“Father Knows Best” was originally a radio show that became a hit sitcom in 1954. In the show, children Betty, Bud, and Kathy know they can always turn to their father, Jim Anderson, for advice, because father knows best. While you may be familiar with the show, which ran from 1954-1960, you may be surprised to learn some of the following trivia facts:

1. The show began on radio in 1949 and was adapted for TV in 1954. After a 6-year run, CBS and ABC  ran reruns through 1967.
2. Series star Lauren Chapin said she found out the show was canceled for good when she reported to work and the guard would not let her into the studio.
3. The show took place in the town of Springfield, and although the state was never specified, the town of Altoona (an actual city in Pennsylvania) was often mentioned.
4. Father ‘Jim Anderson’ was ranked #6 in TV Guide’s list of the “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time” (20 June 2004 issue).
5. In the original radio show, Jim Anderson was portrayed as a clumsy, but in the TV show his character was much wiser.
6. Ellen Drew played the mother (Margaret Anderson) in the pilot but was replaced in the series by Jane Wyatt.
7. Mother ‘Margaret Anderson’ was played in the radio version of “Father Knows Best” by June Whitley Taylor and later by Jean Vander Pyl.
8. When Father Knows Best first aired on radio, it was sponsored by Maxwell House.
9. Robert Young was the only member of the radio cast to make the transition to the TV sitcom adaptation.
10. A re-run of Father Knows Best was interrupted when New Yorker’s first viewed the news on WABC-TV that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.

For more great Father Knows Best trivia facts, visit IMDb by clicking here. Do you know some Father Knows Best trivia you’d like to share? Let us know by commenting below or visiting our forum!

Watch “Father Knows Best”!