John Orson Whitaker, Jr. (born December 13, 1959)[1] is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on Family Affair from 1966 to 1971. He originated the role of Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital in 1965, played the lead in Hallmark's 1969 The Littlest Angel,[2] and portrayed the title character in the 1973 musical version of Tom Sawyer.
Early life
Whitaker was born in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Van Nuys, the fifth of eight children of Thelma and John O. Whitaker, Sr.[1]
Whitaker began his professional acting career at the age of three by appearing in a television commercial for a local used-car dealer.[3] He went on to appear in advertisements for Mattel Toymakers, for such toys as Larry the Lion and Crackers the Parrot in their Animal Yackers series. In 1965, Whitaker originated the character of the young Scotty Baldwin in the soap opera General Hospital. In 1966, he acted in a major feature film, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, which also starred Brian Keith. After Keith was cast as the lead in the television series Family Affair, he recommended Whitaker to play the part of his on-screen nephew.[4]
Family Affair aired from 1966 to 1971. It co-starred Whitaker playing the role of an orphaned boy named Jody Davis, living in a high-rise apartment in New York City with his twin sister Buffy (Anissa Jones) and older sister Cissy (Kathy Garver), his bachelor uncle Bill Davis (Brian Keith), and Bill's gentleman's gentleman, Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot). Jody and Buffy were originally supposed to be different ages, but the show's producers thought Whitaker and Jones looked so cute together that they changed them to be twins.[4]
While still appearing regularly on Family Affair, in 1968 Whitaker was a featured guest star (along with Julie Harris) in "A Dream to Dream," a poignant episode of Bonanza, written by series co-star Michael Landon.
During breaks in production of Family Affair, Whitaker starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production, The Littlest Angel, alongside Fred Gwynne and Tony Randall, and an episode of the long-running Western, The Virginian; both aired in 1969.
Also, in 1969, Whitaker was a guest star playing Jack in an episode of Bewitched titled "Samantha and the Beanstalk". In 1970, Whitaker played the part of Willie in a Green Acres episode titled "The Confrontation". Later, he played Dinky Watson in a Green Acres episode titled "The Beeping Rock". Later on in 1970, he played the main character of Justin in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' film A Day For Justin.[5]
In an interview with Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, Whitaker said he had worked as a computer consultant at CBS. He later joined a Los Angeles talent agency, Whitaker Entertainment, owned by his sister. Whitaker also was Dana Plato's manager.[6]
In 2012, Whitaker co-produced and co-hosted a short-lived radio talk show, The Dr. Zod and Johnny Show.[1] The following year, he appeared onstage in Judson Theatre Company's production of To Kill a Mockingbird in the cameo role of Judge Taylor.[8]
In 2016, Whitaker gave a guest-star cameo appearance in Amazon's reboot of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. In the premiere episode, he played the part of heckling boat owner Zach, against David Arquette's salty character Captain Barnabas. The episode had a similar cameo appearance by original show creators Sid and Marty Krofft.[9]
Whitaker struggled as an adult with an addiction to drugs and alcohol until his family held an intervention and threatened to cut off contact with him unless he got help. He agreed and joined a twelve-step program; he later became a certified drug counselor and founder of a nonprofit organization for Spanish-speaking addicts. In 2011, he said he had been clean and sober for 13 years.[11][12][13]
Whitaker grew up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and attended the same congregation as Marie Osmond. He and she became friends, and their friendship continued in adult life. After leaving the LDS church for several years, Whitaker rejoined the church.[14]
^ abClancy, Shaun (August 2020). "From Family Affair, Firestar, and Beyond: An Interview with Kathy Garver". RetroFan (10). United States: TwoMorrows Publishing: 22–23.
Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 324–333. ISBN1476613702.
Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 329.
Dye, David (1988). Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., p. 239.
