I've read that, when you were just 8 years old, you were originally cast as an extra in The Ten Commandments, but that legendary director Cecil B. DeMille saw your potential and offered you a larger role. Is that accurate?
That's true. That was one of the first movies that I did, and it was with Cecil B. DeMille, the great director and producer who had done such wonderful epics before, like Samson and Delilah. On The Ten Commandments, he was still making these great big epics, but what he wanted to do was bring humanity into this film so that the audience could relate more. So, when he saw this little girl—who was me—in a wagon holding a little lamb during the exodus part of the movie, he told his assistant director, "Don't let that little girl's face get in the camera." I thought, "Is he talking about me?"
He was talking about you, wasn't he?
Yes, he was. After that particular scene was over, I got off the wagon, talked to Mr. DeMille, and then his assistant director told my mom, "Well, I think your daughter is going to be in this movie a lot longer." So, he wrote scenes himself into the movie with me and Charlton Heston. That helped to humanize the whole thing.
Before landing your breakout role, you starred in a series called This is Alice. How was that experience for you, stepping into a prominent role on television for the first time?
Well, there were three of us who were in contention for the lead role. There was Sherry Alberoni, who became a Mouseketeer in The Mickey Mouse Club; then there was me; and then there was Patty Gerrity, who actually became Alice. When I look back and see the show, I was a head taller than Patty, and I think they wanted somebody younger. But they really liked me, and I became her best friend, Sally. It was very interesting to have a role in a TV series. You know, on the angst level, the worst thing you can do is lose a job. It's the most anxiety-driven thing. As an actor, you get a role, and then you don't have a job anymore; you get another role, and then you don't have a job again. So, having a role in a television series, where you're guaranteed so many episodes and money, that's really nice.
Do you recall how you were offered the role in Family Affair, where you portrayed ‘Cissy' Davis, a teenager who, along with her younger siblings, moves in with her uncle after the death of her parents?
Yes. At the time, I was going to UCLA and I was in my sorority, but I was still doing guest star parts. My mom called me up and said, "There's a producer who wants to see you for this new television series. It's already been sold, and they're just missing one character. We need to be there in two hours." I said, "Is that right?" She said, "Yes. Everything is fine, but they want a blonde." In those days, my hair was nice and dark. So my mom said, "I've got this covered." She had a can of Streaks ‘N Tips, and back in the day, you'd put this on your hair, and it would make it instantly a different color. So there I was, a blonde, more like gold.
Did they say anything about it, or did it go unnoticed?
I went and I chatted with the producer, and he said, "What's the matter with your hair?" I said, "My hair? Oh, well, it must be the sunlight or something. I don't know." So, I broke the ice. We had a very good conversation. They were already shooting the show, and I went onto the actual set. I did a screen test. My agent called the next day and said that I got the part. I went to get this long Alice in Wonderland wig at Max Factor, but my agent told me, "Do not wear that wig, and do not wear that blue and white checkered dress." I said, "You got it." So, that was the start of five years. And I must say, this series has never been off the air.
Could you please elaborate on that?
Before they knew about DVDs and everything, there were the nostalgia networks like MeTV and TV Land in the United States. And, well, you know, in South America, particularly in Mexico, it was Mis sobrinos adorables. It was very popular in Spanish-speaking countries, and all over. I mean, it was an international success. It played in Germany and was the first TV series that China allowed in because it was a very nice show. We weren't killing people, hitting them over the head, and shooting them. It was a very nice comedy.
Did you get along with the rest of the cast?
We did, although we didn't really hang out after we were working. I was called the workhorse of that television series because we had two little kids, a six-year-old and an eight-year-old. Then, there was Sebastian Cabot, who played Mr. French; he was not really feeling well in a lot of the parts. And then, there was Brian Keith, the star. He had a particular contract that required him to work only 30 days out of all the 30 episodes we were making. So, we would be shooting three different episodes in one day, pieces that he was in. We were on that set all the time. But I really didn't have that much in common with six- and eight-year-old people. I was over 18, and I was young and vital. I was at the discos. And Sebastian was going back to his family, as was Brian. But we all got along very well.
The show featured many guest stars. Which one do you remember most fondly?
Well, we had a lot of guest stars. I liked Robert Reed a lot. He was on The Brady Bunch. And Ida Lupino was, like, my favorite. I've written five books. In my latest book, Family Affair Scrapbook, there's a whole chapter on notable guests. We even had guest child stars that became famous—Leif Garrett, Erin Moran, and many more. You can get my books at kathygarver.com. Nothing like self-promotion.
In 1976, five years after the series concluded, Anissa Jones, who played your sister ‘Buffy', tragically passed away from a drug overdose at the age of 18. Given that you were also quite young at the time, how did this news affect you?
I was devastated. It was so sad. But I knew that she had a problem because, on her 18th birthday that I went to when she was living in Playa del Rey, her mom said, "Kathy, will you please spend some time with Anissa? Because she's in the wrong group of kids and she really needs some guidance." And I would have, except for I was leaving the next day to go do My Fair Lady, a stage play in Virginia, for, like, I don't know how long—two months. And it was during that time that she was with her friends and took the overdose. I do not think it was intentional. They did a whole show about it, a forensic-type show on Reelz, and they determined that it wasn't intentional. But she took cocaine and barbiturates, was drinking with it, and one more. It was, at the time in San Diego, the biggest concoction of drugs that had been recorded.
Unfortunately, the tragedies continued for the cast of Family Affair because Brian Keith took his own life in 1997. Why do you think he made such a drastic decision?
Because he was depressed. His daughter had just committed suicide two months previously. He had been diagnosed with cancer, and he didn't have that long to live. I think that he thought he was going to die anyway and that he just couldn't take it anymore. I just did a movie called The Empty Church, and it's a real-life story about the director's own son, who committed suicide. The dad is just searching for answers. Sometimes, suicidal people think that people around them will be better off if they are not there. But I think it's the opposite. People say, "What happened? What could I have done? Why did I lose this wonderful person?"
As a child actress, how did your experience compare to the typical challenges faced by your peers in this industry?
I had a better childhood, I think, than others. That's another book that I have—it's called X Child Stars. I wrote this book about what happens to ex-child stars. Personally, I had two parents who encouraged me, but they saved every single penny I ever made. They were not intrusive upon my everyday life at all or on the set. My mom always tried to have me live a life as normal as possible. So, when I went to regular school, she said, "Don't tell them that you're out doing a movie with Cecil B. DeMille. You know, just say that you were out and that's it." I had it pretty good as a child star. Unfortunately, some of my cohorts did not have it as well.
On a related note, what about the exposure to substance use that children often face in a predominantly adult environment?
I never took drugs. I drank, and that is, I guess, called a drug. But aside from a glass of wine, I never got on any other drugs. Unfortunately, some of my peers did. Even in the 60s, when everyone was experimenting with things people had never even heard of —taking hallucinatory things and all of that— I was blessed that I didn't do that. I mean, I tried marijuana once when I was 21, by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, but I realized I can't do this stuff. I don't need anything to make me more sensitive or whatever. Anyway, I feel sorry for people that, you know, have to take drugs or that it has affected their life in such a deleterious way.
What do you think about all the recent discussions about abuse of power and sexual misconduct inside show business that have affected the mental health and the well-being of minors?
It's very interesting. Things are becoming much more transparent. I don't think all these abusers would have thought that there would be social media and that there would be such exposés. I'm glad that there has been because a lot of this was just so hidden, and nobody talked about anything. And I say, "Well, look, you can't get away with that anymore." There are too many people with cameras that you don't even know that are snapping your picture and are going to whistleblow and they will be protected. So I think that it's really a good thing. Again, I was very fortunate, nothing ever happened to me. But I'm glad that those people have had their comeuppance, so to say.
Did you find it challenging to transition from youth to adult roles?
I'm little, I'm like five foot one, and I have kind of a young face, so I was always able to play younger characters. Actually, I did an episode of Death Valley Days when I was 18, where I ended up playing a 12-year-old. So, my transition was pretty easy. Even now, I'm playing roles 25 years younger than I am.
In the early 80s, you voiced Firestar in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. What was it like to portray a superheroine making her debut on the show?
I loved it. I think it was really fun. I had been doing a lot of commercials; I played an automotive whiz, Pepper, in Karate Kommandos, but I had never played a superhero or had been part of Marvel. In the '80s, the X-Universe wasn't so big, but it's still around today. And the type of animation that was done then was really, really good. I really enjoyed being Firestar and having my superpowers.
Did working as a voice actress add something extra to your profession?
Absolutely. I even taught voiceover for 20 years, and I told my students, "If you want to have a long career, hone your skills in many different areas." That opens so many doors for you. I've done like 60 audiobooks and won like four Audie Awards. And there's animation and commercials and narration and industrials and all these things that you can put your talents into.
Could you share your experience of working with Chuck Norris on Karate Kommandos?
I love Chuck Norris. It was so much fun. When I met him, he had this balsa wood plank, and he taught me how to smash it in two. I hadn't taken karate lessons. It was really good. Now, although we only did animation, those were some of the side activities we used to do. He hadn't done Walker, Texas Ranger or anything like that yet. But he's just as down-to-earth and as nice as you could possibly imagine.
How did you come to share a scene with Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries?
Well, my son was hired as an extra, so, you know, it's a good entrée into the movie The Princess Diaries. And being a good stage mother, I brought him to the set. My friend Barry Barsamian was there, and he said to the director, "Have you met Kathy Garver?" And he said, "Oh, I loved Brian Keith and I love Family Affair." So he came over and we chatted and he said, "Would you like to be in this movie?" I said, "Well, yes." This was like shades of Cecil B. DeMille. So, he went and he wrote scenes with my son, the ones where we were in the cable car. It was really fun. That was a little bonus.
What was your opinion of the 2002 remake of Family Affair, especially considering it was canceled after a few episodes aired?
It was horrible. I think it's very difficult to do remakes. Sequels, I think, work, but remakes are difficult because the original productions are already so dear and burned into people's minds. Tim Curry played Mr. French, and he was, you know, comedic, but he didn't have the charm that Sebastian did. And Gary Cole was all right, but he tried to play low-key, and Brian's naturally low-key. So Gary's trying to play low-key, and he just kind of faded away. It just didn't work.
Is there any other role you've played that was a truly meaningful experience for you?
One role I absolutely adored playing was Helen Keller in a high school production of The Miracle Worker. It was so remarkable to me to be in a whole different dimension where you can't see and you have to use all of your senses. Patty Duke, who did it on Broadway and then did the movie, won the Oscar for the latter. She became a very good friend of mine. She wrote the foreword to another book I wrote, Surviving Cissy. But it's such a wonderful part, especially when the very dramatic last part of it comes, you know, when she says, "Wa-wa-water." When Helen Keller finally made that connection, I heard one of my friends, who was sitting in the front row of the audience, start crying. And I said, "Oh, wow, I can move people."
Throughout this conversation, you've spoken several times about the books you've written. How would you describe your role as an author?
Now, that's interesting. I've never had a question like that. I would say I want to communicate with people. I want to make something special. I want it to be true. And what comes through the reviews, and I don't intend to make it this way, is that they're very inspirational. But I guess my role as an author is to connect with humanity.
Would you like to remind people what those books are?
I've published five books. I started out with The Family Affair Cookbook, then Surviving Cissy, then X Child Stars, then Holiday Recipes for a Family Affair, and now The Family Affair Scrapbook. My newest book is called Romancing with the Stars, and it's about long-term relationships in Hollywood, which are hard to find because not a lot of people stay married for a long time. But it's not only about the couples; there's also a travel guide that goes along with it.
Looking back, what has been the biggest joy and what has been the thing you've struggled with the most?
In my career or in life?
Both.
Okay, in life, of course, my biggest joy is my fabulous, wonderful son, whom I just adore. And the struggle is little arguments we have because he's a young man, he wants his way, and I would like him to still empty the garbage and keep my shutters open. And in my career, I think the biggest joy is just always getting a job. I love to work, and that's why I'm still working and will continue to work, even though I'm way past the retirement age. It's fun. It's thrilling. But the struggle is to get those jobs.
Is it more difficult to get the jobs when you become older?
It's not more difficult to get the jobs, but there are fewer jobs. You know, there were fewer jobs for women, and we've kind of fixed that up, but there are fewer jobs for older women. I mean starring parts. There are more supporting roles —you know, the grandma and things like that— but not for the cute grandmas.
Are there any projects you've done recently, either for the big or the small screen?
I've done a lot of movies. As I mentioned, Old Man Jackson and Yellow Bird are already out. And then I've also talked about The Empty Church. Christmas at the Roanoke Ranch just premiered. I am also doing something with Charlene Tilton from Dallas, and I'm doing a film where I play the Governor of Chicago, which is interesting. I like playing a political character. I'm continuing to do commercials. I did a commercial where I am Mrs. Claus. I also have been producing Back Roads Bars —it's on the Rev'n channel— and also producing a movie, if we get the final funds, in Australia, based on a children's classic book. So, I've been busy.
I also saw that you've brought back Mrs. Beasley, the much-loved Family Affair doll...
Sometime around July, I signed an agreement with Ashton-Drake, so I will be representing this iconic figure from the show from now on. She's going to have a whole wardrobe that she can wear. We already have a Mrs. Claus outfit and a pilgrim's outfit for her. She's available on my website. It's amazing to me that this show is older than you, and people still adore it. People who didn't get a little bit of Mrs. Beasley when they were children now want to be a part of it. So she's still around. She's an iconic doll, just like Barbie.