‘Cissy’ tells about growing up as a Hollywood actress
SALEM – As a child actor in television’s “Family Affair,” Kathy Garver had to do her homework. ”Cissy” is grown now, but she still does homework in learning her lines for television shows and movies, and even in researching recipes for “The Family Affair Cookbook” she wrote with Geoffrey Mark.
“Any time food was mentioned on ‘Family Affair,’ I took a recipe for it and put it in the book,” Garver told an attentive crowd when she spoke to the Salem Rotary Club at the Salem Civic Center Sept. 8.
Kathy Garver, who played "Cissy" in the TV show "Family Affair", signs copies of her new book, "The Family Affair Cookbook" at Olde Salem Days on Sept. 10. Photo by Carrie Cox
Garver sold and signed copies of her book at Olde Salem Days on Sept. 10 while she was in Salem to perform a two-person show to raise money for the performing arts program at Burton Center for Arts and Technology.
In fact, she sold out of books and had to take orders. Amazon.com has only two copies left this week, also, but more are coming, Amazon’s website says.
The cookbook has 1960s recipes from the show’s Mr. French, as well as some of Garver’s own. She included a number of photos from her own collection, along with stories about what took place behind the scenes on the show that ran from 1966 to 1971.
Garver gets acquainted with Salem Rotary Club President Lenora Downing, right, and Rotarian Jim McAden at the Sept. 8 club meeting where Garver spoke. Photo by Meg Hibbert
On “Family Affair,” Cissy was oldest of three children whose parents had died, leaving them to be raised by bachelor uncle, played by actor Brian Keith, and his gentleman’s gentleman, Mr. French.
Garver told Rotarians about her first job in movies, as a 6-year-old who was supposed to be an extra in the exodus scene in the epic movie, “The Ten Commandments.” She caught the eye of famous director Cecil B. DeMille, who was so taken with her that she wound up working six weeks on the movie.
“I was hired to be a little girl holding a lamb on my lap and riding in a wagon,” she said. After DeMille saw her, “He had scenes written in for me to play opposite lead Charlton Heston.”
Garver has continued working since she was 10 in radio, television and movies, as well as doing voice overs.
When she first auditioned for “Family Affair,” the natural brunette didn’t have blonde hair, Garver told Rotarians.
“My mother got a can of ‘Streaks and Tips’ and sprayed my hair blonde. It was like shellac. I looked like something out of ‘Goldfinger,’ ” Garver said, laughing. The spray turned her hair green.
When she played Cissy on the television show, the petite actress was 18 but played 15. “Television likes people who are shorter and can work longer,” she added.
She played and even younger part when she was 18 but supposed to be 12, playing opposite June Lockhart in an episode of TV’s “Death Valley Days.”
Garver has received three Audies, “the Oscar for the written word,” she explained.
She will be in a movie, “Santa’s Dog,” that will be released the end of November.
While in the Roanoke Valley, Garver stayed with friends Dr. Fred and Carolyn Eichelman whom she has known and worked with for nine years on Point North, a project to promote family values in the entertainment world.
