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I am so excited to be talking with one of My Entertainment Idols, Actress Kathy Garver, who is well known for playing Cissy on the 1960s hit TV show Family Affair, but I grew up watching Kathy as the voice Firestar on Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends.

I first met Kathy in 2017 at the Big Apple Con in NYC, which was a real honor. Not only did we get this great picture together (see below), but I also got a signed photo of Kathy as Firestar (see below, in Kathy's bio)!

With several books already in her repertoire, Kathy just published her latest book, Romancing with the Stars where Kathy takes readers inside real Hollywood love stories. 

In this interview, Kathy answered my call to share:

• Why she chose to become an author on top of her acting career
• What she discovered about her own love story through writing her book, Romancing with the Stars
• How couples can intentionally preserve their memories together (like photo albums & shared rituals)
• How she got started in voice-over work and what drew her to it
• Her preparation process between voice-over and on-screen acting
• The story of how she landed the role on Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends
• What she personally connects with most in the character of Firestar
• Her favorite episodes or storylines from Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends
• Which superpower she’d pick today
• So much more

Connect with Kathy: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Fresh off a 2026 GRAMMY nomination for her narration of Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story, Kathy Garver's new book Romancing With The Stars takes readers inside real Hollywood love stories, revealing the vulnerabilities and humanity beneath the glamour.

Together with co-author Doug Hartline, Kathy shares inspiring love stories that cast a different, positive light on Hollywood relationships that have passed the test of time! Click Here to get Romancing with the Stars! 

Kathy Garver & Adam Rothenberg
Big Apple Con NYC 2017

More on Kathy Garver:

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.

Kathy was born on December 13 in Long Beach, California to Hayes and Rosemary Garver joining her sister, Beverly, and brothers, Hayes, Jr. and Lance.

Her professional acting career began when she was just seven years old appearing in TV westerns, sitcoms, and dramatic programs such as Climax and Matinee Theater. When she was eight years old, legendary Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille recognized Kathy’s distinct talents.

Originally hired for a small part in the epic motion picture, The Ten Commandments, Kathy was noticed by the great director who then had special scenes written into the movie to highlight the talented little girl. The award-winning movie followed her first film, The Night of the Hunter, directed by Academy Award winner, Charles Laughton. During her teenage years, she added radio and stage to her burgeoning film and television career.

Kathy Garver as Cissy on Family Affair
Photo Courtesy of Kathy Garver's Website

Kathy was a freshman majoring in speech at UCLA when she was tested for a television series entitled Family Affair (1966-1971). Kathy, deemed perfect to star as “Cissy” with Brian Keith as “Uncle Bill” and Sebastian Cabot as “Mr. French,” starred for five years in one of the warmest and most enduring series of the 1960’s and 1970’s. With “Buffy” and “Jody,” the show continues to be popular today pleasing old and new audiences world-wide as a true classic.

Filming Family Affair demanded much from Kathy: “Brian Keith only worked for about half the production schedule so the rest of us would have to film scenes from as many as six different episodes in one day,” she recalls. “I actually had to do most of my close-ups with the assistant director, a paunchy middle aged man glued to a cigar, standing behind the camera. I had to use a lot of imagination to perform with him playing my six-year-old sister, “Buffy!”

After Family Affair, Kathy starred in an Israeli musical-stage version of the TV series, learning 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 and The Trojan Women. At the conclusion of this work, she returned to UCLA to earn a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts.

Kathy Garver
Photo Courtesy of Kathy Garver's Website

Today, Kathy is an accomplished and versatile actress, appearing in such films as Sweet November and The Princess Diaries, 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 is a sought-after celebrity on game shows, winning top money for charities such as Street Smarts and other reality programs.

Having majored in speech at UCLA, Kathy taught speech, diction, character development and audio-book narration at Voice One Studios in San Francisco, American Eagle Studios in Santa Rosa, and workshops throughout the country. Kathy is an accomplished host and in demand for her interviewing prowess. She hosted Backstage with Barry and Kathy, StarWatch, Marathons for MeTV, and Family Tree Recipes among other hosting responsibilities.

Kathy has used her wealth of experience and education to entertain and instruct thousands of people with her exciting and successful motivation and interactive speeches and presentations.

Kathy is very much in demand for her numerous vocal characterizations. She is a standout in the very competitive field of voice-overs for cartoons, commercials, toys and audio books. She voiced “Pepper,” an automotive whiz in the Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos TV series and “Firestar,” a mutant super hero in the Spiderman and His Amazing Friends TV series. Kathy produced, narrated and wrote lyrics and original music for eight audio Beatrix Potter tales and eight Mother Goose-based audiotapes for Smarty Pants, Inc.

Adam's Autographed Photo of Kathy Garver as Firestar

Kathy’s Beatrix Potter tapes have sold over two million copies and have won numerous awards. She has recorded books for Brilliance Audio, The Dove Foundation, and Listen and Live Audio. Her voice has been heard in Back Draft, Apollo 13 (which achieved the Academy Award for sound), Ransom, and Jingle all the Way. Kathy has recorded more than 80 audio books garnering four prestigious Audie awards in the process.

Having served on the board of the Young People’s Committee of the Screen Actors Guild and as a volunteer for BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), Kathy has used her experience to help guide new actors in the business.

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. Kathy 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 awards 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 2013, this prestigious organization also bestowed on Kathy the highly-esteemed Golden Halo Lifetime Achievement Award, putting her in league with such Stars as Mickey Rooney and Margaret O’Brien.

David Travis (Kathy's husband of 44 years) & Kathy Garver
Photo Courtesy of Kathy Garver's Website

Kathy has her own family affair. She met her husband of 44 years, business executive David Travis, on a tennis court in Palm Springs—truly a love match. David sadly passed away in 2025. Their son Reid Garver Travis, now 30, continues the tradition of show business by appearing in occasional entertainment roles, but has set his sights on business and turning his creative ideas into entrepreneurial successes.

Kathy is also a celebrated author amongst her long list of accomplishments. Her first book, The Family Affair Cookbook, published by Bear Manor Media is a tasty trip down memory lane with anecdotes and photos, and has received excellent reviews. Her following book, Surviving Cissy: My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood was released in 2015 and sold out in three months. X-Child Stars: Where Are They Now was launched in 2016 and is already planned for a reprint. In 2019 Bear Manor Media released Holiday Recipes for a Family Affair. And in the fall of 2021 TvDinnersTV, was released by Bear Manor Media and The Family Affair Scrapbook was released in September of 2021 by publisher TV Classic Press.

Surviving Cissy Book Cover
Photo Courtesy of Kathy Garver's Website

She hosted StarWatch, a talk show which honors the recipients of the Golden Palm Star for the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs for which Kathy is also so honored. Kathy recently starred with former child star, Christopher Knight (The Brady Bunch), Fred Grandy (The Love Boat), and Caryn Richman (Gidget) in a new play Dinner at Five, written and directed by Lloyd Schwartz (Gilligan’s Island producer/writer and Brady Bunch producer/ writer).

Kathy finished two pilots in 2020,TvDinners for which she is host, and Aunt Cissy, a spinoff of Family Affair in which she is the titular star. In November, Kathy put the finishing touches on the movie Old Man Jackson in which she stars as Mrs. Jackson.

For all her accomplishments, including her new Cissy Collection which includes her signature candles, lotion and room spray, Kathy’s sails will be billowing in some very favorable waters for quite some time.

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