Veteran actress, author, producer, and speaker Kathy Garver (“Family Affair” fame) chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about her latest endeavors.
Throughout her respected career in acting and entertainment, she is remembered for her starring role as Cissy in the long-running hit CBS television series, Family Affair. She continues garnering critical acclaim in movies, stage, radio, voice-over animation, as an author and audio book narration.
Garver embraced the role of Cissy for five years in one of the warmest and most enduring series of the ’60s and ’70s. Cissy Davis was the teenage niece of Uncle Bill Davis (played by the late but great Brian Keith). The show continues to be popular today pleasing old and new audiences worldwide, a true classic. “Cissy was an amalgam of my character,” she admitted. “When an actress is playing a character you can’t do anything else without using your own personal emotions and who you are. Cissy was a very wholesome, responsible, and sweet girl, and I liked her.”
“Playing Cissy was a combination of the character they had written and my own being, and we kind of got along well,” she said with a sweet laugh.
She also added the words “bestselling author” to her long list of accomplishments. Her first book, The Family Affair Cookbook, was a tasty trip down memory lane complete with anecdotes and photos and received favorable reviews.
In 2015, her memoir Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood was released and sold out in three months, and it was recently released in paperback. X-Child Stars: Where Are They Now was launched in 2016. She then compiled a cookbook, Holiday Recipes for a Family Affair, which was published in 2019.
This year, in addition to the re-release of Surviving Cissy, she has two more books scheduled for publication: TV Dinners with a Side Dish of Stars will be available in May and to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Family Affair, Family Affair: A Pictorial Scrapbook will be released in September.
“I have three books coming out this year,” she said. “It’s a banner year for books.”
For young and aspiring actors, she said, “Learn your craft. I taught voiceover for 20 years, and I tell voiceover actors that they really need to learn their skills. One of the troubles that child stars get into is that they are cute little kids and one of the reasons they are chosen is because they can follow directions. Hit your mark and say your line. When you change and emerge into adult acting, you have to learn how to do a character. You have to learn how to analyze a script. I am a firm believer of learning your craft and practicing your craft. My advice would be to learn the skills.”
Garver is very much in demand for her numerous vocal characterizations. She is a standout in the very competitive field of voice-overs for cartoons, commercials, toys, and audiobooks. “I did 80 audiobooks, five animated series, and voiceover commercials,” she said. “When there wasn’t a voiceover job, I would do a stage play. That kept money coming in and it kept me sharp in my creative juices.”
Presently, she can be seen on her YouTube channel cooking show, “Cooking with Kathy and Scot.” She will soon be launching a podcast called “All Things Classic” with John Norton, veteran director, writer, and producer. “Now, I am going to do an entree of some grilled salmon and grilled asparagus. That will be on our spring menu,” she said.
She is a regular on the comic conventions and autograph shows, and she will be returning to greet fans later this year. “I am so excited for Comic Cons,” she said. “The fans are excited to see me and I am excited to see them. They will be really fun.”
Garver defined the word success as contentment in life. “Success means being happy. I have a fabulous family. I just celebrated my 40th wedding anniversary and the 55th anniversary of Family Affair. Also, it’s my son’s 30th birthday. Overall, it’s a very celebratory year for me,” she said.
To learn more about Kathy Garver, check out her official website and her IMDb page.
