Each week, we will be taking an in depth look at some of the best sitcoms and comedy shows from both the UK and the USA.

Today we will be looking at a comedy that had many casting disputes that even lead to a marriage in real life! Welcome to My Three Sons

Opening Sequence / Theme Tune

About the Show

Summary of Plot

Widower Steve Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and is later aided by the boys’ great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons. – IMDb

Number of Seasons / Episodes

12 seasons

Characters:

Fred MacMurray – Steve Douglas

Stanley Livingston – Chip Douglas

Don Grady – Robbie Douglas

Barry Livingston – Ernie Thompson Douglas

Trivia

• William Frawley really enjoyed working on the show and did not want to leave. To make matters worse, he was replaced by William Demarest, whom he hated in real life.
• Don Grady almost left the show when Tina Cole was cast as Katie. In an interview, Cole revealed that Grady felt she wasn’t his type. As it turned out, they eventually fell in love in real life and almost got married not once, but twice.
• The show moved to CBS after ABC refused to finance the higher cost of filming in color.
• When Don Grady left the show in the final season, his absence was explained by having Robbie get transferred to Peru by his job and have Katie join him there.
• The show was originally going to be named The Fred MacMurray Show, but Fred MacMurray didn’t like the idea.
• With 369 episodes over 12 years, this is the second longest-running (live action) comedy in US TV history (as of February 2003), surpassed only by The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952).
• Charley was Bub’s brother.
• Several years later it was revealed that there were different plans in the works for the character of Robbie when Don Grady left the show. One plan was for Robbie and Katie to divorce and another plan was to have Robbie killed off.

Classic Clips

Happy Birthday World

Ernie Dislikes Girls

Weekend In Tokyo