Anissa Jones
As the charming Buffy on 'Family Affair,' she was America's beloved little sister, a symbol of 1960s television innocence whose life ended in heartbreaking tragedy.
1958–1976 (age 18)·American child actress·Birthday: March 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
Anissa Jones was just six years old when she was cast as Buffy Davis, the adorable, frilly-dressed orphan on the smash sitcom 'Family Affair.' Alongside her TV brother, Johnnie Whitaker's Jody, she became an instant icon of mid-60s family television, delivering lines with a precocious lisp that melted audiences. For five seasons, she represented a perfect, polished version of American childhood. Behind the scenes, however, the transition from child star to teenager proved difficult. After the show's end, she struggled away from the public eye. At age 18, just five years after leaving the set for the last time, Jones was found dead at a friend's house from a catastrophic combination of drugs, a sudden and grim end to a life the public felt they knew.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Anissa was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anissa Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Anissa's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
Key Achievements
- Starred as Buffy Davis on the popular CBS sitcom 'Family Affair' for its entire five-season run.
- Became one of the most recognizable child actors of the late 1960s, winning a Youth in Film Award.
- Appeared in numerous television commercials and guest roles during her time on the series.
Did You Know?
Her signature doll on 'Family Affair' was named Mrs. Beasley.
She won a Pontiac Firebird as a prize on the game show 'The Hollywood Squares.'
She was of Irish and Indian descent.
Her death was ruled an accidental overdose of Quaaludes, cocaine, and barbiturates.
“I just want to be a regular kid, but everyone knows my name.”
