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Cowsilly time on TV. Mother Barbara Cowsill grinned when I nailed her in a corner to ask what she thought about the upcoming ABC-TV fall series, "The Partridge Family," which is an obvious laff-riot take-off on the colorful Cowsill singing clan.
"Aren't you bugged?" I queried, "Will you sue?"
"Oh no, not if it's a put-on, not a put-down," she said. "I'm flattered that Shirley Jones will play me, the mom of the pop song group. One of the Partridge daughters is an 11-year-old named Susie after my Susan, who's also 11. That's copying us pretty clearly!"
Producers of the Partridge show never consulted Mr. or Mrs. Cowsill, but they don't mind. She says the writers could embellish their scripts with some crazy, far-out episodes. She might write a few true-to-life scripts herself if they ask her.
"We traveled for three consecutive months last summer, usually in a different city each night, performing at state fairs, amusement parks, concert halls and college campuses. What a strain! By the end of the first month we were all tense. No mother should be that close to her kids all the time. It demands too much of her cool, especially when the kids are fighting.
"After three months there was pure hate in the air. Only our love and sense of humor saved us. This summer we won't go on the road longer than a couple of weeks at a time.
"If I had my druthers, I'd druther stay home and do my singing in the kitchen while Bud traveled with the kids on the road."
Bud Cowsill, ex-Navy chief and house painter, is the proud pappy of the happy family.
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