Kathy Garver (born Kathleen Marie Garver; December 13, 1945) is an American actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...

''. Before that, she was cast by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

in the film '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956) and, after that, she provided the voice of Firestar in the animated television series ''

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' is a 1981–1983 American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 ''Spider-Man'' series. The show stars already-established Marve ...

'' (1981–83). Garver authored ''The Family Affair Cookbook'' (2009), ''Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood'' (2015), and ''X Child Stars: Where are They Now?'' (2016). She was a guest star on an episode of The Big Valley.

Early life and child career

Garver was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, the daughter of Rosemary (Schmoker) and Hayes Garver. She was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and attended a Catholic primary school. Garver recalled that her mother began getting her into acting from a young age: "I started singing and dancing at the Meglin Studios in Hollywood, at three years old, as was

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

, who was also discovered there. I think my mom had the vision of her little daughter as Shirley Temple." When she was nine, she was cast in ''

I'll Cry Tomorrow ''I'll Cry Tomorrow'' (1955) is a biopic that tells the story of Lillian Roth, a Broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and struggles with alcoholism after the death of her fiancé. It stars Susan Hayward, Rich ...

'', but her most famous movie role was one of the young slaves in '' The Ten Commandments''. Garver was cast as an

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

in ''The Ten Commandments'', but during filming director

noticed her and wrote her into the movie. During the 1950s Garver did voice work on radio dramas, including '' Whispering Streets'' and ''Heartbeat Theater''. In 1969, Garver released a Christmas song called "Lem, the Orphan Reindeer" on the Aquarian label, distributed by

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benn ...

. The song was written by Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, and E. Justin, and arranged by

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

.Garver, Kathy (2015).
Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood
'. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 165. .

Career

In 1966, while studying at UCLA, she auditioned for, and won, the role of "Cissy" Davis, the eldest of the three siblings on ''

''. Garver had been a fan of series star

Brian Keith Robert Alba Keith (November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997), known professionally as Brian Keith, was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family ...

since she was ten years old and had guest-starred on his earlier CBS series about the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, ''Crusader''. She had also previously worked with co-producer Don Fedderson on '' The Millionaire''. While working on ''Family Affair'' Garver began dating her on-screen boyfriend Greg Fedderson, but otherwise did not socialize much with the rest of the cast, since they were all either much older or much younger than she. ''Family Affair'' ran for five seasons. In 1969, Garver appeared as Laura Hayden in ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour epis ...

'' season 4 episode "The Royal Road". In 1971 Garver appeared as Paula in the ''Adam 12'' episode of "Pickup". Garver appeared in such movies as ''Princess Diaries'', ''Unleashed'', and ''Helen's Last Love'', and as guest star in such TV films as ''Hercules Saves Christmas'' and ''FBI Murders''. Her stage plays include ''Voice of the Turtle'', ''Vanities'', ''Under the Yum Yum Tree'', ''Sunday in New York'', ''Star Spangled Girl'', ''Romeo and Juliet'' with musicals ''My Fair Lady'', ''River Song: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and ''Summer Magic''. Garver provided the voices of Firestar,

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

and other female guest characters on the Saturday morning cartoon ''

''. In the 1990s ''Spider-Man'' cartoon series, she played the voice of

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

. Garver was 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''; ''

The All-New Super Friends Hour ''The All-New Super Friends Hour'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 10, 1977, to September 2, 1978, on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice Le ...

'' and the cartoon special ''Marvin: Baby of the Year''. In addition to her television work, Garver has lent her voice talents to numerous commercials, toys, and audiobooks. Her voice has been heard in the films ''

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

'', ''

Ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

'', ''

Backdraft A backdraft (North American English), backdraught (British English) or smoke explosion is the abrupt combustion, burning of superheated gases in a fire caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a windo ...

'' and '' Jingle All the Way''. Garver appeared in the Christmas episode of the 2002–2003 ''

'' WB series, which was a remake of the original. Garver has produced, narrated, written lyrics, and composed the music for eight audio

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

tales and eight

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

based audiotapes for Smarty Pants, Inc. She has recorded books for Brilliance Audio, Dove, Audible, and Listen and Live. From 2008-2012 she co-hosted the

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

television

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

''Backstage! With Barry & Kathy''. Garver's stage performances include productions of ''Absolutely Dead'' and ''Dinner at Five'', the latter written and directed by Lloyd J. Schwartz. As a paid speaker, Garver gives presentations on "The Power of Perseverance" among other topics.

Personal life

As of November 1994, Garver was living in

Hillsborough, California Hillsborough is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located south of San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered by Burlinga ...

, with her husband, David Travis, and their adolescent son, Reid.

Appearances and books

On June 26, 2008, she attended the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

ceremony when Brian Keith was awarded a star posthumously; Garver gave a speech on his behalf. In 2009, Garver co-authored, with Geoffrey Mark, ''The Family Affair Cookbook''. In September 2015, she published her autobiography, ''Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair Of Life In Hollywood''.

Awards and honors

In 1995, a Golden Palm Star on the

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. Garver has won two

Audie Awards The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...

, one for her narration of ''The World's Shortest Stories'', the other in 2004 for her direction of Amy Tan in ''The Opposite of Fate'' read by the author. In 2010, Garver was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her role in ''Family Affair''.

References

External links

* *
Kathy Garver interview at Classic Film & TV Cafe

Facebook page (official)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garver, Kathy Living people Actresses from Long Beach, California American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Catholics from California People from Hillsborough, California People from San Leandro, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni 1945 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses