THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Don
Grady, who was one of television’s most beloved big brothers as Robbie Douglas
on the long-running 1960s hit “My Three Sons,” died Wednesday. He was 68.
His “My Three Sons” co-star Barry
Livingston, who played youngest brother Ernie, confirmed Mr. Grady’s death to
the Associated Press. Mr. Livingston said Mr. Grady had been suffering from
cancer and receiving hospice care at his home in Thousand Oaks, Calif., but the
exact cause and place of death were not immediately clear.
“It’s the oldest cliche in the world
when TV brothers start referring to each other like biological brothers, but he
was the oldest, and somebody I looked up to and learned from a great deal about
life,” Mr. Livingston said.
Born in San Diego as Don Louis
Agrati, Mr. Grady had a brief stint singing and dancing on “The Mickey Mouse
Club” starting at age 13.
But he was best known by far as one
of Fred MacMurray’s sons on “My Three Sons,” which ran on ABC and later CBS
from 1960 to 1972.
The popular show, which featured
MacMurray as a widowed aeronautical engineer struggling to raise three older
boys, was among the longest-running family sitcoms of all time with 380
episodes.
In the show’s earlier years, Mr.
Grady’s Douglas was actually the middle brother, with Tim Considine playing the
oldest, Mike, and Stanley Livingston playing the youngest, Chip. When Mr.
Considine departed, Barry Livingston became the adopted “third” son, and Mr.
Grady became the cool, handsome and assured eldest brother that much of America
adored.
A musical prodigy from a young age,
Grady appeared with a band, the Greefs, in the series, and in real life played
drums for the Yellow Balloon, who had a minor hit with a self-titled song in
1967.
He made a handful of guest
appearances on TV series in the 1970s and 1980s but worked primarily as a
musician and composer, writing the theme for “The Phil Donahue Show” and music
for the Blake Edwards film “Switch” and the popular Las Vegas show “EFX,” a
showcase for “Phantom of the Opera” star Michael Crawford.
“The one real through-line in his
life was music,” Barry Livingston said. “I would think Don would love to be
remembered for his great music as much as a teen idol and television icon.”