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By now
the Cowsill family is firmly implanted in the hearts of people everywhere. They came on the scene supported by MGM’s quarter of a million promotion campaign and there is no denying the fact that in the beginning, skepticism resigned supreme.
But of course it didn’t last. How could it? One look, one listen and one is totally captured with no hop of escape. There it is before you – the essence of what every man, woman and child in the world hold s dear – whether or not they openly admit it – a real, honest-to-goodness family who dig each other. The Cowsills love, hate, laugh and cry passionately. They are very, very real.
The nitty-gritty of the Cowsill story goes back when – when Bud Cowsill, a young rebellious (although I know he would scoff at the term) man net and fell in love with a young, sweet Barbara Russell. She was 14, he was 17. Bud was a Navy man, so he and Barb were often separated. But obviously, their love was the real stuff and four years later they were married. That was in ’46. Two years later, January 9, 1948, to be exact, William Joseph Cowsill, Jr. mad his debut and established the Cowsill family as a threesome.
It didn’t stay that way long, however, and along with Robert Paul Cowsill on August 26, 1949, lagging behind brother Richard James by three minutes! The twins were joined by Paul Mitchell Cowsill on November 11, 1951. Three years later, Barry Steven was born on September 14, 1954, and then John Patrick on March 2, 1956. Then there was eight.
It would have been find like that. Bud and Barbara were happy, their children were happy and they had certainly done their part in contributing to the population explosion. But one little thing was missing – a little girl. A little girl to dress up, fuss over and show to the neighbors. So, as if in answer to a prayer, little Susan Claire Cowsill came along on May 20, 1959, and there it ends. They baby bit, I mean … not the story.
The long separations Bud and Barbara were forced to accept as a part of their life served only to strengthen the bond between them, and make them more determined to establish a solid, happy home for their growing brood. In the early days, when the children were babies, Barbara would stay home with them while Bud went wherever the Navy had a mind to send him. They made their home in Rhode Island, where both Bud and Barbara were born, for the first few years. When Bill was one, they moved to Virginia, where Bud had been based and that’s where Bob was born – and Dick and Paul.
By the time Barry and John were born, they were back in Rhode Island and then when Susan came along, they were living in Canton, Ohio. So you see, they traveled a good bit! Needless to say, the kids were switching schools almost every five minutes. It just so happen that the Cowsill youngsters can make friends at the drop of a hat, so changing schools at that alarming rate posted no great problems for them. Of course sometimes it was hard for them making friends one day and leaving practically the next day. But – it was a way of life and as long as they were all together, it was alright.
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