Morning Man Classic: Don Grady!

Don Grady played Robbie Douglas on My Three Sons for 12 years and probably every young girl and gay boy who watched the show had a huge crush on him.

The late actor was born 80 years ago today.

My Three Sons starred Fred McMurray as a single dad raising three boys with the help of a male housekeeper/nanny (first played by William Frawley of I Love Lucy fame then by William Demerest). The show ran from 1960 until 1972.

Grady had already gained fame before the series as one of the original Mousketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club show which also featured Annette Funicello.

In 1995, I covered a rare reunion of the group at Disneyland (all but an ailing Funicello were present) and I was thrilled to meet Grady, one of my first crushes, who was just ageless – looking much like he did as Robbie Douglas!

Sadly, Grady died from cancer in 2012 at the age of 68.

After My Three Sons ended in 1972, Grady pursued a career in music and onstage. His showbiz composing credits include music for the Blake Edwards feature comedy Switch and the theme song for The Phil Donahue Show. Grady was also behind EFX, a multimedia stage show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that starred Michael Crawford, David Cassidy, Tommy Tune and Rick Springfield.

As a stage performer, Grady starred in a national tour in Pippin and had roles in productions of Godspell and Damn Yankees.