A seemingly more pleasant era, and in many ways it genuinely was. Even so, this wholesome TV family had an uglier reality to the fictional characters they played...
Anisa Jones, the little girl on the right (above) OD'ed on drugs at the age of 18. Johnny Whitaker, the boy who played her brother on
Family Affair, also got hooked on drugs. He was wasted for years, then finally kicked his habit. Today he's a drug counselor - but a drug counselor specifically counseling Southern California beaners hooked on drugs. (fuck whitey in other words)
The teenage girl who played "Cissy", the older sister on
Family Affair is still alive today and looking good at age 74:
Brian Keith had a long movie and TV career, and appeared in some notable movies alongside such big stars as James Stewart and Steve McQueen, among others. He even appeared in this 1955 magazine ad for Camel cigarettes:
Later, after the TV series
Family Affair ended, Brian Keith learned he had emphesema from all his years of smoking Camels. On top of that, he was informed in 1997 that his daughter Daisy committed suicide. Depressed over her death and wracked by emphysema, he blew his motherfuckin' brains out two months later...
