‘My Three Sons’ Leave Nick’s Nest

It’s hard to imagine TV Land without Steve Douglas and his sons, Mike, Robbie, Chip and Ernie.

But fans of Nick at Nite will have to face the disturbing fact Nick at Nite is retiring one of its most popular series, “My Three Sons,” at the end of October. But the Douglases are going out with a bang.

On Oct. 26, Nick at Nite will feature six hours of the best of “My Three Sons.” And this week the series travels the globe. This evening, Mike and Robbie go to New York to sell a song. On Monday’s episode, Ernie and Chip read “Tom Sawyer” and go off on a river adventure. Steve and Robbie take a Caribbean cruise on Wednesday. And on a special two-parter beginning Thursday, Bub takes the Douglas clan to Ireland.

“My Three Sons” was an instant hit when it premiered on ABC on Sept. 29, 1960, reaching No. 13 in the ratings during its first season. And for good reason. It deftly mixed comedy with pathos and boasted a first-rate cast.

“My Three Sons” was the first foray into the world of TV series for film star Fred MacMurray, who made his movie debut in 1935’s “The Gilded Lily” and had appeared in such acclaimed flicks as “Double Indemnity,” “The Caine Mutiny” and “The Apartment.”

MacMurray played Steve Douglas, a consulting aviation engineer and widow living in a Midwestern town with his three sons.

Tim Considine, who played Spin in the “Spin and Marty” serial on the original “Mickey Mouse Club” and was a co-star (with MacMurray) in the 1959 Disney hit “The Shaggy Dog,” played eldest son, 18-year-old Mike.

Don Grady, a former Mouseketeer, played 14-year-old Robbie, and Stanley Livingston was 7-year-old Chip. William Frawley, fresh from his long-running stint as Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy,” rounded out the cast as Steve’s father-in-law, Bub O’Casey, who served as the housekeeper. Tramp was the family dog.

Meredith Macrae came on board in 1963 for two seasons as Mike’s fiancee, Sally Ann, and Stanley Livingston’s baby brother, Barry, also joined the series as Chip’s friend, Ernie Thompson, whom Steve later adopted.

Big changes occured in 1965 when the series moved to CBS. Considine left the show. Frawley had died during the 1964 season and veteran character actor William Demarest, who was a member of director Preston Sturges’ repertory company of actors, joined the show as Bub’s brother, Uncle Charley.

In the fall of 1967, the Douglas family moved to North Hollywood. Robbie fell in love with Katie Miller (Tina Cole). They eventually married and had triplets. Steve finally was hit by Cupid’s arrow during the 1969 season and fell in love with Barbara Harper (Beverly Garland), a widow who was one of Ernie’s teachers. When they married, Barbara’s young daughter, Dodie (Dawn Lyn), joined the family. Chip eloped in the fall of 1970 with his college girlfriend Polly (Ronne Troupe).

“My Three Sons” airs Mondays-Fridays at 1:30 a.m.; Saturdays-Sundays at 10 p.m. through Oct. 30 on Nickelodeon; “My Three Sons Marathon” airs Oct. 26 from midnight to 6 a.m.