Johnny Whitaker Movies

Mystery in Dracula's Castle features Johnny Whitaker as an erstwhile adolescent filmmaker. Whitaker wanders around a foreboding mansion, making a vampire picture with his 8-millimeter equipment. Also tooling about the mansion is Whitaker's brother, a junior-league aspiring detective (Scott Kolden). Rounding out the star trio is a kleptomaniac dog, which makes off with a cache of stolen jewels. Clu Gulager costars as the head of the jewel thieves, while Mariette Hartley appears as the boys' mother. Mystery in Dracula's Castle was first seen January 7 and 14, 1973, as a two-part Wonderful World of Disney installment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a video of a 1973 live musical stage show featuring puppets and humans, based on a half-hour Saturday morning TV series. Produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, H.R. Pufnstuf was popular Saturday fare on NBC from 1969 to 1971. Although only 17 30-minute episodes of H.R. Pufnstuf were produced, it was popular enough to generate a major motion picture, Pufnstuf (1970), and this Hollywood Bowl performance two years after the series' cancellation. Starring Jack Wild, who had played the Artful Dodger in 1968's Academy Award-winning musical motion picture Oliver!, the children's TV series was a musical fantasy, featuring original numbers, about a boy named Jimmy (Jack Wild) and his magic flute Freddie, and their adventures on Living Island, a realm populated by lovable life-sized puppets, but where also lurked and plotted the evil Witchiepoo and her minions. The Hollywood Bowl production co-stars Johnny Whitaker, then starring in his own Krofft series, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and who earlier played the character Jody on the TV series Family Affair. The Hollywood Bowl production also includes the Krofft puppets from the Lidsville TV series, and a singing appearance by the fictional Brady Bunch Kids. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide

Season One of Sid and Marty Krofft's whimsically wacky Saturday-morning series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters begins as young Johnny and Scott Stuart (Johnny Whitaker, Scott Kolden) befriend a green, pint-sized, tentacled sea monster named Sigmund Ooze (Billy Barty), who has been disowned by his monstrous family at Dead Man's Point because he is unable to scare anyone. Hiding Sigmund in their secret clubhouse, the boys go to great lengths to prevent their guardian Aunt Zelda (Mary Wickes) and Zelda's sometime boyfriend, Sheriff Chuck Bevans (Joe Higgins) from finding out about their peculiar house guest. In a handful of episodes, the boys are plagued by snoopy next door neighbor Mrs. Eddels (played by Margaret Hamilton of "Wicked Witch of the West" fame), who like Gladys Kravitz of Bewitched is forever spotting Sigmund but is unable to convince anyone of the fact. Making his first appearance in the episode "Is There a Doctor in the House?" is Dr. Cyclops, the one-eyed, seaweed-covered, absent minded "monster medico" who tended to the needs of the Sea Monster community; this role is played by Walker Edmiston, a frequent contributor to the Krofft Brothers' TV projects. And in "Monster Rock Festival", the recurring role of local DJ Buzzy Berman is introduced in the form of former child actor Sidney Miller. Both Edmiston and Miller also provide the voices for the various costumed characters, among them Sigmund's bullying brothers Blurp and Slurp, portrayed this season by costumed actors Bill Germaine and Fred Spencer. Additionally, a pair of interesting guest performers show up during the series' first 17-episode season. Pamelyn Ferdin, a busy juvenile actress of the period, is seen in "Puppy Love", while Jack Wild, formerly the star of the Kroffts' inaugural Saturday-morning series H.R. Pufnstuf, plays "himself" in "The Wild Weekend." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this light-weight Disney family fare, Dean Jones plays Johnny Baxter, who -- along with his wife Sue (Nancy Olsen) and his two kids, Chris (Kathleen Cody) and Richard (Johnny Whitaker) -- decides to leave the New York City rat-race for the clean air and easy living of the Colorado ski country. Baxter has inherited a decaying Gothic mansion and, with the love of his family and a little bit of money, he converts the old house into a popular ski lodge. While preparing his lodge for the tourists and ski bums, Baxter has to deal with a few plumbing problems, a scheming banker (Keenan Wynn), and a grizzled old miner (Harry Morgan). In typical Disney fashion, the plot culminates in a wild, slapstick snowmobile race. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This episode was filmed not long after astronaut Neil Armstrong's fabled "moon walk" in the summer of 1969. Gullible Lisa (Eva Gabor) is convinced when child inventor Dinky Watson (Johnny Whitaker) insists that he, too, has been to the moon. Purchasing a "moon rock" from Dinky, Lisa receives a stinging admonition from her less impressionable husband Oliver (Eddie Albert). But when a strange beeping sound begins to emanate from the rock, everyone in Hooterville becomes moon-struck! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fifth season of Family Affair was also the series' last season on CBS. Any series which features a pair of cute little children runs the risk of wearing out its welcome the older those children become, and it could not be denied that Anissa Jones and Jody Whitaker, respectively cast as twin orphans Jody and Buffy, weren't quite as spontaneous and appealing at age eleven as they'd been at age six. This burst of maturity was less injurious to costar Kathy Garver, cast as the twins' older sister Cissy, inasmuch as there were more story possibilities for a blossoming 19-year-old than there'd previously been for a slightly awkward 15-year-old--especially in terms of Cissy's social life with erstwhile boyfriend Gregg (Gregg Fedderson) and other eligible beaux. And of course, the added years could hardly affect Brian Keith as the kids' bachelor uncle Bill Davis, nor Sebastian Cabot as Bill's imperious British butler Mr. French. Still, viewership dropped off considerably during Season Five, with Family Affair plummeting from 5th place in the ratings to a position far below the "Top Thirty" list. (It didn't help matters that the series was now bucking up against the very popular Flip Wilson Show on NBC.) In an effort to pump new life into the flagging property, the reliable Nancy Walker was added to the cast in the recurring role of Emily, the Davis family's brash, outspoken housekeeper. Though Walker did not appear often enough to make any real impact, she did occasionally provide an amusing contrast to the proper and reserved Mr. French--and the fact that Emily had a handsome medical-student son (played by Peter Duryea) certainly added a bit of spice to the life of boy-crazy Cissy. Although Family Affair was definitely slipping, a few of the Season Five episodes were among the series' best, notably an entry in which the twins befriend a secretive young Latino boy who turns out to be the son of an exiled South American leader. The series closes with the last in a long line of stories concerning the kids' willingness to champion the cause of people less fortunate than themselves--and Uncle Bill's willingness to help out when the youngsters realize that they've gotten in over their heads! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After three years on CBS' powerhouse Monday-night schedule--and two consecutive years in TV's "top ten" list--Family Affair moved to a Thursday berth for its fourth season on the air. Despite this displacement, not to mention fresh competition from NBC's long-running Daniel Boone and the ABC upstart The Ghost and Mrs Muir, the series retained its huge following, remaining securely fastened into the "Number Five" ratings position. Beyond the shift to a different evening, very little had changed on Family Affair proper. We still find bachelor engineer Bill Davis (Brian Keith) gamely coping with the pressures of surrogate parenthood as guardian of his orphaned nephew Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) and nieces Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Cissy (Anissa Jones). Likewise still on hand is Bill's supremely efficient British manservant Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot), who has grown to like his role as the children's "male nanny"--with reservations, of course. This season's guest stars include the magnificent Ida Lupino as a titled British lady whom Mr. French fondly remembers as his former sweetheart, a London barmaid named Maude; a very young Darlene Carr (remember her as Karl Malden's daughter on Streets of San Francisco?) as a starry-eyed teenager who develops a crush on the hapless Bill; former B-western star Bob Steele as. . .a former B-western star; and in an unusually serious episode, Dana Andrews as a troubled ex-convict who has trouble going straight. Also showing up with increasing frequency is Gregg Fedderson, the son of Family Affair creator Don Fedderson, who after a brief apprenticeship in character parts is seen in the recurring role of Cissy's boyfriend Gregg Bartlett. Perhaps the most memorable episode this season is "What's So Funny About a Broken Leg", hastily written to accommodate the fact that costar Anissa Jones' leg was really in a cast. Certainly the most elaborate installment is the two-part Season Four opener, wherein the entire family seriously considers bidding farewell to New York City and moving bag and baggage to Tahiti! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For those who dismissed Family Affairduring its first two seasons as just another bland, antiseptic sitcom about an unorthodox extended family--in this instance, bachelor engineer Bill Davis (Brian Keith), his nieces Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Cissy (Kathy Garver), and Bill's veddy proper English butler Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot)--the series' third season would seem to have been designed to emphatically dispel this notion. Though still lighthearted in spirt, Season Three served up several unusally serious episodes, especially for a comedy series of the 1960s, involving such topics as "latch-key" children, the self-denying delusions of an African American youngster from a fatherless family, and the effects of a divorce upon an insecure child of privilege. The most powerful episode of all features a pre-Brady Bunch Eve Plumb as a teminally ill child, for whom the Davises throw an elaborate Christmas party in October--knowing all too well that the child will not live until Christmas. Guest stars this season include Kaye Stevens, appropriately cast as a nightclub singer; Broadway favorite Eddie Hodges as an arrognat British rock star; and Leslie Parrish as a curvaceous young woman who sets her cap for--of all people!--the flabbergasted Mr. French. And this being the 1968-69 TV season, viewers are treated to the obligatory "Hippie" episode, with future M*A*S*H regular Jamie Farr as an overaged flower child! Highlighting this season is Family Affair's only three-part story, in which the Davis family vacations in Sunny Spain--where twins Buffy and Jody promptly get themselves lost. Evidently viewers ate up this enjoyable video confection with a spoon, as indicated by the fact that Family Affair closed its third season as America's fifth most-watched prime time series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite some awkward, uncomfortable and downright embarrassing moments during Season One, Season Two of Family Affair finds the Davis household in a relative state of peace and contentent, with bachelor consulting engineer Bill Davis (Brian Keith) having thoroughly acclimated himself to his duties as surrogate parent to his orphaned nephew and nieces. For their part, 7-year-old twins Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Jody (Johnnie Whitaker) and 16-year-old Cissy (Kathy Garver) are more secure than before with the stability of their home life, fairly certain that their beloved Uncle Bill isn't about to bundle them off to another relative on the slightest pretext. Even Bill's imperious butler Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) has learned that being a "male nanny" isn't such a horrendous fate. The season opens with the celebrated "facts of life" episode, in which the twins try to wade through an ocean of contradictory information about the human reproduction process. Later on, little Jody suffers his first true "love pangs", while sister Buffy tends to prefer the company of her doll Mrs. Beasley and older sibling Cissy is off on her own 1960s-teen orbit. Guest stars this season include Ann Sothern and Anna Lee as two of Mr. French's former flames (still waters run VERY deep!); former child stars Jackie Coogan and Marcia Mae Jones as a freewheeling blue-collar couple; Joan Blondell as a flamboyant, Ethel Merman-esque Broadway star; Martha Hyer as a glamorous movie queen who may very well forsake her career to marry Bill (or maybe not!); and an odd Brady Bunch-like exercise, wherein Bill gets serious about an attractive widow (Colleen Gray) with three children of her own. Also, Gregg Fedderson, the son of series producer Don Fedderson and soon to join the cast in the semi-regular role of Cissy's boyfriend Gregg Bartlett, begins showing up this season in other roles. The 1967-68 TV season was a very good one for CBS, with four of the network's series heading the "top ten" list--and Number Four just happened to be Family Affair, despite the formidable opposition of ABC's Peyton Place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season One of Family Affair is by and large a "shakedown cruise" for wealthy consulting engineer Bill Davis (Brian Keith) and his new, ready-made family. After the deaths of his brother and sister-in-law in an accident, Bill is placed in charge of the couple's three children: 6-year-old twins Buffy (Anissa Jones) and Jody (Johnnie Whitaker), and 15-year-old Cissy (Kathy Garver). The responsibilities of instant parenthood understandably puts a crimp in Bill's swinging-bachelor lifestyle, but he loves the children enough to grit his teeth and make the best of things--as does his "veddy British" gentleman's gentleman Mr. Giles French (Sebastian Cabot), who has quite a time overcoming the shock of being, for all intents and purposes, a "nanny." Stories during Season One deal with Bill's trials and tribulations dealing with such necessities as getting the kids enrolled in school and coping with the orphaned youngsters' insecurities arising from spending the previous several months being shunted from one relative to the next. The most poignant moments find Buffy, Jody and Cissy recalling their deceased parents--and it is particularly compelling to witness Buffy's obsessive attachment to her doll Mrs. Beasley, the one remaining viable link between herself and her late mother. On a more upbeat note, despite his newly acquired parental obligations Bill still manages to find time to squire several lovely young ladies, played by such attractive actresses as Mary Murphy, Rita Gam and Kathleen Crowley--not to mention Judith Landon, the then wife of series star Brian Keith. Among the noteworthy guest stars showing up in Season One are Myrna Loy, cast as a once-wealthy dowager reduced to domestic work; Brian Donlevy as a down-to-earth "hardhat" who turns out to be a millionaire architect; Richard Loo as a stuffy Chinese diplomat; Sterling Holloway as a window washer who happens to be a whiz at math; and John Agar as a charismatic rodeo star. This is also the season in which John Williams makes nine guest appearances as Mr. French's brother Nigel French, who signs on as temporary replacement in the Davis household while his brother briefly serves the Royal Family (in real life, Sebastian Cabot had been forced to briefly bow out of the series due to illness). Though nowhere near as popular as its Monday-night competition Peyton Place, Family Affair still managed to carve out a comfortable ratings niche and accumulate a loyal audience during its Freshman season on CBS, ending up as the nation's 14th highest-rated program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide