Actor Bill Bixby was fond of saying, "My shows are the kind children can watch with their parents without embarrassment. And parents can watch with their children without embarrassment."

A sixth-generation Californian, Wilfred Bailey Bixby was born in San Francisco on January 22, 1934. An only child, he graduated from Lowell High School where he participated in debate clubs. He went on to attend San Francisco City College and then The University of California at Berkeley, majoring in speech and philosophy with intent on a career in law. But after three summers of organizing shows at a resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he decided to try to develop a career in acting. So after a two-year stint in the Marine Air Corps, and giving himself five years to see if his plan would succeed, he moved to Los Angeles.

He got a job at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, first as a desk clerk and then as a lifeguard and pool manager. It was then that a Detroit advertising executive asked if he was interested in working as a model in auto ads and Bill took the offer. Relocating to Detroit for a year, Bill continued to work in automobile commercials and industrial films, while also

ing for theatre roles. He joined the Detroit Civic Theatre Company and made his professional stage debut in the musical The Boy Friend.

Returning to Los Angeles with enough earnings to allow him to concentrate solely on theatre classes, he enrolled in the Estelle Harmon School for Acting where eventually an agent saw him in a production and signed him. This led to his first television role in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, followed by appearances in The Alcoa Playhouse, Doctor Kildare, The Eleventh Hour and Ben Casey. His dramatic roles grew to include a part in an hour Twilight Zone ("The 30-Fathom Grave") and a guest starring appearance in the debut episode of 1963’s The Lieutenant. But it was his work on The Danny Thomas Show that led to a guest-shot on The Andy Griffith Show and then to a semi-regular role on The Joey Bishop Show.

During this time Bill also appeared on the Los Angeles stage in the National Company of the Fantasticks and also in the comedy play Under the Yum-Yum Tree. He landed two small movie roles as well, one being in the film versions of Under the Yum-Yum Tree, Irma La Douce and in Lonely Are the Brave.

In the fall of 1962 Bill came to interview for a co-starring role in the pilot for the new series called My Favorite Martian. He shook hands with the producer, saying, "Hi, I’m Bill Bixby.." to which producer Jack Chertok replied, "-No, you’re not. You’re Tim O’Hara."

Being immediately cast in the role of Tim O’Hara, the affable and kind-hearted reporter who shelters the Martian anthropologist marooned on Earth, Bill Bixby quickly became a familiar actor to TV audiences in 1963, The character of Tim O’Hara gave Bill a full opportunity to display his talents in comedic timing and physical comedy. My Favorite Martian starred Tony-Award winning actor Ray Walston as the Martian and the two performers created wonderful chemistry in their roles. The popular series lasted three years on CBS.

During the first hiatus from the series in 1964 ,Bill went to New York City to star in the off-Broadway production of Under the Yum Yum Tree. In 1965 he was featured in a dramatic role in the movie western Ride Beyond Vengeance.

After production ended on My Favorite Martian, Bill had a supporting role in the movie Doctor, You’ve Got To Be Kidding and he began taking on guest starring roles on many TV

terview for a co-starring role in the pilot for the new series called My Favorite Martian. He shook hands with the producer, saying, "Hi, I’m Bill Bixby.." to which producer Jack Chertok replied, "-No, you’re not. You’re Tim O’Hara."

Being immediately cast in the role of Tim O’Hara, the affable and kind-hearted reporter who shelters the Martian anthropologist marooned on Earth, Bill Bixby quickly became a familiar actor to TV audiences in 1963, The character of Tim O’Hara gave Bill a full opportunity to display his talents in comedic timing and physical comedy. My Favorite Martian starred Tony-Award winning actor Ray Walston as the Martian and the two performers created wonderful chemistry in their roles. The popular series lasted three years on CBS.

During the first hiatus from the series in 1964 ,Bill went to New York City to star in the off-Broadway production of Under the Yum Yum Tree. In 1965 he was featured in a dramatic role in the movie western Ride Beyond Vengeance.

After production ended on My Favorite Martian, Bill had a supporting role in the movie Doctor, You’ve Got To Be Kidding and he began taking on guest starring roles on many TV programs including Combat, That Girl, Ironside, and It Takes a Thief.

He appeared on Broadway in February 1967 in The Paisley Convertible. Then during the course of that year, Bill landed supporting roles in two films with Elvis Presley: Clambake and Speedway.

Along with most TV actors of that time, Bill would put in regular appearances on TV game shows, most notably Password, You Don’t Say, PDQ, Hollywood Squares, and visited talk shows of the era such as The Mike Douglas Show, and Dinah’s Place.

In 1969 MGM developed a TV series based on the film The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Appearing in the lead role as widower Tom Corbett, Bill Bixby worked with a cast that included 6 year old Brandon Cruz as Eddie Corbett, Miyoshi Umeki as their housekeeper, Mrs. Livingstone and James Komack as photographer Norman Tinker. The series earned high praise for the sensitive ways in which it dealt with the father/son relationship of Tom and Eddie. Bill developed a rapport with youngster Brandon Cruz that easily translated onto film. In 1971 Bill Bixby received an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He also made his debut as a director with the 1970 episode "Gifts Are for Giving" and subsequently directed 4 additional episodes in the third season of "Courtship" as well as an episode of Room 222.

Concurrent with doing Eddie’s Father, Bill made the ABC TV-movie Congratulations. It’s a Boy! which was, at that time, one of the first in a trend of network films being produced just for television. Bill’s other TV movies included The Couple Takes a Wife and Shirts/Skins

During the hiatus from Eddie’s Father, Bill continued to work in the Kenley "straw-hat" theatre circuit of Ohio, appearing in There’s a Girl in My Soup, and again in The Paisley Convertible. In 1972 he toured for six months in Come Blow Your Horn.

The Courtship of Eddie’s Father was cancelled in the spring of 1972. Around this time, Public Television had created a series called Hollywood Television Theatre which revived a series of plays for TV audiences. Bill Bixby appeared in Big Fish, Little Fish and then had a lead role in the 1973 production of Steambath. During 1972 he continued doing guest starring role in series television including Night Gallery, Medical Center and The Streets of San Francisco, in addition to expanding his career as a