Elinor Donahue is well-known for her role in the renowned American television show “Father Knows Best”. Even after the show ended, she continued to work. She proceeded to perform well in acting and other areas.
She was born in Washington and is currently 86 years old. She recently featured as a guest on “The Young and the Restless”.
Elinor played Betty Anderson, the oldest daughter nicknamed ‘Princess’, on the television show “Father Knows Best.” The show follows a normal family living a nice life in the Midwest.
It premiered on the radio in 1949 and ran every Thursday until 1954. Then it aired on CBS. Only Robert Young reprised his part from the radio, as dad Jim Anderson.
Elinor was a major element of the show for six years. At its peak, it was one of the top 10 most popular American television shows. During this period, she appeared on other series such as “Crossroads” and “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.”
Her schedule was busy, and she once claimed she didn’t have time to watch the show herself.
“When we got home at night and had dinner, it was time to learn our lines and then go to bed to do it all over again. So, I never got to watch the show,” she told Closer magazine.
Elinor was born in Tacoma in 1937. She became the primary breadwinner for her family when she began acting as a teenager. She acted in films such as “Love Is Better Than Ever,” starring Elizabeth Taylor, and “Girls Town.”
Because Elinor was still young when she began performing in California, she was required to have an adult on set at all times. Her father was not present, and her mother worked full-time, so Doris gave up her job to be there for her.
After “Father Knows Best” ended, Elinor appeared on other shows such as “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Dr. Kildare,” “Star Trek,” and “Mork & Mindy.”
The 86-year-old actress has appeared in more than 70 television shows and films, including “Winter Wonderland” and “Pretty Woman.”
Elinor married for the first time at age 19. She stated that despite being an adult, she felt like a young teenager. She thought being married and having a baby would make her feel more mature.
“I was just 19 but felt like I was still 13,” she told me. “I hadn’t had a chance to mature yet. I didn’t have many pals in high school. I assumed that if I married and had a child, I would be considered an adult.
So when a man asked her to marry him, she accepted. This individual happened to be Richard Smith, a sound man on “Father Knows Best.”
“We went to see a movie together, and he whispered in my ear, ‘I love you, and I’d like to marry you.'” I just chuckled and replied, ‘Okay.'”
Her first son, Brian, was with him. They divorced six years later, in 1961.
Then, in 1962, she married Harry Ackerman, a television producer. They have three sons together. He was 20 years older than her, but they were happily married for nearly 30 years before he died in 1991.
The next year, she married her present spouse, Lou Genevrino, who works as a contractor. She has been retired from performing for the past ten years.
She has had a lengthy and very successful career despite never having considered acting.
Please share with any ‘Father Knows Best’ fans you know.
