John Orson Whitaker, Jr. (born December 13, 1959)[1] is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on Family Affair from 1966 to 1971. He originated the role of Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital in 1965, played the lead in Hallmark's 1969 The Littlest Angel,[2] and portrayed the title character in the 1973 musical version of Tom Sawyer.
Johnny Whitaker | |
|---|---|
 Johnny Whitaker, c. 1972 | |
| Born | John Orson Whitaker, Jr. December 13, 1959 Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1965–77, 1997–present |
| Spouse |
Symbria Wright
(m. 1984; div. 1988) |
| Website | johnnywhitaker |
Early life
editWhitaker was born in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Van Nuys, the fifth of eight children of Thelma and John O. Whitaker, Sr.[1]
Acting career
edit
Whitaker began his professional acting career at the age of three by appearing in a television commercial for a local used-car dealer.[3] He went on to appear in advertisements for Mattel Toymakers, for such toys as Larry the Lion and Crackers the Parrot in their Animal Yackers series. In 1965, Whitaker originated the character of the young Scotty Baldwin in the soap opera General Hospital. In 1966, he acted in a major feature film, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, which also starred Brian Keith. After Keith was cast as the lead in the television series Family Affair, he recommended Whitaker to play the part of his on-screen nephew.[4]
Family Affair aired from 1966 to 1971. It co-starred Whitaker playing the role of an orphaned boy named Jody Davis, living in a high-rise apartment in New York City with his twin sister Buffy (Anissa Jones) and older sister Cissy (Kathy Garver), his bachelor uncle Bill Davis (Brian Keith), and Bill's gentleman's gentleman, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot). Jody and Buffy were originally supposed to be different ages, but the show's producers thought Whitaker and Jones looked so cute together that they changed them to be twins.[4]
While still appearing regularly on Family Affair, in 1968 Whitaker was a featured guest star (along with Julie Harris) in "A Dream to Dream," a poignant episode of Bonanza, written by series co-star Michael Landon.
During breaks in production of Family Affair, Whitaker starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production, The Littlest Angel, alongside Fred Gwynne and Tony Randall, and an episode of the long-running Western, The Virginian; both aired in 1969.
Also, in 1969, Whitaker was a guest star playing Jack in an episode of Bewitched titled "Samantha and the Beanstalk". In 1970, Whitaker played the part of Willie in a Green Acres episode titled "The Confrontation". Later, he played Dinky Watson in a Green Acres episode titled "The Beeping Rock". Later on in 1970, he played the main character of Justin in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' film A Day For Justin.[5]
After Family Affair, he appeared in a two-part episode of Gunsmoke in 1971. Whitaker went on to star in the 1973 Sid and Marty Krofft Saturday morning children's series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters alongside Billy Barty and Scott Kolden, and appeared in feature films, including Disney's Snowball Express (1972), The Biscuit Eater (1972), Napoleon and Samantha (1972), and The Magic Pony (1977). His most prominent feature film role during this period was the lead in the musical version of Tom Sawyer (1973).
In an interview with Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, Whitaker said he had worked as a computer consultant at CBS. He later joined a Los Angeles talent agency, Whitaker Entertainment, owned by his sister. Whitaker also was Dana Plato's manager.[6]
In 1999, Whitaker received the Young Artist Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Youth in Film Awards.[7]
In 2012, Whitaker co-produced and co-hosted a short-lived radio talk show, The Dr. Zod and Johnny Show.[1] The following year, he appeared onstage in Judson Theatre Company's production of To Kill a Mockingbird in the cameo role of Judge Taylor.[8]
In 2016, Whitaker gave a guest-star cameo appearance in Amazon's reboot of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. In the premiere episode, he played the part of heckling boat owner Zach, against David Arquette's salty character Captain Barnabas. The episode had a similar cameo appearance by original show creators Sid and Marty Krofft.[9]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | General Hospital | Scotty Baldwin | Originated the role, unknown number of episodes |
| 1966 | The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | Jerry Maxwell | |
| 1966–71 | Family Affair | Jonathan "Jody" Patterson-Davis | Main role, 138 episodes |
| 1968 | Bonanza | Timmy Carter | One episode, "A Dream to Dream" |
| Green Acres | Dinky Watson | One episode, "Season five, episode 23" | |
| 1969 | Bewitched | Jack | One episode, "Sam and the Beanstalk" |
| The Virginian | Hoot Callihan | One episode, "The Runaway" | |
| Lancer | Andy Jack Sickles | One episode, "Child of Rock and Sunlight" | |
| The Littlest Angel | Michael [10] | ||
| 1970 | A Day for Justin | Justin | The main character in The Church of Jesus Christ LDS short film. |
| 1972 | Gunsmoke | Willie Hubbard | Two episodes, also briefly appeared as a different character in a 1967 episode |
| 1972 | Napoleon and Samantha | Napoleon | |
| Snowball Express | Richard Baxter | ||
| The Mystery in Dracula's Castle | Alfie Booth | TV movie | |
| The Biscuit Eater | Lonnie McNeil | ||
| 1973 | Tom Sawyer | Tom Sawyer | |
| 1973 | Adam-12 | Eddie Roberts | One episode, "Northwest Division" |
| 1973-1974 | Sigmund and the Sea Monsters | Johnny Stuart | Main role; 29 episodes |
| 2002 | Family Affair | Kevin | One episode, ""Holiday Fever" |
| 2003 | Cram (Celebrity Edition) | Himself | One episode |
| 2013 | A Talking Cat!?! | Phil | |
| 2016 | A Husband for Christmas | Santa | |
| 2016-2017 | Sigmund and the Sea Monsters | Zach | Five episodes |
Personal life
editWhitaker struggled as an adult with an addiction to drugs and alcohol until his family held an intervention and threatened to cut off contact with him unless he got help. He agreed and joined a twelve-step program; he later became a certified drug counselor and founder of a nonprofit organization for Spanish-speaking addicts. In 2011, he said he had been clean and sober for 13 years.[11][12][13]
Whitaker grew up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and attended the same congregation as Marie Osmond. He and she became friends, and their friendship continued in adult life. After leaving the LDS church for several years, Whitaker rejoined the church.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Here's Johnny". JohnnyWhitaker.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Littlest Angel (TV)". Paley Center for Media. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ The Dating Game episode that aired on April 19, 1973, on ABC
- ^ a b Clancy, Shaun (August 2020). "From Family Affair, Firestar, and Beyond: An Interview with Kathy Garver". RetroFan (10). United States: TwoMorrows Publishing: 22–23.
- ^ "A Day for Justin (1969)". YouTube. 18 October 2015.
- ^ Fisher, Luchina; Marikar, Sheila (May 13, 2010). "Growing Pains: The Trials and Tribulations of 1980s TV Child Stars". ABC News. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "20th Annual Youth in Film Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "To Kill a Mockingbird".
- ^ Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.
- ^ "Biographies: Latter-day Saint and/Or Utah Film Personalities: W".
- ^ Modesti, Kevin (February 2, 2011). "Former 'Family Affair' child actor Johnny Whitaker now has the role of a lifetime". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ Mullen, Rodger (September 29, 2014). "Child star Johnny Whitaker, now all grown up, takes Sandhills stage". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ "Last 2 Surviving Co-Stars Of '60s Sitcom Put An End To Years Of 'Bad Blood'". HuffPost. August 29, 2016.
- ^ Nelson, Rett (April 17, 2023). "Former child star with ties to Idaho talks about acting career, 10-year battle with addiction". KSL.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
Further reading
edit- Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 324–333. ISBN 1476613702.
- Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 329.
- Dye, David (1988). Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., p. 239.
External links
edit
- Johnny Whitaker at IMDb
- Johnny Whitaker at the TCM Movie Database
- Johnny Whitaker discography at Discogs
- Johnny Whitaker discography at Discogs as 'Johnnie Whitacker'
- Powers, Tim (Feb 15, 2016). "Johnny Whitaker: Recovery and Justice" (pod). Interview. Deep Dish Radio. Acast.
