- Born
- Birth nameKathleen Marie Garver
- Height5′ 1″ (1.55 m)
- Kathy Garver was born in Long Beach, California Her break-through performance came as one of the young slaves in The Ten Commandments
She is most well known for starring as the teenage niece of Uncle Bill Davis, Cissy Davis on Family Affair (1966). The show was nominated for Emmys in various categories during its five year run.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Benjamin Rowe <bhrowe21@aol.com> - Kathy was in born in Long Beach, California to Hayes and Rosemary Garver, joining her sister, Beverly, and brothers, Hayes, Jr. and Lance. During Ms. Garver's teenage years, Kathy added radio and stage to her burgeoning film and television career.
Ms. Garver was a freshman majoring in speech at UCLA when she was tested for a television series entitled Family Affair (1966). Kathy, deemed "perfect" to star as "Cissy", with Brian Keith as "Uncle Bill" and Sebastian Cabot as "Mr. French", performed for five years in one of the warmest and most enduring series of the 1960s and 70s. The show continues to be popular today through the release of Family Affair's all five seasons on DVD, pleasing old and new audiences world wide - a true classic.
After "Family Affair", Kathy starred in an Israeli musical stage version of the TV series, having to learn Hebrew, phonetically, for her role. Later, she continued her dramatic studies at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she portrayed "Juliet" in "Romeo and Juliet". Dramatic and comedic productions in the states followed, including starring roles in "My Fair Lady", "Sunday in New York", "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and the "Trojan Women" and her latest "Summer Magic." Ms. Garver returned to UCLA to earn a Master's Degree in Theater Arts.
Today, Kathy Garver is an accomplished and versatile actress, appearing in such films as Mom, Murder & Me (2014) and The Princess Diaries (2001), MOWs such as In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders (1988) and Stay the Night (1992) with guest star roles on many TV shows. She is a sought-after celebrity on game shows, winning top money for charities as she did on Street Smarts (2000) and other reality programs.
Kathy is also very much in demand for her numerous vocal characterizations. She's a stand-out in the very competitive field of voices-overs for cartoons, commercials, toys and audio books. She voiced "Pepper", an automotive whiz, in the Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1986) series and "Firestar", a mutant super hero, in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) TV series. Ms. Garver produced, narrated and wrote lyrics and original music for eight audio "Beatrix Potter" tales and eight "Mother Goose"-based audiotapes for Smarty Pants, Inc. Kathy's "Beatrix Potter" tapes have sold over two million copies and have won numerous awards. Ms Garver has also won four Audie Awards, one for her narration of The Worlds Shortest Stories, the other in 2004 for her direction of Amy Tan in "The Opposite of Fate", read by the author. Kathy has recorded books for "Brilliance Audio", "Dove", "Listen and Live" Her voice has been heard in Apollo 13 (1995) (which was awarded the Academy Award for sound), Ransom (1996), Backdraft (1991) and Jingle All the Way (1996), all directed by Ron Howard.
Kathy has electrified the talk show circuit entertaining audiences with tales of her life-long career in show business. She's chatted with Bill O'Reilly. Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, Mary Hart, Maury Povich and many more. Some of the lively discussion centers on the modern woman juggling marriage, career, and family, all handled with laughter and aplomb. Kathy now has her own family affair. She met her husband of 33 years, business executive David Travis, on a tennis court in Palm Springs - truly a love match. Their son, Reid Garver Travis, now 23, follows his creative bent as a young entrepreneur She recently was awarded the Life TIme Achievement Award by The Motion Picture Council. But, for all her accomplishments and future plans, it seems Kathy's sails will be billowing in some very favorable waters for quite some time.- IMDb Mini Biography By: rtravisg@aol.com
- SpouseDavid Scott Travis(May 3, 1981 - present) (1 child)
- Children
- ParentsHayes Gilbert Garver Sr.Rosemary Garver
- RelativesBeverly Garver(Sibling)Hayes Gilbert Garver Jr.(Sibling)Lance Garver(Sibling)
- Gender / Gender identityFemale
- Race / EthnicityWhite
- President of the Family Affair foundation which provides reading companions to the elderly and at risk youth.
- The Audie Award (for excellence in audio recording) was given to Kathy as a narrator (World's Greatest Short Stories) and director (Amy Tan in The Opposite of Fate). She has recorded more than 30 audio books.
- Mother, with David Travis, of son Reid Garver Travis.
- Awarded the Golden Halo award for excellence in the entertainment field.
- Best known for her starring role as Catherine "Cissy" Davis on Family Affair (1966).
- I don't blame myself. I didn't know how bad the problem was.
- [on her favorite Family Affair (1966) memories] "Family Affair" was then the most popular show in that country [Israel}, and a live musical presentation of the show was mounted. It was cast with impersonators, except for me. I performed my role phonetically in Hebrew--people were stunned when I stepped out onto the stage!
- [on her on- and off-screen friendship with Anissa Jones, who played Buffy] We were like sisters as well as professionals. We did sleepovers, and made presents for the cast and crew. I went to her 18th birthday party, and her mom asked me if I could spend more time with her--she thought she had fallen in with a bad crowd. I had to leave the next day to do "My Fair Lady", but I promised I would, as soon as I got back. But Anissa OD'd and died before that could happen.
- The hardest thing is being accepted as someone who has depth. Fortunately my parents stressed education and normalcy all through my childhood and during my "Family Affair" days. In learning to think and work independently, I firmly believe in hoisting ones own sails.
- [on the death/suicide of series' star Brian Keith in 1997] It was so sad, but it was in line with who he was in real life. He was this very manly man, very in charge of his life, always doing things his way. When his daughter died and he was diagnosed with lung cancer and emphysema, and given only a few weeks to live, there was no way he was going to go out any way other than his way. I truly believe that.
- Family Affair (1966) - $200 per episode.
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