My Three Sons is an American sitcom. The series had a long run, from
1960 through 1972. ABC broadcast the show from 1960 through 1965, and
then the series moved to CBS until the end of its run on April 13,
1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of widower and aeronautical
engineer Stephen Douglas (Fred MacMurray) as he raises his three
sons.The series originally featured William Frawley (who had first
co-starred with Fred MacMurray 25 years earlier in the movie Car 99)
as the boys' live-in maternal grandfather and housekeeper, William
Michael Francis "Bub" O'Casey. William Demarest, playing Bub's
brother, "Uncle Charley", replaced Frawley in 1965 due to Frawley's
illness. In September 1965 (when the show moved from ABC to CBS and
when it began being filmed in color), eldest son Mike (Tim Considine)
married fiancée Sally Ann Morrison (Meredith MacRae), and his
character was written out of the show. To keep the emphasis on "three
sons", original youngest son Chip's (Stanley Livingston) friend Ernie
(Barry Livingston) was adopted. In the program's later years, Steven
Douglas remarried and adopted his new wife's young daughter Dorothy
Anne ("Dodie") (Dawn Lyn).The series was a cornerstone of the ABC and
CBS lineups in the 1960s. Disney producer Bill Walsh often mused on
whether the concept of the show was inspired by the film The Shaggy
Dog, as in his view they shared "the same dog, the same kids, and Fred
MacMurray".
1960 through 1972. ABC broadcast the show from 1960 through 1965, and
then the series moved to CBS until the end of its run on April 13,
1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of widower and aeronautical
engineer Stephen Douglas (Fred MacMurray) as he raises his three
sons.The series originally featured William Frawley (who had first
co-starred with Fred MacMurray 25 years earlier in the movie Car 99)
as the boys' live-in maternal grandfather and housekeeper, William
Michael Francis "Bub" O'Casey. William Demarest, playing Bub's
brother, "Uncle Charley", replaced Frawley in 1965 due to Frawley's
illness. In September 1965 (when the show moved from ABC to CBS and
when it began being filmed in color), eldest son Mike (Tim Considine)
married fiancée Sally Ann Morrison (Meredith MacRae), and his
character was written out of the show. To keep the emphasis on "three
sons", original youngest son Chip's (Stanley Livingston) friend Ernie
(Barry Livingston) was adopted. In the program's later years, Steven
Douglas remarried and adopted his new wife's young daughter Dorothy
Anne ("Dodie") (Dawn Lyn).The series was a cornerstone of the ABC and
CBS lineups in the 1960s. Disney producer Bill Walsh often mused on
whether the concept of the show was inspired by the film The Shaggy
Dog, as in his view they shared "the same dog, the same kids, and Fred
MacMurray".
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