At 20, Don Grady was an actor, a writer and composer for My Three Sons
Most young adults struggle to hold down one job, let alone three at once. For Don Grady, who played the role of Robbie Douglas in the 1960s classic My Three Sons, three jobs were no problem. In fact, he wanted more.
Grady became a triple threat at the age of 20. Not only did he play a significant part in the series, but he also wrote a few episodes and composed a few songs for the hit series.
For example, in the season five episode "First, You're a Tadpole," Grady starred in the episode he wrote and composed a fittingly named song called "The Frog."
According to a 1965 interview with Chicago Tribune, among the three talents he displayed on My Three Sons, Grady said he was most excited about songwriting. Executive producer Don Fedderson even signed him to write all the songs used in season five of the series.
In total, Grady had the chance to write nine songs over the course of the season.
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"It's surprising," Grady said. "We're finishing our fifth season, and our rating has jumped this year. Part of the reason may be that we lead into Bewitched. Or, maybe it's because we have good scripts."
With that many scripts and songwriting credits under his belt at 20 years old, we'd give ourselves credit too.
In addition to the many demands of My Three Sons, Grady was also in the military, taking music classics, composing music in his free time and taking night classes to further his knowledge on the subject.
He stayed on track and stayed busy. In fact, he said the key to his happiness was staying busy.
"I'm satisfied because I'm busy," Grady said. "Sometimes I think keeping too busy is a form of unhappiness. But then I don't have much of a social life. I find I prefer staying at home and writing and playing my musical instruments."
According to the interview, being considered a triple threat as a young man was no easy feat for Grady. He said he was met with a lot of resentment, which was driven by jealousy, by other actors his age.
They wanted what he had: a hit series, songwriting credits, a chance to act with well-know celebrities, and scripts that turned into episodes.
Grady limited himself to friendships with people who didn't bring him down. This included many of the cast members of My Three Sons, who became like his real family off-screen as well as on-screen. They banded together to support him in his journey to becoming a triple threat.
"They resent the fact that in addition to acting, I've sold some songs and scripts," Grady said. "They resent the fact that I have an opening. But, it doesn't matter. I really don't associate with actors. I restrict it to members of the company, and we get along great. At home I have two sisters, so having two brothers on the series is sort of balance. I learned what it would be like to have brothers. We don't always agree, but that's normal."
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