Sebastian Cabot

Sebastian Cabot was a British actor best known as the distinguished butler, Mr. French, in the sixties family television show "Family Affair." Although Cabot demonstrated upper-crust manners in the role, he was born into a working class London family. At the age of 14, Cabot's father's business failed and he left school, never to return. For many years, he garnered employment in numerous menial jobs, including work as a garage helper, chef, and later as a professional wrestler. It was as a chauffeur to actor Frank Pettingell that Cabot first had the idea to act, and by using the vocabulary he learned from Pettingell he was able to bluff his way into a few bit parts.

Cabot compiled a list of screen credits in small roles until he grew his trademark beard and won the role as the patriarch Capulet in 1954s "Romeo & Juliet." Roles in American films and TV followed, including the musical "Kismet" in 1955, and George Pal's "The Time Machine" in 1960. Cabot began his role on "Family Affair" in 1966, originally hesitant to take such an undemanding role but lured by the large salary. Cabot rich voice can be heard as narrator in the Disney's "Winnie the Pooh" cartoons, and after "Family Affair" ended its run, Cabot's most memorable role was on another family classic, as Kris Kringle in a 1973 TV remake of "Miracle on 34th Street." Cabot died from the complications of a stroke in 1977.