“I’m so excited about coming to Geneseo!” exclaimed Tina Cole, former longtime television actress and co-star of the 1960s and ‘70s celebrated CBS sitcom My Three Sons. “A friend of mine, Tim Pletkovich, who lives in Geneseo, invited me to come last April when we were both speaking at the Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival in the Ozarks. After I spoke with Tim, I looked up Geneseo on my computer and just knew I had to come! What a beautiful community you have! It would make for a most idyllic setting for a new Hallmark movie,” the affable octogenarian, who looks decades younger than her actual age, stated last week from her home in Sacramento, California. “I can’t wait to come!”
Cole, who portrayed Katie Douglas, wife of Robbie Douglas, for six seasons on My Three Sons, was no stranger to the screen when she took on the role in 1967. Four years earlier on the television detective series Hawaiian Eye, she played cast member Sunny Day.
In addition to the aforementioned television series, Cole also made guest appearances on such popular weekly programs as To Rome with Love starring John Forsythe, The Rookies with Peggy Lipton, and Adam-12 with co-stars Martin Milner and Kent McCord. She was also featured in the 1976 ABC miniseries Eleanor and Frank as well as in its sequel, which was released a year later.
“Network television was very different in those earlier days,” opined Cole, in pointing out the limited number of programs that were available to the country many years ago. “And if you missed an episode on a particular week, you didn’t have the luxury of revisiting it on one of your devices at your convenience. You had to watch each episode with the rest of the country. It really was a very different period.”
In the past several decades, this community-minded contributor has devoted a great portion of her time and energy to the Sacramento Children’s Theatre, where she has served as its director. Cole has also worked as a coach in the Roseville and Elk Grove, California, John Robert Powers acting schools. And not too surprisingly, she has also availed herself to various onstage performances.
“I’ll always be involved in some capacity in the industry,” she stated with alacrity. “There’s so much to do, and there is so much life to live! We all benefit by helping others and being actively involved.”
Cole’s first appearance in Geneseo on Tuesday, September 15, will take place from 8:30 to 10:00 at the resplendent Central Schoolhouse Inn, where patrons will enjoy breakfast with her in an intimate setting as they are regaled with stories from television’s yesteryear. For tickets, contact Tim Pletkovich at 309-253-5377. Cole will later speak at the Geneseo Library at 2:00. She will have copies of her autobiography, My Three Lives, available for purchase at both events. The subject matter for these programs will vary, so please plan to attend both sessions.