Most fondly remembered for her starring role as “Cissy” in the long-running CBS international television hit, Family Affair, Kathy Garver has also garnered critical acclaim in movies, stage, radio, voice-over animation, and audio book narration.
In addition to Family Affair, Ms. Garver has appeared in such iconic television series as The Patty Duke Show, The Rifleman, Big Valley, Adam 12, Nash Bridges, Matlock and more. Two of her earliest roles, as a child, were in the movies The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchum and Shelly Winters. During her teenage years, she added radio and stage to her burgeoning film and television career.
Ms. Garver is also an accomplished voice actress, having narrated award-winning audio books and performed character voices for animated series, including that of superhero “Firestar” on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and “Pepper” on Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos.
Kathy has starred in numerous stage presentations around the world. In an Israeli musical-stage version of Family Affair she learned Hebrew phonetically for her role. Later, she continued dramatic studies at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she portrayed “Juliet” in Shakespeare’s 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, Voice of the Turtle, Star Spangled Girl, and The Trojan Women. At the conclusion of this work, she returned to UCLA where she had earned a Bachelors Degree in Communications to garner a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts.
Today, Kathy is an accomplished and versatile actress, appearing in such films as Sweet November, The Princess Diaries and Mom Murder and Me along with made-for-television movies such as F.B.I. Murders and Hercules Saves Christmas with guest-star roles on many TV series. She has starred in a slew of stage productions including The Glass Menagerie, Vanities, Love Letters, Absolutely Dead and the musicals Summer Magic and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as “Aunt Polly.”
Ms. Garver has used her wealth of experience and education to entertain and instruct thousands of people with her exciting and successful motivational and interactive speeches and presentations. She is also involved in such charities as the Child HELP Foundation (which aids abused children), Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ms. Garver is President of The Family Affair Foundation which provides reading companions to the elderly and at-risk youth.
Winning accolades such as Best Actress from Family Television Awards, Kathy continues her award winning presence by securing recognition from the entertainment world. Recent distinctions include two more Audie Awards, one for her narration of The World’s Best Short Stories, the other for her direction of Amy Tan in The Opposite of Fate, read by the author. She was also recognized by the Young Artists Foundation with the Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award and the Emerald Award from the Southern California Motion Picture Council. In 2015, this prestigious organization also bestowed on Ms. Garver the highly-esteemed Golden Halo Lifetime Achievement Award, putting her in league with such stars as Mickey Rooney and Margaret O’Brien.
Ms. Garver recently added author to her long list of accomplishments. Her first book, The Family Affair Cookbook, a tasty trip down memory lane with anecdotes and photos received excellent reviews. Her next award-winning book and audio book which gained critical acclaim are both titled Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood. Her third book X Child Stars: Where are They Now was released again to critical acclaim Holiday recipes for a Family Affair was released in 2019 to everyone’s tasty delight!
Kathy now has her own family affair.
More information about Kathy is available at www.KathyGarver.com, Wikipedia, IMDB, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
