Kathy Garver wanted her character on Family Affair to grow up
For five seasons, Kathy Garver portrayed the sweet and unsophisticated big sister to the darling Davis kids on Family Affair. Her character, Cissy Davis, was known for being responsible, and compassionate and was often the voice of reason within the family dynamic.
Not only was she the voice of reason within the family, but according to a 1969 interview with The Chicago Tribune, Garver was also the voice of reason off-screen.
In real life, Garver was 21 years old at the time of the interview, but for the first three seasons of Family Affair, she had been playing the role of a 15-year-old. Garver was all grown up and just wanted her character to catch up.
Garver said that during her time playing the oldest sister in the series, she attended college, became of drinking age, and moved into her own apartment—all within the years that her character was in adolescence.
Then, one day, Garver approached Family Affair's producers with a question.
"I asked them how in the world they expected anyone to identify with this girl," Garver said. "They were concentrating so hard on keeping me young that I was wearing stupid little dresses, and bows in my hair. I looked ugly, and I felt ugly. I had to ask myself, 'Why should you look your worst on television?'"
Garver said she wanted her character to be "a teenager who knows what's happening." Once she made her opinion known to the producers, the compromising began. The result? No more bows, no more bad haircuts, and a lot more independence.
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Some of the changes to her character included raising the hem in her dresses by two and a half inches, having her character attempt to live in her own apartment, wearing false eyelashes, and setting her character up to be more sophisticated.
"These are all monumental steps for me," Garver added.
Her character's newfound independence was crucial for Garver's acting career. She had even been taking additional acting classes on the side while on Family Affair in order to position herself in a positive way after the series ended in 1971.
According to the interview, her independence helped her stand out compared to her onscreen siblings and family members. She was tired of being overlooked, especially as the oldest child, so she shut up and grew up.
"Here I am being upstaged by those two darling little kids and also by Brian and Sebastian Cabot, who have their own little tricks for getting attention," Garver said. "I've been between two sets of actors. I couldn't just take it. I want to make a career of acting, so I have to do something. I don't always want to be the sickeningly sweet girl of Family Affair."
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