LiveAuctionTalk.com Highlights Fred MacMurray Estate in its Weekly Free Article

July 22, 2006—Fred MacMurray was one of the most beloved TV dads of my generation. On the 1960s show “My Three Sons,” he played widowed father Steve Douglas for 12 years.

MacMurray was the dad many of us wanted and few of us got. He was typecast as a loveable, friendly patriarch—the guy who could tackle and solve any problem in a half hour.

In the world of happily ever after, “My Three Sons” worked.

So much so, MacMurray’s character was ranked number 7 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time."

When MacMurray was first asked to do “My Three Sons,” he agreed to work three months out of the year. His scenes were shot first and everyone else filmed around him.

The show ran for 380 episodes. It was second only to “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” for the longest running family sitcom.

By today’s standards, “My Three Sons” seems naïve and more than a little bit dated, but it doesn’t seem to matter all that much. The storylines were so darn wholesome, it’s hard not to get sucked in by them even now.

MacMurray died in 1991 but the TV reruns will probably go on forever. It’s hard to forget this bumbling, well-meaning, and caring character.

On April 9-10, Bonhams & Butterfields in Los Angeles, Calif., offered property from the Estate of Fred MacMurray and his late wife, actress June Haver at auction.

Memorabilia from “My Three Sons” like MacMurray’s trademark tan fishing hat, a pipe seen often on the show and his light-green cardigan sweater were offered for sale.

There was also a wide variety of furniture and decorative arts from the couple’s Brentwood home.

By Hollywood standards the furniture, jewelry and art from MacMurray’s estate was modest. It points to a family who lived without a lot of fuss.

Here are some current values for memorabilia and a clock from MacMurray’s estate.

Fred MacMurray

Costume; blue plaid flannel shirt with F.M.M. label at neck; worn on “My Three Sons;” $227.

Stained glass window; featuring title image of the T.V. show “My Three Sons” in red, yellow, blue, green and brown; from MacMurray’s personal collection; 29 1/2 inches by 27 1/2 inches; $418.

Costumes; 4 items; green sweater; tan fishing hat; two British made wood bowl pipes; used in “My Three Sons;” $1,016.

Plaques; Hollywood Walk of Fame; 2; one for MacMurray and other for wife Haver; for achievement in film; 1960; 10 inches by 14 inches; $1,195.

Tall case clock; Federal cherry wood; face signed L. Watson Cincinnati; 7 feet 10 inches high; $2,390.