If there was one TV show in the 1950s that really conveyed the idea of the family sitcom, it would have to be Father Knows Best, which starred Robert Young as Jim Anderson, Jane Wyatt as his wife, Margaret; Lauren Chapin as youngest child, Kathy (aka "Kitten"); Billy Gray as son James ("Bud"), and Elinor Donahue as the oldest, Betty ("Princess"). It was wholesome without being cloying, and still remains a wonderful reminder of a bygone era. It's also something that Elinor herself is, in a way, rediscovering for the first time since she started shooting the show nearly 65 years ago. "Father Knows Best," Elinor says in an exclusive interview from her California home, "is on at 6:00 in the morning here, and they run two episodes a day. A friend of mine was saying how much she enjoys it, and she's younger than me by a good 20 years. The...
- 5/1/2018
- by Ed Gross
- Closer Weekly
According to a Facebook post from his sister (via Variety), former child actor Billy Chapin has died after “a long illness.” In the post, Lauren Chapin refers to him as a “wonderful brother” and mentions that she and the rest of the family are “proud of all the great films he was in,” mentioning Night Of The Hunter, A Man Called Peter, The Kid From Left Field, and a few others. Chapin was 72.
Born in Los Angeles in 1943, Chapin and his siblings entered the acting world very young, with his first role coming when he was just a few weeks old in 1944’s Casanova Brown. (He played a baby, naturally.) His first proper acting role came in 1951, when he appeared onstage as part of a Broadway production of Three Wishes For Jamie, and his first real film role was for 1953’s The Kid From Left ...
Born in Los Angeles in 1943, Chapin and his siblings entered the acting world very young, with his first role coming when he was just a few weeks old in 1944’s Casanova Brown. (He played a baby, naturally.) His first proper acting role came in 1951, when he appeared onstage as part of a Broadway production of Three Wishes For Jamie, and his first real film role was for 1953’s The Kid From Left ...
- 12/4/2016
- by Sam Barsanti
- avclub.com
Billy Chapin, best known for his role in the 1955 film “The Night of the Hunter,” died Friday after battling a long illness. He was 72.
The news of his death was announced on Saturday afternoon by his sister Lauren Chapin on Facebook.
“It is with a saddened heart that I say goodbye to my precious brother Billy Chapin, wonderful star of movies, television and radio,” wrote Lauren. “He passed away last night after a long illness but now is in the arms of his Savior. Billy was a wonderful brother to both Michael and me…He will be greatly missed.”
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Born on Dec. 28, 1943, in Los Angeles, Chapin first appeared in uncredited roles in films like “Casanova Brown” and “The Cockeyed Miracle.” He then made his Broadway debut in “Three Wishes for Jamie.”
Chapin...
The news of his death was announced on Saturday afternoon by his sister Lauren Chapin on Facebook.
“It is with a saddened heart that I say goodbye to my precious brother Billy Chapin, wonderful star of movies, television and radio,” wrote Lauren. “He passed away last night after a long illness but now is in the arms of his Savior. Billy was a wonderful brother to both Michael and me…He will be greatly missed.”
Read More: Florence Henderson Dies: See Her Career in Photos, From ‘The Brady Bunch’ to ‘Shakes the Clown’
Born on Dec. 28, 1943, in Los Angeles, Chapin first appeared in uncredited roles in films like “Casanova Brown” and “The Cockeyed Miracle.” He then made his Broadway debut in “Three Wishes for Jamie.”
Chapin...
- 12/4/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Billy Chapin, a former child actor best known for starring opposite Robert Mitchum in 1955's The Night of the Hunter, has died. He was 72.
His sister Lauren Chapin, also a child star who appeared on the sitcom Father Knows Best, announced the news Saturday afternoon in a Facebook post.
"It is with a saddened heart that I say goodbye to my precious brother Billy Chapin," her message, posted to her personal page, reads. "He passed away last night after a long illness but now is in the arms of his Savior. ... He will be greatly missed."
<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/laurenchapin777/posts/10211581169110196"...
His sister Lauren Chapin, also a child star who appeared on the sitcom Father Knows Best, announced the news Saturday afternoon in a Facebook post.
"It is with a saddened heart that I say goodbye to my precious brother Billy Chapin," her message, posted to her personal page, reads. "He passed away last night after a long illness but now is in the arms of his Savior. ... He will be greatly missed."
<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/laurenchapin777/posts/10211581169110196"...
- 12/4/2016
- by Meena Jang
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Billy Chapin, who as a child actor held his own against Robert Mitchum’s murderous preacher in Charles Laughton’s brilliant The Night of the Hunter, died Friday following a lengthy illness. His death was announced by his sister Lauren Chapin, the former child actress who costarred in TV’s classic family sitcom Father Knows Best. “It is with a saddened heart that I say ‘Good Bye’ to my precious brother Billy Chapin, wonderful Star of Movies, Television and Radio,” Lauren…...
- 12/4/2016
- Deadline
There will be a number of stars from popular retro TV series attending the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia convention in Maryland on September 22-24. Among those appearing: Davy Jones of The Monkees, Patty Duke, Karen Valentine, Billy Gray, Lauren Chapin and Tony Dow. There will also be screenings of classic and cult movies, memorabilia on sale and panel discussions. For more click here...
- 6/10/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The family sitcom, Father Knows Best, ran for six seasons and 203 episodes, from 1954 until 1960.
The show is one of the few to have successfully switched networks, moving from CBS to NBC and then back to CBS. In its last season on NBC, it was tied for 23rd place on the list of top-rated shows. After the move back to CBS, it tied for 13th for the 1958-59 season and then, in its final season, became even more popular and tied for sixth. That would be like ending The Mentalist today.
In 1977, Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin reunited for two CBS TV movies, The Father Knows Best Reunion and Father Knows Best: Home For Christmas. If the movies had performed better, it's believed that a new series would have followed. For whatever reason, it...
The show is one of the few to have successfully switched networks, moving from CBS to NBC and then back to CBS. In its last season on NBC, it was tied for 23rd place on the list of top-rated shows. After the move back to CBS, it tied for 13th for the 1958-59 season and then, in its final season, became even more popular and tied for sixth. That would be like ending The Mentalist today.
In 1977, Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin reunited for two CBS TV movies, The Father Knows Best Reunion and Father Knows Best: Home For Christmas. If the movies had performed better, it's believed that a new series would have followed. For whatever reason, it...
- 4/14/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
The family sitcom has been a staple of our television viewing habits for the past fifty years, with beloved shows like Leave It To Beaver, The Brady Bunch, The Cosby Show, and Full House. Yet this genre might not have existed without the granddaddy of them all, Father Knows Best. After a few other unsuccessful tries, Fox is now set to bring the Anderson family back, this time on the big screen.
Father Knows Best first debuted on NBC Radio in 1949. Robert Young stars as a conservative Midwestern father, Jim Anderson, who gently but firmly rules the roost in a much simpler time. After five successful years on the radio, the show moved to television on CBS in October 1954. Robert Young stayed on, and was joined by Jane Wyatt as wife and mother Margaret, with Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin as Betty ("Princess"), James Jr. ("Bud"), and Kathy ("Kitten") respectively.
Father Knows Best first debuted on NBC Radio in 1949. Robert Young stars as a conservative Midwestern father, Jim Anderson, who gently but firmly rules the roost in a much simpler time. After five successful years on the radio, the show moved to television on CBS in October 1954. Robert Young stayed on, and was joined by Jane Wyatt as wife and mother Margaret, with Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin as Betty ("Princess"), James Jr. ("Bud"), and Kathy ("Kitten") respectively.
- 4/17/2009
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
New Regency and 20th Century Fox will turn the classic TV series "Father Knows Best" into a big screen film. Chad and Dara Creasey will be writing the script and Gary Foster will produce. The film would tell of a father with modern-day parenting methods that displease his traditional father, who comes to shack up with the family, causing clashes over who knows best. "Father Knows Best" started on NBC radio way back in 1949 and later moved to TV in 1954 where it ran until 1960. The series won six Primetime Emmy Awards and starred Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray, Elinor Donahue and Lauren Chapin. ...
- 4/16/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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