Bill Bixby (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) was one of my favorite actors while I was growing up, mostly for his portrayal of the perfect father, Eddie’s father in “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. Of course I loved Eddie too because he represented everything that was good (and safe, despite losing his Mom). They had the perfect father-son relationship. Apparently they were close off the set and spent a lot of time together as friends, which obviously helped the credibility of their relationship on the set.
The Dead Kennedy's - That's "Eddie" on the far right
Actor Brandon Cruz who played Eddie Corbett is my age, he retired from acting at age 18 in 1980 to focus on a music career to shed his squeaky-clean Eddie image. He was the lead singer for the hard core punk band “The Dead Kennedys” around the same time that I began listening to hard core punk, yet I never knew it was “Eddie” singing those obscenities until just less than a year ago when I decided to google “The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father”. The Dead Kennedy’s were never my favorite, but I did own one LP (Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables mainly for the song, "Holiday In Cambodia"). Cruz grew up surfing and skateboarding, not all that different from me in my youthful days. Personally, I liked him better as “Eddie”. Of course, I liked me better in my pre-teen years too!
Me when I was a nice boy (notice the tie)
Me (1979) trying hard not be a nice boy
