# Well, now who'll take care of Katie and the triplets \[RIP Don Grady\] (edited title) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568 "2012-06-28T12:25:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/1 "2012-06-28T12:25:52Z")
Actor Don Grady, periennial oldest brother from **My Three Sons** , has [died](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-don-grady-dies-at-68-robbie-on-my-three-sons-20120627,0,6588842.story). Somehow, this saddens me more than most of the other show business deaths that are reported. I never missed an episode of My Three Sons when it was in it’s original release. Robbie, thanks for the great memories. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/2 "2012-06-28T13:38:45Z")
Actually, Mike was the oldest son (played by Tim Considine). Although after he left the show and Ernie was adopted, that did make Robbie the oldest of the “three sons.” This saddens me too. I’m too young to have watched the show in its original run, but as a kid in the 80s, I liked watching the reruns on Nick at Nite. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/3 "2012-06-28T14:04:00Z")
Donald Trump is just two years younger so this has raised my hopes tremendously. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/4 "2012-06-28T14:33:16Z")
> [@LaurenIpsum](#): > > Actually, Mike was the oldest son (played by Tim Considine). Although after he left the show and Ernie was adopted, that did make Robbie the oldest of the “three sons.” Well, yeah, but I think it was an earlier case of the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/5 "2012-06-28T14:55:37Z")
Met him once, in the early 70s, he’d been out of the spotlight a few years and was doing his music, he seemed like a very nice guy, and I actually hav eone of his albums, which was pretty good. Trivia: his last name was originally “Agrati”. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/6 "2012-06-28T15:02:23Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Well, yeah, but I think it was an earlier case of the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome. IIRC Chuck never appeared after the pilot of Happy Days, but Mike was a Son for like five years. If you mean he was oddly never mentioned again by his own family, I think that’s true. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/7 "2012-06-28T16:12:32Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > IIRC Chuck never appeared after the pilot of Happy Days, but Mike was a Son for like five years. If you mean he was oddly never mentioned again by his own family, I think that’s true. Gavan O’Herlihy (CC#1) appeared in 7 episodes and was credited in 2 more. Randolph Roberts (CC#2) appeared in 2 episodes. That’s a decent amount of Chuck. Little M3S factoid: Robbie’s wife Katie was played by Tina Cole (a King Cousin!), who was Beverly Garland’s step-daughter-in-law. And Beverly Garland played Robbie’s new step-mother in the horrible later episodes. Thus making Katie Barbara Douglas’s step-daughter-in-law. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/8 "2012-06-28T19:06:59Z")
Now we’re losing the kids from _My Three Sons_? :smack: :dubious: How could Robbie be 68? He was the teen heartthrob on My Three Sons. His character married his gf Katie on that show. Tina Cole played Katie. I saw _My Three Sons_ every day after school in reruns in the 70’s. R.I.P Don Grady > **['My Three Sons' big brother Don Grady dies at 68](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/my-three-sons-big-brother-don-grady-dies-at-68)** > > Don Grady, who was one of television's most beloved big brothers as Robbie Douglas on the long-running 1960s hit "My Three Sons," has died. He was 68. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/9 "2012-06-28T19:16:13Z")
CBS got some of the _My Three Sons_ cast together in 2009. Don Grady and Tina Cole attended the reunion then. I always wondered what ever happened to the triplets the characters Robbie & Katie had. Very unusual back then for tv characters to have triplets. [http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500178\_162-5550091.html](http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500178_162-5550091.html) > [@](#): > > After a 13-year run, to this day, “My Three Sons” is the second longest-running live-action family sitcom in history. > > The stars of the history-making show reunited Friday on “The Early Show”, including brothers Stan Livingston (Chip Douglas) and Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas), Tina Cole (Katie Miller Douglas), and Don Grady (Robbie Douglas). ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/10 "2012-06-28T19:27:52Z")
Considering when the triplets were born it’s likely that the triplets are taking care of Katie. I watched My Three Sons in between the original airing and Nick at Nite without much regard for when the series was actually made. After reading various headlines about “Don Grady…68” I’m still working out how I feel to know one of my earliest crushes was on a guy older than my parents. And more from the trivia corner: Don’s sister Lani played the oldest sister (maybe she wasn’t the oldest, but the one who wanted to be a doctor) on Eight is Enough. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/11 "2012-06-28T19:30:37Z")
Merged duplicate threads, and renamed merged thread to make it clearer what the subject is. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/12 "2012-06-28T19:37:20Z")
What the heck? I searched for My Three Sons, Robbie, and Don Grady before starting my thread. All that work for nothing. I wasted ten minutes on my thread and now its gone. I don’t mind getting beat to the punch. But at least people could use titles so we know the thread is out there. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/13 "2012-06-28T20:00:12Z")
More trivia: Lani O’Grady, who played Mary Bradford (the oldest daughter) on _Eight in Enough_ was Don Grady’s sister. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/14 "2012-06-28T22:34:05Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > What the heck? I searched for My Three Sons, Robbie, and Don Grady before starting my thread. All that work for nothing. I wasted ten minutes on my thread and now its gone. > > I don’t mind getting beat to the punch. But at least people could use titles so we know the thread is out there. I agree, the original thread title was not descriptive. I did not, however, see that thread title or realize that it was not descriptive prior to your post going up, when someone reported a duplicate thread. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/15 "2012-06-28T22:37:47Z")
I’m actually kinda bummed – in The Most Arbitrary Death Pool List Ever (mine: all people with a Dec. 31st birthday), I have Grady’s costar, Tim Considine. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/16 "2012-06-29T00:44:46Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Little M3S factoid: Robbie’s wife Katie was played by Tina Cole (a King Cousin!), who was Beverly Garland’s step-daughter-in-law. A little off-topic, but how many people who know who Don Grady was (he was also one of the original Mouseketeers!) also happen to remember what a King Cousin was? The King Sisters were a singing act who hosted a variety show on ABC. There was a whole passel of King relatives who showed up on the show, including their singing children, who were billed as the King Cousins. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/17 "2012-06-29T02:20:28Z")
I’m surprised more people aren’t familiar with Robbie Douglas. Sons had a 13 year run. Then it was in syndication at least another 20 years. It was on every weekday on either TBS or WGN in the 70’s. I watched it regularly when I got home from school. We even watched it in college in the 80’s. Sons was really several shows depending on how old the kids were. The kids were pretty young the first season. By the later years the wives of Steve and Robbie were a big source of stories. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-now-wholl-take-care-of-katie-and-the-triplets-rip-don-grady-edited-title/626568/18 "2012-06-29T03:12:23Z")
[QUOTE=gwendee] And more from the trivia corner: Don’s sister Lani played the oldest sister (maybe she wasn’t the oldest, but the one who wanted to be a doctor) on Eight is Enough. [/QUOTE] And also died young (albeit her death was due to drug abuse). [QUOTE=ftg] Little M3S factoid: Robbie’s wife Katie was played by Tina Cole (a King Cousin!), who was Beverly Garland’s step-daughter-in-law. And Beverly Garland played Robbie’s new step-mother in the horrible later episodes. Thus making Katie Barbara Douglas’s step-daughter-in-law. [/QUOTE] Another factoid: Beverly Garland’s character’s daughter on the series was played by Dawn Lyn, real-life sister of “where are they now” teen idol Leif Garrett.