My Three Sons

[johnbasalla]

Since "talk" about "My Three Sons" has taken over the "Bea Benaderet/"Petticoat Junction" thread, I thought we should give the longer running "My Three Sons" its own space. Everything "MTS" here, ok?

The other reason I started this thread actually kind-of bounces off an issue involving "Petticoat Junction", and that is I haven't seen the Black and White episodes of either series on MeTV. Do the Black and White and color episodes have different companies holding the rights?

 

[azumanga]

I believe CBS owns the entire series, though only the color episodes were ever distributed. I believe in the 1990s, Nick-at-Nite had shown both color and B&W episodes, the latter including sponsor Ford's automobiles driving in the background during the closing credits.

 

[cd637299]

Before jumptheshark.com was usurped by TV Guide, there were lots of scathing comments about Dawn Lyn, who played little Dodie. Dawn Lyn hopped on, and she was furious.

I wasn't really old enough to say how good or bad she was, and I only watch MTS now when nothing else is on.

cd

 

[dave73]

I believe CBS owns the entire series, though only the color episodes were ever distributed. I believe in the 1990s, Nick-at-Nite had shown both color and B&W episodes, the latter including sponsor Ford's automobiles driving in the background during the closing credits.

I never understood why the B&W episodes were never shown on TV. I do know the first 2 seasons (the B&W episodes) have fallen in the public domain. But I wouldn't see that being an issue, as certain elements of those episodes are still copyrighted, & TV stations could still show those episodes as they were intended, as long as they were from the distributor.

 

[joeybabe25]

Good idea about moving MTS to its own thread.

I posted this on Bea Benaderet, but (I hope this is ok) reposting here:

Prior to MTS, Fred MacMurray was a serious actor, perhaps just below the level of the Cagney's, Bogart's, and Robinson's. "Double Indemnity" and "The Caine Mutiney" were just two of his steller performances.

I believe he got into tv because his movie career was beginning to stall, he was getting older (in his 50's by 1960) and maybe he just wanted a regular gig. Interestingly, one of his best movies, "The Apartment" came out after he signed on to play Steve Douglas.

He did do the classic "The Absent Minded Professor" while on the series, but did he ever again do a serious movie or tv role?

Joe

 

[harrisburgpatv]

Not sure of the reason, but MTS had two different syndication packages: The first one was seasons 1-5 (1960 through 1965..all the B&W episodes), and then season 12 (1971-1972, the last); the second, seasons 6-11. I was about 8 when I was first aware of the show (in the early '80s), and didn't like it, but I started watching it when Nick-At-Nite started running it, which of course was the first syndicated package. It's quite confusing to see the show jump 6 years and have the show go from Mike, Robbie and Chip in B&W to Robbie, Chip, and Ernie in color with Steve, Robbie, *and* Chip married! It would be over 10 years until TV Land started running seasons 6-11 that I got to see what I was missing.

Most definitely one of my favorite of the "classic" sitcoms and a good thread.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I am really enjoying watching this series again on ME-TV. It seems as though the episodes being shown there are in the same sequence as when first aired on the series on network TV.

I think the addition of Tina Cole as "Katie" was a real spark to the series when she starting appearing first as a girl friend and then wife of "Robbie" (Don Grady). It makes you wonder if that may have happened earlier when oldest son, "Mike" (Tim Considine) married "Sally" (Meredith MacRae) and they would have remained in the story lines. Of course, that was how "Mike" was written out of the series because it has been reported in later years that Tim Considine was more interested in working behind the camera.

 

[rwells2265]

I believe CBS owns the entire series, though only the color episodes were ever distributed. I believe in the 1990s, Nick-at-Nite had shown both color and B&W episodes, the latter including sponsor Ford's automobiles driving in the background during the closing credits.

I don't recall the late-era color eps on Nick At Nite, but in the 1989-91 period it was the ABC B/W episodes.  I think the most memorable part of this run was the promo where N@N put words to the theme song.  "And then there's Buuuuuub / He makes them foooooood..."

Oh, and the original sponsor was Chevrolet -- and a couple of the seasons had line-art drawings of the various Chevy models.

--Russell

 

[BD Sullivan]

The 12th season of MTS (1971-72) was set to be on Saturdays at 8 p.m., but at the last minute, CBS decided to put a show beginning its second season in that spot--aka All in the Family. MTS was banished to Monday nights at 10 p.m., which caused the ratings (it had remained a Top 20 show in its 11th season) to sour. In January 1972, the show was put back in its old Thursday nigth slot, but the damage was done and the show was cancelled. Not surprisingly, Fred MacMurray was quite PO'ed about the shift and complained to CBS President Fred Silverman.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

It was a shame this show was cancelled and it certainly appears the ratings drop was due to the poor decision to move it to a late hour on a weekday. I do wonder, though, what the various themes of shows would have been in a 13th or 14th season? You had children growing older, etc. which can be the cause of some shows finishing up.

 

[joeybabe25]

I wonder how many days a year Fred Macmurray was putting in by the 1971-72 season. I would imagine he would have negotiated his hours downward a lot in the 12 years he did the show.

12 years is a long time for a sitcom, and even though MTS was not a "rural" comedy like so many that were cancelled dispite good ratings (bad demos though) I think it would have been out of place on a network that had shows like "Maude", "All In The Family", "The Jefferson's" "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Bob Newhart". Having said that, I would have continued to watch even then. But I think it was too much "Ozzie and Harriett" for the new "urban" CBS.

BTW, O&H was another quite cleverly written show that was never really given enough credit. Like MTS.

Joe

 

[KeithE4]

It was a shame this show was cancelled and it certainly appears the ratings drop was due to the poor decision to move it to a late hour on a weekday. I do wonder, though, what the various themes of shows would have been in a 13th or 14th season? You had children growing older, etc. which can be the cause of some shows finishing up.

It probably had something to do with CBS's decision to rid itself of all programming that catered to rural and/or aging audiences at that time.

Maybe it would have done well in syndication, but given the ages of the stars (Fred MacMurray was 64, and William Demarest was 80 in 1972, although both lived quite a few more years after MTS was cancelled), it might only have lasted another year or two anyway.

 

[cd637299]

It was a shame this show was cancelled and it certainly appears the ratings drop was due to the poor decision to move it to a late hour on a weekday. I do wonder, though, what the various themes of shows would have been in a 13th or 14th season? You had children growing older, etc. which can be the cause of some shows finishing up.

It's hard for any sitcom (heck for any series, period!), with a family with children involved, to run even half as long, aside from a certain animated family. When kids grow up, their voices, personality, likes/dislikes can change.

When I see "Dennis the Menace" reruns, I see that 4 years was WAY too long a run for a mischievous imp. Jay North was way too old for the part, maybe even by season 3. The Season 4/Gale Gordon eps make me wince! Too bad that Joseph Kearns passed away.

I know, OT again....back to MTS.

cd

 

[BD Sullivan]

It was a shame this show was cancelled and it certainly appears the ratings drop was due to the poor decision to move it to a late hour on a weekday. I do wonder, though, what the various themes of shows would have been in a 13th or 14th season? You had children growing older, etc. which can be the cause of some shows finishing up.

It's hard for any sitcom (heck for any series, period!), with a family with children involved, to run even half as long, aside from a certain animated family. When kids grow up, their voices, personality, likes/dislikes can change.

When I see "Dennis the Menace" reruns, I see that 4 years was WAY too long a run for a mischievous imp. Jay North was way too old for the part, maybe even by season 3. The Season 4/Gale Gordon eps make me wince! Too bad that Joseph Kearns passed away.

I know, OT again....back to MTS.

cd

The aging of children on a TV show (which was also the case on The Waltons) was parodied by Martin Short in this SCTV sketch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QJH2Nywkaw

 

[Braves2005]

I read somewhere that William Frawley was basically fired from My Three Sons because he got sick and the producers didn't want him anymore so they gave the job to Frawley's old friend William Demarest which made Frawley so unhappy that he didn't speak to Demarest ever again before Frawley died in 1966 of cancer. Is this true?

 

[KeithE4]

I read somewhere that William Frawley was basically fired from My Three Sons because he got sick and the producers didn't want him anymore so they gave the job to Frawley's old friend William Demarest which made Frawley so unhappy that he didn't speak to Demarest ever again before Frawley died in 1966 of cancer. Is this true?

Frawley died of a heart attack, although he had been suffering from prostate cancer. He was fired because the studio couldn't get insurance to cover him anymore.

I don't know what kind of relationship Frawley and Demarest had, but it's not exactly a secret that William Frawley was "misanthropic," had few friends in or out of Hollywood, and had a serious drinking problem (although he behaved himself during the run of I Love Lucy). From what I've read about him, his only real friends in the business were Lucy & Desi, and Fred MacMurray.

 

[BD Sullivan]

I read somewhere that William Frawley was basically fired from My Three Sons because he got sick and the producers didn't want him anymore so they gave the job to Frawley's old friend William Demarest which made Frawley so unhappy that he didn't speak to Demarest ever again before Frawley died in 1966 of cancer. Is this true?

Frawley died of a heart attack, although he had been suffering from prostate cancer. He was fired because the studio couldn't get insurance to cover him anymore.

I don't know what kind of relationship Frawley and Demarest had, but it's not exactly a secret that William Frawley was "misanthropic," had few friends in or out of Hollywood, and had a serious drinking problem (although he behaved himself during the run of I Love Lucy). From what I've read about him, his only real friends in the business were Lucy & Desi, and Fred MacMurray.

Frawley's boozing reputation preceded him prior to I Love Lucy. Desi Arnaz essentially put him on a "No Tolerance" policy to make sure Frawley stayed on the straight and narrow, and Frawley never had any alcohol-related issues during the show's run.

Frawley's last TV appearance came on a cameo on The Lucy Show in October 1965. After Frawley's death, Arnaz put a full-page ad in the Hollywood Reporter, paying tribute to him. At his funeral, MacMurray was one of the pallbearers.

 

[larkin]

I am really enjoying watching this series again on ME-TV. It seems as though the episodes being shown there are in the same sequence as when first aired on the series on network TV.

I think the addition of Tina Cole as "Katie" was a real spark to the series when she starting appearing first as a girl friend and then wife of "Robbie" (Don Grady). It makes you wonder if that may have happened earlier when oldest son, "Mike" (Tim Considine) married "Sally" (Meredith MacRae) and they would have remained in the story lines. Of course, that was how "Mike" was written out of the series because it has been reported in later years that Tim Considine was more interested in working behind the camera.

And, of course, had Mike and Sally stayed, then Meredith MacRae would have been unavailable to take the Billie Jo Bradley role on PJ. I guess that's 6 degrees of Bea Benaderet

 

[BD Sullivan]

Season eight saw a major plot change with the Douglas clan moving from the Midwest to California.

In that final season, MTS fell victim to a lame plot device, with the introduction of Steve's "cousin" from Scotland, Fergus McBain Douglas, played by Fred MacMurray himself.

 

[ShawnHill1]

Season eight saw a major plot change with the Douglas clan moving from the Midwest to California.

Yeah, that coincided with the filming re-location from Desilu Studios (whose company and main studio lot was purchased by Paramount by 1967) to the CBS Studio Center in the San Fernando Valley.