Cordova knew all the stars involved. We’d march onto any soundstage like De Cordova owned the place, disregarding the Closed Set sign on the door meant to keep out visitors. Jack Lemmon was shooting The April Fools and greeted us like family, whipping out pricey cigars. Lee Marvin, filming Monte Walsh , roared with glee at the sight of De Cordova, and we retired to the actor’s dressing room for a quick cocktail. Even the young anti-establishment star Dustin Hoffman, who was working on Little Big Man, was savvy enough to leap up from his chair to honor the presence of Mister De Cordova.
The De Cordova era of MTS ushered in another big change in the show: women. The Douglas family had always been an all-male household, one of the more unique and charming aspects of the show. For a series to last as long as MTS, though, change was inevitable. It certainly made sense for the older sons to consider getting married. At least it put to rest some of the taunts at my public school that the Douglases were all “closet homos.”
The first girl to be a series regular was Tina Cole, who played Katie, Robbie’s wife. Since Robbie was still in college, the newlyweds lived at the Douglas family house. This opened up a whole new batch of storylines with a woman in the house. It also opened up some other questions about the honesty of the show, particularly about sex. In the real world, the contraceptive “pill” had altered society’s views about fornication. It was now a recreational activity. The taboos related to religion and accidental pregnancies were fading away. Despite these changes, CBS insisted that Robbie and Katie’s bedroom be furnished with twin beds. What young, healthy married couple in the mid-sixties slept in twin beds? Not many. The censors surmised that just the sight of a king-size bed inferred lusty comingling. That was unthinkable in their 1950s mind-set. The media cretins calling the shots also chose to ignore most other changes that were happening in America, too. The civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the nuclear arms race with the Russians were all happening in a land far, far away from the peaceful world of My Three Sons.
To Don Grady’s (Robbie) credit, he did some research on the “twin bed” issue. He found out that Bewitched, another popular sitcom of that era, had broken the bedroom code. Darrin and Samantha, the married couple on that show, were recently allowed to have a king-size mattress in their bedroom. With that precedent achieved, the CBS censor caved ... with one caveat: Robbie and Katie can never be seen under the covers at the same time, and if one of them was already under the blankets, the other had to be in full pajamas standing outside of the bed or sitting on it. Whew. The virgin minds of young Americans were spared another trauma by our clever and vigilant media watchdogs.
CHAPTER 17
Making a Best Friend, Losing a Best Friend
When I returned to public school, the radical cultural changes (civil rights, Vietnam, hippies) unfolding in America were obvious. More than ever I felt like the poster boy for the dreaded “establishment.” I went from being a regular celebrity to an uncool celebrity, like Richard Nixon or Lawrence Welk. Mockery was shifting to outright scorn. That really hurt. There was no bucking the power of TV to reinforce an image, be it true or false. I felt pretty isolated.
One of my problems making friends at school stemmed from the fact that I wasn’t on campus long enough to connect with other kids. My work schedule kept me at the studio for a good part of the year.
I’d also become more comfortable hanging out with adults than my peer group. Kids could be unpredictable if not downright mean. That kind of social disconnect is pretty common among most child stars and, no doubt, accounts for some dysfunctional behavior as they reach adulthood. It’s pretty clear to see that now, with the benefit of time and a lot of psychoanalysis. When I
The De Cordova era of MTS ushered in another big change in the show: women. The Douglas family had always been an all-male household, one of the more unique and charming aspects of the show. For a series to last as long as MTS, though, change was inevitable. It certainly made sense for the older sons to consider getting married. At least it put to rest some of the taunts at my public school that the Douglases were all “closet homos.”
The first girl to be a series regular was Tina Cole, who played Katie, Robbie’s wife. Since Robbie was still in college, the newlyweds lived at the Douglas family house. This opened up a whole new batch of storylines with a woman in the house. It also opened up some other questions about the honesty of the show, particularly about sex. In the real world, the contraceptive “pill” had altered society’s views about fornication. It was now a recreational activity. The taboos related to religion and accidental pregnancies were fading away. Despite these changes, CBS insisted that Robbie and Katie’s bedroom be furnished with twin beds. What young, healthy married couple in the mid-sixties slept in twin beds? Not many. The censors surmised that just the sight of a king-size bed inferred lusty comingling. That was unthinkable in their 1950s mind-set. The media cretins calling the shots also chose to ignore most other changes that were happening in America, too. The civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the nuclear arms race with the Russians were all happening in a land far, far away from the peaceful world of My Three Sons.
To Don Grady’s (Robbie) credit, he did some research on the “twin bed” issue. He found out that Bewitched, another popular sitcom of that era, had broken the bedroom code. Darrin and Samantha, the married couple on that show, were recently allowed to have a king-size mattress in their bedroom. With that precedent achieved, the CBS censor caved ... with one caveat: Robbie and Katie can never be seen under the covers at the same time, and if one of them was already under the blankets, the other had to be in full pajamas standing outside of the bed or sitting on it. Whew. The virgin minds of young Americans were spared another trauma by our clever and vigilant media watchdogs.
CHAPTER 17
Making a Best Friend, Losing a Best Friend
When I returned to public school, the radical cultural changes (civil rights, Vietnam, hippies) unfolding in America were obvious. More than ever I felt like the poster boy for the dreaded “establishment.” I went from being a regular celebrity to an uncool celebrity, like Richard Nixon or Lawrence Welk. Mockery was shifting to outright scorn. That really hurt. There was no bucking the power of TV to reinforce an image, be it true or false. I felt pretty isolated.
One of my problems making friends at school stemmed from the fact that I wasn’t on campus long enough to connect with other kids. My work schedule kept me at the studio for a good part of the year.
I’d also become more comfortable hanging out with adults than my peer group. Kids could be unpredictable if not downright mean. That kind of social disconnect is pretty common among most child stars and, no doubt, accounts for some dysfunctional behavior as they reach adulthood. It’s pretty clear to see that now, with the benefit of time and a lot of psychoanalysis. When I
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