Cher oncle Bill

I love this show. The show looks nice and cosy which alone made it relaxing to watch, and the theme tune is memorable and delightful. Family Affair also treats us to story lines that are written with taste and flair with a lot and heart, and the writing is also very funny(not always hilarious mind) with some poignant parts too particularly with Buffy.

The acting is marvellous, Brian Keith is great as Uncle Bill with a great sense of comic timing and a warm presence too. Kathy Garver shows herself as a promising young actress as Cissy and Johnny Wittaker is a cute Jody. The real stars though are Anissa Jones who is so heartfelt as Buffy and Sebastian Cabot whose Mr French is just brilliant.

Some might say Family Affair is quite syrupy or sugar coated. Maybe so, but I thought it was a great show and very warm and entertaining. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Fresh off of six seasons of the single parent sitcom My Three Sons, producer Don Fedderson came up with another sitcom about a single parent, Family Affair. I remember the show well as bachelor Bill Davis, played wonderfully by Brian Keith became a father to three young orphans, Cissy and twins Buffy and Jody. The successful engineer and the kids lived in a New York high rise along with the butler Mr. French, played with dignity by Sebastian Cabot. French was reluctant to looking after children but over the show's five year run, he adjusted so well. He often looked after them when Uncle Bill was away on business.

What made the show a hit was the chemistry between Anissa Jones as Buffy and Johnny Whittaker as Jody. They got along so well and they were to of the cutest sitcom kids of the mid to late 60s. There was also Kathy Garver as older sister Cissy, who was like a mother to the two youngsters. Also part of the cast, though inanimate was Buffy's doll, Mrs. Beasley. The doll became a big seller throughout the show's five year run and even when it went into syndicated reruns.

The one episode I remember was the one where Whittaker sang the song "Every Little Boy Can Be President." Another one I remember focused on Jody having an invisible bear named Arthur.

It's a shame that the show hasn't been seen on any cable channel in the last few years, it's a show that appeals to the entire family. In the age of sitcoms with objectionable language, Family Affair is a throwback to the days of family friendly entertainment. Definitely a Family Affair.

Brian 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.

There was and still is an endearing quality about this show. You had an engineer who was suddenly thrust into the role of a bachelor father, supported by his gentleman's gentleman.

Note: When Sebastian Cabot was written off the show for a few episodes, John Williams stepped in and did an equally credible job of playing Mr. French's brother.

Note 2: It should be noted that two up-and-coming child performers made appearances on this show, Erin Moran and Eve Plumb, and nothing more need be said on the latter.

This 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.