Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 17, 1990 TAG: 9006140400
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE JOY MOCA Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
"Stories leave an indelible mark when you're an impressionable 8- or 9-year-old," said Wyatt, now 78, who played wife and mother Margaret Anderson. "Kids aren't taught good from bad anymore. TV has horrible violence in it now. It's nowhere near as idealistic, and that makes it worse."
Wyatt discusses her most famous series with her three television children in "Father Still Knows Best: A Father's Day Special," a seven-hour marathon of original episodes interspersed with clips and anecdotes, beginning at 11 a.m. today on the cable Family Channel.
Elinor Donahue, 53, who played teen-age daughter Betty (Princess), hosts this tribute to fathers, which is also accented with personalized video messages from viewers all over the country to their dads.
Joining the trip down memory lane are Billy Gray (Bud), 52, and Lauren Chapin (Kathy/Kitten), 45.
Young, 83, who played understanding dad Jim Anderson, offers his own separate comments during the latter part of the special.
"Bob and I never thought the scripts were mushy or namby-pamby," Wyatt said. "That's the mother I'd like to be - always even and nice. I've been married 55 years, and Bob has been married longer than that. I guess we've learned from those scripts."
The cast has been reunited for specials in the past, but they always played their characters, rather than coming together as friends to comment on the show.
"In this special, it was interesting to hear what the kids remembered," Wyatt said. "They remembered different things than I did."
The seven half-hour episodes include a favorite of each cast member that highlights his or her role. The four chat about these episodes and about the interesting quirks that made each character unique. Donahue introduces a series of amusing clips illustrating those qualities: Kathy's desire to grow up fast, Bud's clowning around, Betty's boy-chasing antics, Margaret's determination to learn new things and Dad's versatility in taking on just about any task.
The original cast also discusses issues stirred by the episodes, like feminism and family values. The reunion concludes with a long set of clips representative of the elements that made "Father Knows Best" a long-lasting success.
Wyatt said the series remains popular today because, "in the end of the script, you'd hear a word of wisdom. We weren't doing things with the problems of the moment. These were things like honesty and faithfulness."
During the special, Wyatt also discusses her extensive career and describes her experiences working with such leading men as Gregory Peck. She said her favorite roles were in Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon," "Task Force" with Gary Cooper and "None but the Lonely Heart" with Cary Grant.
Wyatt continues to act, and her most recent project was playing a grandmother in the two-hour television movie "Amityville: The Horror Estates," with Patty Duke.
"Before `Father Knows Best,' I was doing a great deal of live television. Those were thrilling shows. It was like the theater in a way," Wyatt said.
"All those years I was always the woman star in those shows. Then, in the first year in `Father Knows Best,' they concentrated on the father-son relationship. There wasn't much for mom to do, and I'm an impatient kind of person. They kept telling me to wait. And as it worked out, I had some wonderful parts," she said.
Wyatt added that the show did create one problem for her: "Being typecast. I think it still happens to me. It's the only TV series I've ever done. I never wanted to do another series again. You have no time to yourself, and you see the same people over and over again. We shot 39 weeks a year, straight. My character had to be in every scene. Mom was always there."
The classic family series ran from 1954 to 1960. Before the 203 television episodes, a radio show called "Father Knows Best?" launched the concept.
During today's special, the reunited cast listens to the radio show's initial audition tape from Dec. 23, 1948. It starred Young as a bumbling father and insurance agent.
When the series was moved to television, Young was the only cast member who made the transition, and his character changed to become the wise and loving father who has endeared himself to audiences around the globe.
by CNB