas (1970–1972)
- Daniel, Joseph and Michael Todd, Robbie, Stevie and Charlie Douglas (respectively, 1970–1972)
External links
- TV Tome's [page on My Three Sons]
- The Museum of Broadcast Communications' [page on My Three Sons]
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