Elinor Donahue is a retired
American actress, best known today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson on the 1950s American sitcom Father Knows Best.
Donahue in 1960
Cast photo of the Anderson family from the television program, Father Knows Best: (front) Lauren Chapin; (back, from left) Billy Gray, Jane Wyatt, Robert Young and Elinor Donahue in 1954.
Elinor Donahue and Lauren Chapin on Father Knows Best in 1959.
George Nader (left), Elinor Donahue and Andy Griffith on The Andy Griffith Show in 1961.
Father Knows Best is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by Ed James, Father Knows Best follows the lives of the Andersons, a middle-class family living in the town of Springfield. The state in which Springfield is located is never specified, but it is generally accepted to be located in the Midwestern United States.
Robert Young and Jane Wyatt as Jim and Margaret Anderson
The Andersons – top from left: Elinor Donahue, Robert Young, Jane Wyatt – bottom: Lauren Chapin, Billy Gray
Jim with daughter Kathy, 1957
Cast photo from Father Knows Best Reunion. Standing, from left: Elinor Donahue, Robert Young and Jane Wyatt. Seated: Lauren Chapin and Billy Gray.