Kathy Garver
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Marie "Kathy" Garver (born December 13, 1945) is an American
film
, television
, voice-over
and character actress
of stage
, most widely known for playing Uncle Bill Davis's (played by Brian Keith
) teenaged niece, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s sitcom
, Family Affair
. Before that, she played a slave in The Ten Commandments. Garver authored The Family Affair Cookbook and has been a TV host (Backstage with Barry and Kathy).
, and is the daughter of Rosemary and Hayes Gilbert Garver. She was raised Roman Catholic and she attended Catholic primary school. When she was 9, she tried her hand at acting and was cast in I'll Cry Tomorrow
, but her most famous movie role was that of one of the young slaves in The Ten Commandments, and she has been acting ever since.
Between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, the young actress worked with such actors as Marvin Miller
, Chuck Connors
, Peter Graves
, Scott Forbes
, Dan O'Herlihy
, Kurt Russell
, Fess Parker
, Vince Edwards
, Richard Chamberlain
, Patty Duke
, Anne Lockhart, and James Franciscus
. She also worked with another Hollywood
legend, Brian Keith
, who would star with Garver in Family Affair.
She was later raised in San Bernardino, where she entered Pacific High School in 1960, and stayed there until graduation in 1964. Around the time, she entered UCLA
, majoring in speech and drama, until her graduation in 1968, while acting.
, for CBS
in 1966. Garver, who'd been a fan of Keith's since she was 10 years old and had guest-starred on Crusader, a television series he had starred in. That one guest-role paid off and Keith himself was impressed to see her grow up and become the amazing young lady that she was. She also enjoyed the wonderful on- and off-screen chemistry with Keith. She would continue playing that role until its cancellation in 1971.
She continued to keep in touch or visit Keith until his death on June 24, 1997, where she attended the funeral. Garver appeared in the Christmas episode of the later revival of Family Affair. She guest starred on numerous television series, including ABC
's short-lived The Bing Crosby Show
in the 1964-1965 season. Garver also provided the voice of Firestar
on the Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
. She also voiced Storm, as well as other female guest characters. In the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon series
, she played the voice of Miss America
. Garver's Family Affair co-star, Brian Keith
, provided the voice of Uncle Ben Parker on the aforementioned Spider-Man series from the 1990s.
Garver was also the voice of Alice Mitchell in the Dennis the Menace
cartoon special Mayday for Mother and Pepper in Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos. Her other voice roles included the television series Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
, The Tom & Jerry Kids Show, Droopy, Master Detective
, The New Yogi Bear Show
, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
and The All-New SuperFriends Hour, the cartoon special Marvin: Baby of the Year and the anime film JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
.
She has also been doing voices for many commercials, toys and audiobooks.
Garver has also produced, narrated and written lyrics and composed the music for eight audio Beatrix Potter
tales and eight Mother Goose
based audiotapes for Smarty Pants Inc. Her Beatrix Potter tapes have sold over two million copies and have won numerous awards. Garver has also won two Audie Awards
, one for her narration of The Worlds Shortest Stories, the other in 2004 for her direction of Amy Tan
in The Opposite of Fate read by the author. She has recorded books for Brilliance Audio, Dove, Listen and Live and can be downloaded at the Timber Wolf Press website. Her voice has also been heard in the films Apollo 13
(which was awarded the Academy Award for sound), Ransom, Backdraft
and Jingle All the Way
which were all directed by Ron Howard
.
Garver was a member of Pi Beta Phi
Fraternity for Women at UCLA
. She lives in Hillsborough, California
, with her husband David and son Reid. On June 26, 2008, she attended the Hollywood Walk of Fame
ceremony when Brian Keith was awarded a star posthumously; Garver gave a speech on his behalf.
Garver also made a guest appearance at the 21st annual Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona
, on March 19, 2011, promoting her best-selling book, The Family Affair Cookbook.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
and character actress
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
of stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, most widely known for playing Uncle Bill Davis's (played by Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
) teenaged niece, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, Family Affair
Family Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
. Before that, she played a slave in The Ten Commandments. Garver authored The Family Affair Cookbook and has been a TV host (Backstage with Barry and Kathy).
Early life
Garver was born in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, and is the daughter of Rosemary and Hayes Gilbert Garver. She was raised Roman Catholic and she attended Catholic primary school. When she was 9, she tried her hand at acting and was cast in I'll Cry Tomorrow
I'll Cry Tomorrow
I'll Cry Tomorrow is a biopic which tells the story of Lillian Roth, a Broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and reacts to the death of her fiancé by becoming an alcoholic...
, but her most famous movie role was that of one of the young slaves in The Ten Commandments, and she has been acting ever since.
Between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, the young actress worked with such actors as Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller (actor)
Marvin Elliott Miller was an American film and voice-over actor. Possessing a deep, baritone voice, he began his career in radio in St. Louis, Missouri before becoming a Hollywood actor...
, Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
, Peter Graves
Peter Graves (actor)
Peter Aurness , known professionally as Peter Graves, was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his starring role in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973...
, Scott Forbes
Scott Forbes
Conrad Scott-Forbes , popularly known as Scott Forbes, was a movie and television actor and screenwriter. In his later career as a screenwriter, he was credited as C. Scott Forbes.-Early years:...
, Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
, Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
, Fess Parker
Fess Parker
Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...
, Vince Edwards
Vince Edwards
Vince Edwards was an American actor, director, and singer, best known for the roles of TV doctor "Ben Casey", and Maj. Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film The Devil's Brigade.-Early life:...
, Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
, Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
, Anne Lockhart, and James Franciscus
James Franciscus
James Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
. She also worked with another Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
legend, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, who would star with Garver in Family Affair.
She was later raised in San Bernardino, where she entered Pacific High School in 1960, and stayed there until graduation in 1964. Around the time, she entered UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, majoring in speech and drama, until her graduation in 1968, while acting.
Career
While studying, Garver auditioned and won the role of Uncle Bill's teenaged niece, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, the eldest sibling on the original TV series Family AffairFamily Affair
Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
, for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1966. Garver, who'd been a fan of Keith's since she was 10 years old and had guest-starred on Crusader, a television series he had starred in. That one guest-role paid off and Keith himself was impressed to see her grow up and become the amazing young lady that she was. She also enjoyed the wonderful on- and off-screen chemistry with Keith. She would continue playing that role until its cancellation in 1971.
She continued to keep in touch or visit Keith until his death on June 24, 1997, where she attended the funeral. Garver appeared in the Christmas episode of the later revival of Family Affair. She guest starred on numerous television series, including ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's short-lived The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Show is a 28-episode situation comedy television program starring crooner, film star, iconic phenomenon, and businessman Bing Crosby and actress Beverly Garland as a middle-aged couple, Bing and Ellie Collins, rearing two teenaged daughters during the early 1960s...
in the 1964-1965 season. Garver also provided the voice of Firestar
Firestar
Firestar is a fictional mutant superhero in the . Debuting in 1981 on the NBC animated television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, she has the ability to generate and manipulate microwave radiation, which allows her to generate intense heat and flames, and to fly...
on the Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is an animated series produced by Marvel Productions starring established Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man and Iceman and an original character, Firestar...
. She also voiced Storm, as well as other female guest characters. In the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon series
Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
, she played the voice of Miss America
Miss America (Marvel Comics)
Miss America is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #49 Miss America (Madeline Joyce Frank) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery...
. Garver's Family Affair co-star, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, provided the voice of Uncle Ben Parker on the aforementioned Spider-Man series from the 1990s.
Garver was also the voice of Alice Mitchell in the Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (US)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
cartoon special Mayday for Mother and Pepper in Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos. Her other voice roles included the television series Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera in association with Paramount Television and originally broadcast from November 8, 1980, until September 18, 1982.-Premise:...
, The Tom & Jerry Kids Show, Droopy, Master Detective
Droopy, Master Detective
Droopy, Master Detective was an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera in association with Turner Entertainment. The show is a spin-off from Tom & Jerry Kids....
, The New Yogi Bear Show
The New Yogi Bear Show
The New Yogi Bear Show is a 30-minute weekday animated series which aired on syndication in 1988 and featured one of Hanna-Barbera's most well-known classic characters, Yogi Bear...
, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and Scrappy Too! is a package show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1980 for ABC Saturday mornings. The program contained segments from Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and Richie Rich. The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo shorts represents the sixth show in which...
and The All-New SuperFriends Hour, the cartoon special Marvin: Baby of the Year and the anime film JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...
.
She has also been doing voices for many commercials, toys and audiobooks.
Garver has also produced, narrated and written lyrics and composed the music for eight audio Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
tales and eight Mother Goose
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
based audiotapes for Smarty Pants Inc. Her Beatrix Potter tapes have sold over two million copies and have won numerous awards. Garver has also won two Audie Awards
Audie Awards
The Audie Awards are annually bestowed annually in the USA for outstanding audiobooks. The Audies have been granted by the Audio Publishers Association, a not-for-profit trade organization, since 1996. The nominees are announced each year in January, and the winners are announced at a gala banquet...
, one for her narration of The Worlds Shortest Stories, the other in 2004 for her direction of Amy Tan
Amy Tan
Amy Tan is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages...
in The Opposite of Fate read by the author. She has recorded books for Brilliance Audio, Dove, Listen and Live and can be downloaded at the Timber Wolf Press website. Her voice has also been heard in the films Apollo 13
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...
(which was awarded the Academy Award for sound), Ransom, Backdraft
Backdraft (film)
Backdraft is a 1991 action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. The film stars Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Donald Sutherland, and Robert De Niro. Jason Gedrick and J. T. Walsh co-star in the film...
and Jingle All the Way
Jingle All the Way
Jingle All the Way is a 1996 American family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, James Belushi and Robert Conrad...
which were all directed by Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
.
Garver was a member of Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...
Fraternity for Women at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. She lives in Hillsborough, California
Hillsborough, California
Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000...
, with her husband David and son Reid. On June 26, 2008, she attended the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
ceremony when Brian Keith was awarded a star posthumously; Garver gave a speech on his behalf.
Garver also made a guest appearance at the 21st annual Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, on March 19, 2011, promoting her best-selling book, The Family Affair Cookbook.
External links
- Garver's official website
- A podcast of the 2009 NATF performance starring Kathy Garver. Garver was the host for the National Audio Theatre FestivalNational Audio Theatre FestivalThe National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. is a US-based organization sponsoring a yearly, five-day workshop on radio drama, voiceover and the audio arts, as well as other special training. Participants take classes on subjects such as voiceover and voice acting, audio engineering, Foley and...
that year.
Further reading
- Garver, Kathy and Mark, Geoffrey, The Family Affair Cookbook, published by BearManor Media 2009. ISBN 1-59393-458-0.