Yeah. And I’ve been to Terre Haute.
In the ***MAD Magazine ***satire “Familiar Affair,” French the Butler was walking out on Uncle Bill because the kids just didn’t seem to be "normal’:
**“MR STENCH”: ** I’ve **had **it, sir. I’m leaving! Good-bye!
"UNCLE BILGE": Stench, you can’t leave me **alone **with those kids. They’ll “cute” me to death!
Turned out that Buffy and Jody were midgets and Cissy was actually a youthful 29-year-old.
OK, a youthful 28-year-old. 
Cut me some slack, it’s been 50 years! :mad:
That MAD parody was great.
I have a cousin who was about 7 when he tried out for the part of Jody. He almost got it, too. If he had, and Mad had run that parody, I would have hit the roof. I also remember the appearance of Sean McClory as the father of a bullying girl who menaced Jody. Had my cousin been cast McClory would be a pariah to me. :mad:
Just think, your cousin might even have gotten to meet Uncle Fester! 
Johnny Whitaker is a Mormon now, so maybe your cousin was spared that. At least he wasn’t almost cast as Buffy. The coroner who did her autopsy said that she had the most drugs he’d ever seen a person voluntarily get into her system while still conscious. That was his explanation when asked why he’d called it the “worst” drug overdose he’d ever seen.
Yes, I heard about what happened to Anissa Jones. 
But how did Jackie Coogan (a one-time child star himself) get into the picture?
Yes, I heard about Anissa Jones; but I don’t know how Jackie Coogan got into the picture. And my cousin did not become a Mormon, but my younger brother’s family did; in fact I posted on the SDMB about my niece getting married in a Mormon temple.
How quickly we forget…
If you’d watched the show, you’d never be able to get this episode out of your mind!
Excuse me–I tried to get that second reply removed but I couldn’t.
And on that cheery note…
I did watch it, but I don’t remember this episode.
I watched it, and I remember this episode. It was the episode where I realized that Uncle Bill was supposed to be really rich. I knew little kids who had nannies who weren’t really rich, so the presence of Mr. French didn’t trigger that for me, the way it probably did for middle America.
The one that really sticks out in my mind was the one where Sissy wants to be a hippie, but only on weekends. I somehow thought hippie was a stage of life-- it came in between “high school” and “parent.” I didn’t think it was something people chose to be, let alone could be part-time.
ETA: or is it Cissy? You know, I don’t think I’ve even seen it written.
Hmm. IMDb says it’s “Cissy.” Also says it’s short for Catherine. And Buffy is “Ava Elizabeth,” (thank goodness), and Jody is “Jonathan.” Also, Mr. French’s first name is “Giles.” It doesn’t say what “Bill” is short for, but I’m not betting money I can’t lose that it’s William, at this point.
… And the “other” Mr French (John Williams) was named Nigel. Nigel was Giles’s older brother.
Named Nigel but called “Niles” to make the names rhyme, I think.
Yes. Williams appeared during Cable’s illness in the first season.
Cabot, excuse me, not Cable.