But on August 28th 1976, she died at a friend's house in Oceanside, California. I dont think theres any curse, she told Fox News. Anissa Jones was born on March 11, 1958, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Story behind the Tragic Death of 'Family Affair' Star Anissa Jones Who Kathy Garver managed to impress the legendary producer Cecil B. DeMille as a child in 1956s The Ten Commandments, but it was one sitcom that forever changed her life. Star Perdita Weeks' Bikini Photos, See Your Favorite Celebrity Couples in Swimsuits: Best Beach Photos, Meet Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone's Daughters Vivian and Georgette, Soaking Up the Australian Sun! So, Cissy never left me. So, I dont think its a curse.. Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images. Her character, Buffy, was famous for her charm and for her favorite doll named Mrs. Beasley. The concept is that Brian Keith plays bachelor Bill Davis, who finds himself guardian of two nieces and a nephew (respectively Kathy Garver, Anissa and Johnnie Whitaker as Cissy, Buffy and Jody) following the deaths of their parents. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Playa Del Rey, California, where her father worked at Hughes Aircraft while also teaching at USC. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. During the last season or so, chest bindings were reportedly used to disguise the fact that Buffy was growing up., It was Marilyns view that Anissa had a lot of catching up to do and shed heard here or there about the challenges she was facing being a normal teenager. It was such a tragedy that this amazing little girl, such a bright light, was extinguished at such a young age.. Four months later, the doctor also died. I felt like I had this helmet of gold on, like something out of Goldfinger. I was talking with the producer and she said, "What's wrong with your hair? But as the years went on, Jones began to tire of playing the little girl. or redistributed. The show told the story of Buffy, her twin brother Jody (Johnny Whitaker), and their older sister Cissy (Kathy Garver), who all go live with their uncle in New York after their parents die in a car accident. Tragic Details Found In Anissa Jones' Autopsy Report - Grunge Brian Keith had the same deal with Don Fedderson that Fred MacMurray had on My Three Sons, he explains, which is the show would not be named after them so they wouldnt have to be the center of every episode. The work was grueling, and for once she just wanted to be a regular 13-year-old girl. Diane Brewster (second from left) tries to make friends with Anissa Jones, Kathy Garver, and Johnnie Whitaker (left to right) in a scene from the TV series, "Family Affair." Jones was remembered by many who knew her as an intelligent girl. The movie gigs didnt come. In four or five months.. For instance, in 1967 The Los Angeles Times spoke to her, commenting, Every Monday night, little Anissa Jones enters the wonderful world of make believe for half an hour to play Buffy, the tiny tot on CBS Family Affair. Even that injury was written and included in the script of the series by the producers. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. She was also put in front of reporter microphones on a regular basis. Life is advocating for oneself. She finds playing a mere child of 6 babyish, offered The Republic of Columbus, Indiana, and quickly reveals her true age to anyone willing to listen., By 1970, Anissa was doing public appearances every other weekend, drawing thousands of people, but allowed her very little private time. She gave audition for the role of Regan MacNeil for the American supernatural horror film The Exorcist that later released in 1973, but she was turned down as William Friedkin, the films director felt that her image as Buffy would still be fresh in audiences minds more so with the syndicated daytime reruns of Family Affair, and the movie goers will possibly think the possessed character in the film as Buffy. Her career in the entertainment industry literally ended after Family Affair. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.\r \rHis most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavetts Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavetts Vietnam. Her middle name Anissa in Arabic means Little Friend. The familys move to California took place while the kids were still toddlers. He loved his wife and his children. Her friends discovered her unresponsive, and they immediately called paramedics, but sadly, it was too late, and she was declared dead at the scene. Even the doll that she used in the show became a best-seller in North America when it was marketed by Mattel. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/anissa-jones-35094.php, American Female Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century American Film & Theater Personalities. It instantly turns your hair a different color. At eight years old, Anissa was cast as Buffy on Family Affair, which aired from 1966 until 1971. But she never returned home. Their time by contract belonged to the production company and the network. When she auditioned for the role of Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973), the director had a hard time imagining adorable little Buffy possessed by a demon. Garver and Jones were good friends on the show, having sleepovers at least a couple of times according to Garver's interview with Fox News. It was a great combo. She claimed that Mary advised her to spend more time with Jones, but Garver had to do a musical on the East Coast soon after the party. Family Affair's Kathy Garver Opens Up About The Cast Curse - BrainSharper Shooting of Family Affair or its promotions in public became a full-time job for the little girl, which often became taxing as many a times she had to work seven days a week round the year. Unfortunately, Garver noted, many of Joness new friends were drug users. And the next five years saw Anissa Jones in the midst of a downward spiral. Her father, who was an engineer, got a job at the University of Southern California and at the Hughes Aircraft Company, so the family relocated to The Golden State. Then, in 1971, CBS decided to cancel Family Affair. The source of the flowers? Family Affair producers discovered that even in the land of make believe, you can't always hide everything. The coroner would later report that she had cocaine, PCP, Quaalude and Seconal in her system. But if one can put something in a single word or a single sentence, that I think explains the unexplainable to many people. She played Buffy, the. Described Edmund to The Valley Times in 1966, Its three Midwestern kids in wonderland. Actually, she did know, Anissa bought a place for her and her brother to stay and spoiled him with a stacked out Camero. She's admitted, and they have admitted, they were trying to emulate Anissa and her success, as well as our success with the show. That's the way someone can warm an audience. 'Family Affair' Star Anissa Jones' Awkward Interview | The Dick Cavett Indeed, Anissa Jones didnt have much time left. She featured as herself in the 8th episode of Season 1 of the American sketch comedy television program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In that aired on NBC on March 11, 1968. On August 28, 1976, while at a friends house party, Anissa took a cocktail of barbiturates, phencyclidine, cocaine, and methaqualone. She featured in a few other television productions while basking with the success of Family Affair. Now, she stated, those pressures are permanently, tragically over. See Nicole Kidmans Rare Bikini Photos, Rocking Her Swimwear! Many other Family Affair associated products were launched including colouring books, lunch boxes, paper dolls and a clothing line and Anissa participated in marketing campaigns of many of these. Sometimes we just pick the flowers and then sell them, but were always careful not to sell the flowers to the lady we pick them from., Her brightness was also on display in a piece that ran in the Star-Gazette of Elmira, New York, as the reporter noticed her mouthing dialogue being spoken by both Johnnie and Brian. There was just so much pressure. After she turned 18 in March 1976, she became eligible to handle her own earnings from her acting endeavours and also some U.S. Savings Bonds, which were till such time held in a trust fund on her behalf. She was an actress, known for To Rome with Love (1969), The Trouble with Girls (1969) and Family Affair (1966). Thats the trouble with the ocean. She bonded with local teenage friends and started to have the freedom that had been denied her the five years she was on the TV show.. On the surface, the saccharine level seems pretty high, and yet it connected with the audience and an adult audience at that, considering that it originally aired at 9:30 p.m. after the kiddies were off to bed. I think you can't be anybody except for who you are. Born Mary Anissa Jones on March 11, 1958, in Lafayette, Indiana, Anissa Jones found fame at a young age. Meanwhile, her personal life started getting disturbed with her parents going for an awful divorce in 1965. 72-year old Kathy became a household name in the late 1960s as Catherine "Cissy" Patterson-Davis in the comedy series "Family Affair" which aired from 1966 until 1971. Her parents divorce had led to a bitter custody battle, which resulted in her father winning custody of Jones and her brother. Buffy and her doll became household names, and their faces were on merchandise everywhere. When I returned from that stint, it was really at the height of dinner theater, and they were really big. The show went on from 1966 to 1971, when Jones was 13 years old.