Father Knows Best: Watch the Andersons Reunite 25 Years Ago

One of the most enduring beloved family sitcoms of all time is Father Knows Best. The Anderson family began on radio in 1949 and then moved to television in 1954. Though the TV series lasted just six years on television, it could’ve gone a lot longer had star and producer Robert Young wanted to continue. Father Knows Best was so popular at the time that it continued to run in primetime in reruns for three years after the show had ceased production. Now, over 50 years later, the series is still warmly remembered.

The cast reunited for two TV movies in 1977 — Father Knows Best Reunion and Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas. It was hoped that they would lead to the Andersons returning in a regular weekly series but it didn’t happen. There’s now been word that there will be a big screen version of Father Knows Best but its unlikely that the three surviving castmembers will be involved in any significant way, if at all.

Back in May 1984, all five of the actors — Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin — reunited for an interview on Good Morning America. Though it was 25 years after the show had ended, the family connection between the performers is still very apparent.