His official cast name was James but we knew him as Bud. Bud Anderson to be exact. Our formative Jersey years growing up we found that TV played a large role in many of our lives. Father Knows Best was a staple on the weekly schedule. How many of us would sit down to watch the show with our family? The show ran from 1954 to 1960 and Billy Gray who played the role of the son, Bud was very kind to sit down with us to discuss life then...and now. Billy was impressed with our Blog and thanked us for asking him to share a conversation.
Billy started in movies, playing in a couple of films as the younger brother to Doris Day, followed by a significant role in the classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still". In 1954 he landed the role on FKB. He shared with me his admiration for the professionalism and the direction he learned from Robert Young. Billy was very candid though in telling me that even at that young age he had serious reservations about the "message" that the show would project each episode. He viewed it as very chauvinistic and misleading and disrespectful to women. In the end, he felt that "you" should know best, not only did "father". This started when the TV show was born from a radio show of the same name and theme...well, almost the same name. See, back then sponsors carried much leverage and Kent cigarettes demanded that their lead actor on the show, Robert Young, be a very assertive and unquestioned role model for their product. Because of that they insisted on the dropping of the radio show's question mark that followed the "Father Knows Best?". When asked about the obvious lack of minorities on the show he said that he too was bothered by that but during that era of social change the affiliates in the South still threatened the production company that if they showcased minorities they would drop them from their schedule.
Back then it took nine, twelve hour days to film each episode. For his return, Billy made $250 per show, amazing isn't it? He stays in touch with the only two surviving cast members, Elinor Donahue and Lauren Chapin. Did you know that Lauren who played the youngest sister is actually the cousin to the late Harry Chapin, "The Cat's in the Cradle"?
Billy took his craft seriously and when asked what was it like to be a teenager viewing himself on TV he said that it was always a learning process whereby he was able to critique his lines and how he handled his role. Soon after the series ended in 1960 Billy was arrested on a charge of marijuana possession. He served 45 days and his acting career came to an end as a result of that arrest. He focused his attention on his love of racing motorcycles. For many years he raced Class A motorcycles on Southern California tracks. His creative talents have rewarded him by his design of his F-1 Ergonomic Guitar Pick, a music industry standard now. Today, he is retired and living in Topanga, CA.
Billy asked how often we get together as a class and I shared our last reunion was a year ago. He wished us both good health and fellowship amongst our class. We thank him for a very candid and honest conversation for the blog.
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