Don Grady, One of TV's 'My Three Sons,' Dies at 68

[Faygo Kid]

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Don Grady, an original Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club who played son Robbie Douglas on the ABC and CBS series My Three Sons, one of the longest-running family sitcoms in history, died Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, Calif., after a battle with cancer. He was 68.

In 1960, three years after he was hired as a Mouseketeer on ABC's Mickey Mouse Club at age 13, Grady began an 11-year run as Robbie on the sitcom My Three Sons, with Fred MacMurray starring as the widower dad, William Frawley (and then William Demarest) as the family housekeeper and Grady, Tim Considine (Mike), Stanley Livingston (Chip) and Barry Livingston (Ernie) as the sons. (Mike was written out at the start of the fifth season and Ernie was adopted, keeping the number of sons at three.)

My Three Sons, which debuted on ABC, moved to CBS in 1965 and began broadcasting in color. With 12 seasons and 380 episodes produced, the Saturday night staple is second only to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as TV's longest-running (live-action) family sitcom.

In the 1968-69 season, Grady's character and his wife Katie (Tina Cole) had triplets. He departed the series at the end of the 11th season when Robbie, now a structural engineer, moved to Peru to work on a bridge construction. . .

Read more: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-grady-my-three-sons-342690

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Another Boomer memory. Watched My Three Sons every week. RIP.

[liberal N proud]

1. RIP

[hlthe2b]

2. Another boomer loss, indeed.

RIP... That was such a different time and far more simple in many ways, even if Vietnam wasraging... My Three Sons was just a nice way to spend a little tv time. RIP

[xchrom]

3. Seems like yesterday. Peace be with his family. Nt

[Grassy Knoll]

4. I'll never forget the opening with the foot moving....

RIP

[PSPS]

15. Don't forget Frank Devol's remarkable composition for the theme music

Not every composer can blend a 4/4 beat with "Chopsticks" at 3/4.

[Historic NY]

5. Years ago it was dead of a heart attack, now its cancer...

what ever happened to the War on Cancer".

Sorry buried a childhod friend today too....cancer at 54 yrs.

[LoveMyCali]

10. I'm sorry

54 is way too young.

[Ken Burch]

20. Lost three friends to it in the last year...all way too young.

I'm so sorry for your loss. This disease sucks big time.

[CountAllVotes]

32. Sorry to read this

I know how you feel. My baby brother died at abt. 40 years of age from cancer just one year after my mom died of the same thing, perhaps a genetic form of cancer I've been told.

Cancer cancer cancer.

This is the curse that is upon us because of the toxic world that we have come to grow up and now live in.

[Tx4obama]

6. R.I.P. :( n/t

[dsc]

7. I had the hugest crush on him

I saw the show in rerun as I was born in 67 but I did have that crush.

[texanwitch]

8. I watch the show everyday on cable.

&feature=related

[ChazII]

19. Me, too.

I don't have cable but MeTV carries the program.

RIP Don.

edited as I called him Robbie.

[AngryOldDem]

26. I wish I could.

For some reason, my MeTV shows an hour of Family Affair even though the channel guide says it should be "My Three Sons."

[vankuria]

22. Thanks for posting this!

Don Grady still looked great, very handsome guy and one of my first crushes. One of my fav shows back in the 60's, anyone remember Fred McMurray would give an intro to the show, he'd start with "Welcome to our show", so very different from programming today.

[hlthe2b]

30. Do you have a date on that? Damn he looked great, there.

[jillan]

9. I loved that show!

RIP "Robbie"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. Obama is the first President to be born post '50s

And he's getting grey.

The way the 50's is romanticized is a mystery to me.

But then, I was 14 months old in 1960.

When people ask me what I miss about the '50's I say, "Breast feeding."

[bullwinkle428]

33. To be accurate, Obama is the only post-1940s president -

Dumbya and Clinton were both born in 1946.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

34. While I was watching rockets take off into space in wonder

Dubya was shoving firecrackers up a frog's butt.

[chknltl]

12. .

.












. My moment of silence for Don Grady. He will be remembered with fondness, by many of us.

[Hissyspit]

13. He was the "mystery" drummer in Bubblegum Pop group 'Yellow Balloon' with their hit "Yellow Balloon"

[chollybocker]

18. rip Robbie/Don.

ot: that's a beautiful record cover and a great bit of trivia.

[AngryOldDem]

25. According to an obit I read, he was a musical prodigy.

He had two bands back in the '60s, one of which played on the show. He also composed the theme to "The Phil Donahue Show." The neat things you never know about someone until he goes.

[xfundy]

14. They had "Dodie," a forerunner to "Cousin Oliver."

Series death is hard.

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Awww, how very sad. ;(

Think it was on the reunion show that I last saw him and was amazed how little he'd changed, much less than his younger "brothers." Godspeed Robbie, talented guy.

[Cooley Hurd]

21. Yeah, he aged well, that's for sure!

Cross gently Don...

[Blue_In_AK]

17. Oh, that's sad.

I always watched that show as a kid.

[revolution breeze]

23. RIP n/t

[AngryOldDem]

24. This is so sad.

"My Three Sons" was one of my favorite shows growing up, even after Steve married and brought Dodie into the household.

You think of the stars as being forever young.

[louis-t]

27. Mike went into the army.

I remember that specifically. Vietnam era.

[MADem]

28. Ah yes--Robbie "How did he manage to snag such a good looking bride?" Douglas!

This is very sad. He aged well, though, I must say. You can still see the kid in the older picture.

In our heads, they stay forever young. When they go and die like this, too soon, we realize we're next! Damn!

[caroll31]

29. He is also a musician?

He was a very natural actor on "My Three Sons." He seemed to be the most bashful. He was totally adorable and I had a huge crush on him.

[Omaha Steve]

31. My friend David Macland worked with Don and had this to say about him....

I was surprised and saddened to hear about the death of Don Grady this morning. I never heard he was fighting cancer.

I met him doing "The Flash Back" where I played young Steve (Fred MacMurray) and worked with him playing a lead as Brad in "The Wheels". I had a copy of that show but can't find it.

Don was an excellent actor, looker and a very nice guy. He tried to stay in acting after "My Three Sons". He did a sequel to the series that unfortunately didn't sell. I think he could have handled his own show well. He then did a national tour as "Pippin" and tried Broadway until, as he said, "My money ran out and I fell back on my first love music". He was an excellent musician and composer .

David Macklin
ACTING In The Motion Picture BUSINESS
http://www.davidmacklin.com (book site)