Lauren Chapin: Beloved Father Knows Best child actress dies aged 80 after cancer battle as son pays tribute
Child actress Lauren Chapin has died aged 80 after a battle with cancer.
Lauren Chapin, who played Kathy “Kitten” Anderson on the iconic 1950s TV series Father Knows Best, died earlier this week. Her son has revealed her death.
Chapin’s son Matthew wrote on Facebook that his mum died on Tuesday (February 24). He said: “After a long hard fought battle over the past 5 years, the time has come. My mother Lauren Chapin passed away from her battle with cancer,” he wrote. “I’m at a loss for words right now. Please keep my sister and family in your thoughts and prayers as we go through this incredibly tough time.”
Chapin had a difficult life after her childhood fame. She has previously said she was molested as a child and also went on to experience drug abuse, several miscarriages and divorce. She had also spent time in jail.
The child star was hired for Father Knows Best in 1954, when she was nine years old. She was noticed by the show bosses after appearing in a1952 episode of CBS’ Lux Video Theatre and also in the Judy Garland-starring A Star Is Born (1954). The series ran until 1960, and Chapin starred in every season.
Chapin was born in Los Angeles on May 23 1945. Her older brothers, Billy Chapin and Michael Chapin, were child actors as well. Billy appeared in The Night of the Hunter while Michael starred in It’s a Wonderful Life.
The star had previously been open about her abusive childhood. She said her mum was an alcoholic and that her father had molested her when she was very young. By age 11, she said she had a ‘manic depressive personality’ and attempted to take her own life.
Five months after Father Knows Best ended, Chapin appeared on an installment of General Electric Theatre, but then did not act for another 16 years.
She got married at 16 but divorced at 18, then her second marriage was annulled after she discovered her husband was still married. Another man she was involved with gave her heroin, which she previously said she did for seven years until she was 25. Throughout her life, she lost eight children to miscarriages.
Later in 1970, however, she gained sobriety and then went on to work as a minister and as a talent manager to help other actors. On her website, it was noted that actress Jennifer Love Hewitt “got her start in showbiz” through Chapin.
The actress published a memoir in 1989 called Father Does Know Best. “If I could be on television again, I would pray for a series like Father Knows Best. One that has no violence, no sex and shows nothing but purity and love,” she told People magazine in 1981, showing her love for the show.
Chapin is survived by her daughter Summer and her son Matthew.