But it's never too late! Cake and ice cream for everybody!
130 episodes
From the IMDb:
Bill Davis is a highly paid and successful engineer living in a large apartment in New York with his valet, Mr. Giles French . His life is suddenly changed when his niece, Buffy shows up. In the midst of deciding what to do, Buffy's twin brother, Jody shows up, and Bill has to leave for Peru. Once he leaves, Buffy and Jody's older sister, Cissy shows up. Bill and French's life is suddenly changed as they become surrogate parents for the 3 children.
'To Rome with Love' - "Roman Affair" (1970)
From the IMDb:
Bill Davis is a highly paid and successful engineer living in a large apartment in New York with his valet, Mr. Giles French . His life is suddenly changed when his niece, Buffy shows up. In the midst of deciding what to do, Buffy's twin brother, Jody shows up, and Bill has to leave for Peru. Once he leaves, Buffy and Jody's older sister, Cissy shows up. Bill and French's life is suddenly changed as they become surrogate parents for the 3 children.
'To Rome with Love' - "Roman Affair" (1970)
From TV Guide:
The Endicotts meet the regulars from "Family Affair." Endicott: John Forsythe. French: Sebastian Cabot. Buffy: Anissa Jones. Jody: Johnnie Whitaker. Grandpa: Walter Brennan. Penny: Susan Neher. Alison: Joyce Menges.
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| Editor's note: This picture shows Mr. French and the Davis Twins in Spain. It was the best I could find..... |
From Ultimate 70s:
October 6, 1970: Roman AffairSeason 2, episode 4
With Sebastian Cabot (Giles French), Anissa Jones (Buffy Davis), Johnny Whitaker (Jody Davis).
Mike Endicott comes to the rescue of Mr. French, who is detained at the airport by Interpol as a suspected jewel thief.
'My Three Sons' was also produced by Don Fedderson's production company and several of its cast members also appeared on 'To Rome, With Love'. Unfortunately, there were no crossovers between 'My Three Sons' and 'Family Affair'. (O'Bservation: I'm afraid this was due to both shows already being healthy in the ratings and so they didn't need the boost.)
But getting back to Mr. French, we have to play fast and loose in order to get his third qualification for membership. Ordinarily, I think the usually hide-bound Mr. French would protest such a dissipation of tradition, but I think I can pull off a convincing argument for his inclusion.
All he needs is verification of his existence in Toobworld found in other TV shows.
So let's see what we have....
Out of all the references to Mr. French that I could find, only one has a slight suggestion that he was a real person:
Out of all the references to Mr. French that I could find, only one has a slight suggestion that he was a real person:
'The Nanny'
"Danny's Dead and Who's Got the Will?" (1997)
Fran Fine, the nanny of this sitcom, appraises the outfit worn by Niles the Butler that day.
For those of you who don't remember the show, it was about a gruff man's man named Bill Davis, who was a globe-trotting engineer who built dams and bridges all around the world. Suddenly, tragically, his brother and sister-in-law died (in a crash, I think) and Bill had been named as the guardian for their three children - teenage Cissy, and the little fraternal twins Buffy and Jody. But at least "Uncle Bill" had the services of his valet, Giles French, to help out - even if the thought of being a male nanny seemed like an affront to the tradition-upholding butler at first.
You have to admit, it's a more compelling idea for a sitcom than two families being blended together when the parents marry each other. (Three boys, three girls, the youngest one in curls.) And yet we know that happened, based on so many Zonkish references to 'The Brady Bunch' in other shows.
All of the other quotes I found from other TV sources seem to refer to Mr. French as a TV character. Even when there is no mention of the 'Family Affair' title, just the mention of his name seems to trigger recognition from those other people in the scene. At the very least, they don't respond "Mr. French? Who dat?"
Most of the following information comes from the IMDb:
'Caroline in the City'
"Caroline and El Niño" (1999)
Because of (yet another) hair she discovers on her chin, Annie says she's turning into Mr. French.
'Fargo'
"Rhinoceros" (2015)
["Family Affair" is] mentioned by Simone Gerhardt.
(O'Bservation: I did a fast check of the transcript using every key word I could think of, but I found no reference to 'Family Affair'. 'Ozzie & Harriet', yeah.)
'Full House'
"Our Very First Promo" (1987)
While making a very fictionalized movie about the family, Danny addressed Jesse as the housekeeper by the name "Mr. French". Jesse knew what he was referencing, because then he called Danny "Uncle Bill".
He then went to the two girls and called them "Buffy" and "Jody".
'The Nanny'
"Material Fran" (1994) Fran meets an old high school friend....
'Over the Top
'The Bee Story'
[Mr. Hamstead] refers to [Simon Ferguson] as Mr. French.
To me, this is funny, but probably only in hindsight. 'Over The Top' was from 1997 and although there was no physical resemblance, it's easy to see why Jon Polito's character used that nickname on Tim Curry's character - because of his accent. But five years later, Tim Curry would be playing Mr French in a remake sitcom.
As far as my Toobworld splainin goes, had it not been for the position of their broadcast dates, I could have used the new 'Family Affair' as the show which the citizens of the main Toobworld knew. However there was one last 'Nanny' fixation on Mr. French which puts the kibosh on that as a splainin:
'The Nanny':
"Franny and the Professor" (1995)
Mr. Sheffield:
Boy, was that loaded with Zonks!
Because of that, the 'Family Affair' remake occupies the TV dimension of Toobworld2 with so many other remakes. (And Johnny Whitaker and Kathy Garver had roles in that world but not as Cissy and Jody, O'Bviously.)
So 'Family Affair' is recognized as a 1960s TV show, meaning that it was produced in Toobworld around the same time as the "real-life" inspirations lived their lives.
This has happened plenty of times in the past and that's the splainin I've used those times as well.
So, if there was a Toobworld version of 'Family Affair', a televersion, then who would have been the Toobworld character who could have played Mr. French?
Who else but the televersion of Sebastian Cabot?
Everybody has a televersion, including you and me. So since Sebastian Cabot is verified as being in Toobworld, then I see no Zonk in him playing that version of Mr. French as well.
As long as the theory that Toobworld's version of 'Family Affair' is based on the real Bill Davis and Mr. French of Earth Prime-Time, then I think Giles French qualifies as an honorary member.
Fran Fine, the nanny of this sitcom, appraises the outfit worn by Niles the Butler that day.
"Come on, what's going on?
You don't usually haul out
the Mr. French collection
unless something is up."
the Mr. French collection
unless something is up."
It's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble (because nothing is impossible in a sitcom!), that Giles French eventually designed his own line of gentlemen's gentleman's wear.
But why would anybody care about the name of Giles French on a designer label, and why would it be lodged in Miss Fine's noggin?
I think it's because Mr. French and the family he worked for - Bill Davis and his nieces and nephew - had a TV show produced which was based on their lives.
This could play out in two different ways. One would be along the lines of the Loud Family here in the Real World - a documentary series about a normal American family. As you'll see from the quotes about 'Family Affair' to follow, they may be funny but they don't suggest that the show was a sitcom.
The other possibility is that some producer just thought the details of the Davis family structure had the makings for a TV show back then.
[But not necessarily now. O'Bservation: I just mentioned 'Family Affair' to my own housekeepers on their bi-weekly visit, and I got blank stares. Long before they were born, I'm afraid.]
But why would anybody care about the name of Giles French on a designer label, and why would it be lodged in Miss Fine's noggin?
I think it's because Mr. French and the family he worked for - Bill Davis and his nieces and nephew - had a TV show produced which was based on their lives.
This could play out in two different ways. One would be along the lines of the Loud Family here in the Real World - a documentary series about a normal American family. As you'll see from the quotes about 'Family Affair' to follow, they may be funny but they don't suggest that the show was a sitcom.
The other possibility is that some producer just thought the details of the Davis family structure had the makings for a TV show back then.
[But not necessarily now. O'Bservation: I just mentioned 'Family Affair' to my own housekeepers on their bi-weekly visit, and I got blank stares. Long before they were born, I'm afraid.]
All of the other quotes I found from other TV sources seem to refer to Mr. French as a TV character. Even when there is no mention of the 'Family Affair' title, just the mention of his name seems to trigger recognition from those other people in the scene. At the very least, they don't respond "Mr. French? Who dat?"
Most of the following information comes from the IMDb:
'Caroline in the City'
"Caroline and El Niño" (1999)
'Fargo'
"Rhinoceros" (2015)
["Family Affair" is] mentioned by Simone Gerhardt.
(O'Bservation: I did a fast check of the transcript using every key word I could think of, but I found no reference to 'Family Affair'. 'Ozzie & Harriet', yeah.)
'Full House'
"Our Very First Promo" (1987)
'The Nanny'
"Material Fran" (1994) Fran meets an old high school friend....
Kathy:
Ah, what about Mr. French over there?
Fran:
Oh, Niles. You can trust him.
He's like Shultz.
Niles:
I know nothing, nothing.
'Over the Top
'The Bee Story'
[Mr. Hamstead] refers to [Simon Ferguson] as Mr. French.
To me, this is funny, but probably only in hindsight. 'Over The Top' was from 1997 and although there was no physical resemblance, it's easy to see why Jon Polito's character used that nickname on Tim Curry's character - because of his accent. But five years later, Tim Curry would be playing Mr French in a remake sitcom.
'The Nanny':
"Franny and the Professor" (1995)
Mr. Sheffield:
So, did you have a nice evening?
Fran Fine:
Oh, I'll tell you.
It was a beautiful wedding.
Val and I cried our eyes out.
She made some gorgeous bride,
that Dr. Quinn.
Brighton Sheffield:
Fran, where's our TV guide?
Fran Fine:
Right here. Give me your best shot.
Brighton Sheffield:
Alrighty. Channel 29.
What follows the Ghost and Mrs. Muir?
Fran Fine:
That would be Family Affair -
the episode where Mr. French accidentally drops Ms. Beasley off the terrace,
followed by the Munsters
with Marilyn Number Two,
followed by Bewitched with Darrin Number One,
but Mrs. Kravitz Number Two.
the episode where Mr. French accidentally drops Ms. Beasley off the terrace,
followed by the Munsters
with Marilyn Number Two,
followed by Bewitched with Darrin Number One,
but Mrs. Kravitz Number Two.
Mr. Sheffield:
Bravo, Miss Fine.
You seem to know more about sixties television
than most people your age have forgotten.
Boy, was that loaded with Zonks!
Because of that, the 'Family Affair' remake occupies the TV dimension of Toobworld2 with so many other remakes. (And Johnny Whitaker and Kathy Garver had roles in that world but not as Cissy and Jody, O'Bviously.)
This has happened plenty of times in the past and that's the splainin I've used those times as well.
So, if there was a Toobworld version of 'Family Affair', a televersion, then who would have been the Toobworld character who could have played Mr. French?
Who else but the televersion of Sebastian Cabot?
'The Governor & J.J.'
- "A Day in the Life" (1970)
... Sebastian Cabot (voice, uncredited)
J.J. tried to convince a young film-maker to make a documentary about her father, the Governor. (Doris Day was also heard during the episode. Either they both had recorded dialogue for the documentary or they were on speaker phone.)
... Sebastian Cabot (voice, uncredited)
J.J. tried to convince a young film-maker to make a documentary about her father, the Governor. (Doris Day was also heard during the episode. Either they both had recorded dialogue for the documentary or they were on speaker phone.)
As long as the theory that Toobworld's version of 'Family Affair' is based on the real Bill Davis and Mr. French of Earth Prime-Time, then I think Giles French qualifies as an honorary member.
Welcome to the Hall, Mr. French. Apologies for the delay......
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