My Three Sons 

Widower Steve Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and is later aided by the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Stanley Livingston, Don Grady

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 9 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Fred MacMurray	...	Steve Douglas / ... 380 episodes, 1960-1972
Stanley Livingston	...	Chip Douglas 380 episodes, 1960-1972
Don Grady	...	Robbie Douglas / ... 379 episodes, 1960-1972
Barry Livingston	...	Ernie Thompson Douglas / ... 237 episodes, 1963-1972
William Demarest	...	Uncle Charley O'Casey 215 episodes, 1965-1972
Tim Considine	...	Mike Douglas 185 episodes, 1960-1965
William Frawley	...	Michael Francis 'Bub' O'Casey 165 episodes, 1960-1965

Storyline

Widower Steven Douglas is left to bring up three boys with the aid of his father-in-law, Michael "Bub" O'Casey, and later Bub's brother, "Uncle Charley." The series revolves around the trials and tribulations of life's experiences as a single parent family.

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Plot Keywords:

college | widower | uncle | laugh track | single father | 

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Taglines:

Fred MacMurray learns boys will be boys as he tries to keep order in his household. In color. (season seven)

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Fred MacMurray Show

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Television Network, Don Fedderson Productions, Gregg-Don Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (369 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (1960-1965) Color (1965-1972)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

During later seasons, the exterior of the aircraft plant Steve, and for a while Robbie, worked was actually the Hollywood Burbank Airport, aka Bob Hope Airport.

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Goofs

In My Three Sons: The Masterpiece, which aired on March 1, 1962, Bub, played by William Frawley, claimed to be 63; Frawley was 75 at the time.

In My Three Sons: The Practical Shower, aired on October 1, 1964, Bub gives Sally a wedding shower on his 50th anniversary, meaning that he was married in 1914.

Using his age from "The Masterpiece," Bub got married when he was 15.

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Quotes

Ernie Douglas: Do you think the house is going to miss us?
Charley O'Casey: Sure, it'll miss us. The minute we get out of sight, it's going to break right down and start to cry out of all the faucets. The neighbors will sell tickets to see the crying house.
Steve Douglas: I'd like to think the house is going to miss us, Charley.
Charley O'Casey: Look, are we going to California, or are we going to stand here waving bye-bye to a pile of lumber?
Steve Douglas: Charley's right, fellas. Let's all...let's all pile in.
Charley O'Casey: Come on, let's go. Come on, move.
Chip Douglas: [...]

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Connections

Referenced in The '80s Greatest: Family Values (2018)

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Soundtracks

My Three Sons
Written and Performed by Frank De Vol (1960-1972)

User Reviews

My Three Sons did, indeed, run way too long!

My Three Sons started out as a nice, enjoyable show, but ran way too long. It should have ended while it was still ahead. The beginning of the end came when the family moved from Bryant (or was it Briant) Park and went to California. It might have been all right if the family number had stayed at five. But then all these characters kept being added. Rob got married, and then had triplets. (Come on. Did Rob really need three kids? Wouldn't one have done just as nicely?) Then Chip got married. (If the show had lasted any longer, I'm sure Ernie would have gotten married, too.) I finally stopped watching the show when Steve got married to a woman with a daughter. All these characters for a half-hour sitcom? I was getting dizzy! Tim Considine had the right idea when he left when he did. But that's another thing that made me mad. His character was never mentioned again, like he never existed. They could have at least had an occasional letter from him, like Adam in Bonanza. A show that started off good was beaten into the ground. How very sad!