The series “Father Knows Best” began on NBC Radio. It starred Robert Young
(above) as the General Insurance agent Jim Anderson. His wife Margaret was
first portrayed by June Whitley and later by Jean Vander Pyl. The Anderson
children were Betty (Rhonda Williams), Bud (Ted Donaldson), and Kathy
(Norma Jean Nillson). The series ran until March 25, 1954. It made the
switch to television later that year.
Robert Young and Jean Vander Pyl.
1951
Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead in Tucson, Arizona)
Eden starred as Jeanie on the NBC sitcom I Dream of Jeanie from 1965 to
1970. She began singing with local bands at age 14 for $10 a night in local
night clubs and studied singing at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
and trained as an actress with the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theatre.
Barbara Eden made her big screen debut as an unaccredited extra in the
1956 film Back from Eternity and was first seen on TV in a 1956 episode
of the CBS series West Point.
1964
Valerie Kathryn Harper
Harper played Rhoda Morgenstern on the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore
Show (1970-1977) and on the spin-off series Rhoda (1974-1978). She earned
four Emmy Awards for her role as Rhoda across the two series. Her career in
roles began as a dancer and chorus girl in various Broadway productions
and made her big screen debut in the 1956 feature Rock Rock Rock!
On March 6, 2013, Harper announced that tests from a hospital stay revealed
she has a rare condition in which cancer cells spread into the meninges, the
membranes surrounding the brain. Last year Harper said she was responding
well to chemotherapy treatment.
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams
Williams starred as Shirley Feeney on the ABC series Laverne
and Shirley from 1976 to 1983. She was also Laurie Henderson
in the hit 1973 coming of age film American Graffiti. She debuted
as an actress through a variety of commercials for Foster Grant
sunglasses. She made her big screen debut in the 1970 Roger
Corman film Gas-s-s-s.
Cindy Williams with Ron Howard in American Graffiti
(Baby) Rose Marie
Rose Marie Mazetta was born in New York City, New York.
Marie is best known for playing writer Sally Rogers on the CBS
television series The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966,
she also played Myrna Gibbons on The Doris Day Show from
1969 to 1971 on CBS. She began her career in entertainment
as a child singer, performing under the name Baby Rose Marie.
