Don ogrady biography

Don Grady, a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club who played son Robbie Douglas on the ABC and CBS series My Three Sons, one of the longest-running family sitcoms in history, died Wednesday of cancer in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 68.

In 1960, three years after he was hired at age 13 as a Mouseketeer on the third season of ABC’s Mickey Mouse Club, Grady began an 11-year run as Robbie on the sitcom My Three Sons, with Fred MacMurray starring as the widower dad, William Frawley (and later William Demarest) as the family housekeeper and Grady, Tim Considine (Mike), Stanley Livingston (Chip) and Barry Livingston (Ernie) as the sons. (Mike was written out at the start of the sixth season and Ernie was adopted, keeping the number of sons at three.)

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My Three Sons, which debuted on ABC, moved to CBS in 1965 when ABC refused to finance the series’ switch to color. With 12 seasons and 380 episodes produced, the Saturday night staple is second only to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (14 seasons) as TV’s longest-running live-action family sitcom.

During the 1968-69 season, Grady’s character and his wife Katie (Tina Cole) had triplets. He departed the series in 1971 at the end of the 11th season when Robbie, now a structural engineer, moved to Peru to work on a bridge construction.

A musical prodigy who had mastered several instruments including the clarinet and accordion by age 10, Grady appeared with his band The Greefs on My Three Sons and wrote two songs for the show. After the series ended, he and songwriter Gary Zekley formed the band Yellow Balloon, named for Zekley’s 1967 sunshine pop hit; played with a folk-rock outfit called The Palace Guard; and toured with a group known as The Windupwatch Band, which included Daryl Dragon, later the male half of Captain & Tenn

Don Louis Agrati (June 8, 1944 – June 27, 2012), better known as Don Grady, was an American television and movieactor, composer, and musician. He was best known both as one of Mickey Mouse's original Mouseketeers, and as Robbie Douglas on My Three Sons. His sister was also an actress, billed as Lani O'Grady. His father was Lou A. Agrati. His mother was a talent agent, known as Mary Grady.

Grady was born in San Diego, California on June 8, 1944. Grady was married twice; first to Julie Boonisar from 1976 until they divorced in 1979. Lastly he was married to Virginia Lewsader from 1985 until his death in 2012. Grady died on June 27, 2012 in his home in Thousand Oaks, California from cancer. He was 68 years old.

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Don Grady, who sang and danced as a Mouseketeer on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” played son Robbie on the long-running family sitcom “My Three Sons,” and later became a composer and songwriter, died Wednesday. He was 68.

Grady died at his home in Thousand Oaks after a four-year battle with cancer, said his wife, Ginny.

As a child in the Bay Area town of Lafayette, Grady developed a fondness for music and dancing. He told the Contra Costa Times in 2005 that he took clarinet and accordion lessons and later taught himself bass, guitar and the trumpet.

For the record: A news obituary of actor Don Grady in the June 28 LATExtra section stated that he appeared on “The Mickey Mouse Club” for several years and left the show to take the part of Robbie on “My Three Sons.” In fact, he was a Mouseketeer for one season, 1957-58, and joined “My Three Sons” for its debut season in 1960.

His musical talents landed him an audition with “The Mickey Mouse Club” when he was in middle school. He performed on the Disney show for several years but left for a part on “My Three Sons” when he was 16.

That show, which aired from 1960 to 1972, was one of the longest-running family sitcoms of all time. It featured Fred MacMurray as the thoughtful, pipe-smoking widower Steve Douglas, who raised his boys as a single parent at 837 Mill St. in a middle-class Midwestern home.

“I think we did a good show,” Grady said in a 2001 interview on CBS’ “The Early Show.” “It was a clean show. It was a fun show.”

The show’s wholesome portrayal of American life is what helped it resonate with families who tuned in weekly for the latest trials and tribulations in the Douglas household, according to film historian Leonard Maltin.

“America loved this family,” Maltin said of the show. “It represented stability and continuity.”

When the series began, Grady played the 14-year-old Robbie. His older brother Mike was played by Tim Considine, and h

American actor and musician (1944–2012)

Don Grady (born Don Louis Agrati; June 8, 1944 – June 27, 2012) was an American actor and musician. He was best known as one of the Mouseketeers on the Mickey Mouse Club, and as Robbie Douglas on the long-running ABC / CBStelevision seriesMy Three Sons. During his short-lived career in music he was a solo singer and the drummer for the pop band The Yellow Balloon.

Life and career

Grady was born Don Louis Agrati in San Diego, California, the son of Mary B. (née Castellino), a talent agent, and Lou Anthony Agrati, a sausage maker. His sister Lanita became an actress known professionally as Lani O'Grady. He grew up in Lafayette, California, before being signed by Walt Disney and leaving the town. He graduated from Burbank High School in 1962.

His acting credits included Western series, including John Payne's The Restless Gun, Have Gun – Will Travel, Buckskin, Wagon Train and The Rifleman, in which he played two roles in the second season. He played Jeff, son of a barber that got into fights with Mark McCain (Lucas' son). This episode is called "The Patsy" and originally aired September 29, 1959.

In December 1959, at the age of 15, Grady appeared in two episodes of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, playing opposite Joan Crawford and Dick Powell. In "Rebel Ranger", he was cast as Rob Faring, the young son of