THE REAL STORY
Does anyone know the real story that the movie YOURS, MINE AND OURS was based on? Was it a book? I would sure like to read the REAL STORY.
THANKS!
DE
The Beardsleys sold the rights to their "story" to Lucille Ball 4 years before Helen wrote the book "Who Gets the Drumstick?". EBay sells the book. The hard cover (which is more expensive) has photos of the real family and there's the paperback version which was released at the same time as the movie. The movie was in pre-production for 6 years before they filmed it in the summer of 1967 and it came out in April 1968.
If you are interested in the real Beardsleys there is a website about them at: http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~webbrl/YoursMineOurs/
The real story is quite different than the movie. Most of the movie was all made up. There are elements of the movie that are true like when Phillip says to his mother "Nicky told me that the good die young. You can hit me and you can hit me but I'll never be a good boy again!" Well that thing happened but not with Phillip. It was with Nicky who was always in the middle of fights with his siblings. He told Helen that "people say daddy died because he was good. I don't want to die so I'm not about to be good."
That is just one example. The kids' ages were all wrong. Helen's oldest daughter was the same age as Frank's 5th child. They also flipped around the birth order of several kids. Janette North is actually older than Nick. Greg Beardsley is older than Rosemary. Mary Beardsley is actually older than Susan and Veronica. Also, the real Helen was only 31 when she married Frank who turned 46 years old only 2 days after the wedding.
The family did not live in the San Francisco area, although that is where Helen moved to after Dick's death. Frank lived in the Monterey area. The family didn't move into a huge old house. Helen and her kids moved into Frank's 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house in Carmel. An addition was already started before they wed. They added a 41 foot long family room and added 3 very large bedrooms and 2 baths.
Frank and Helen really did adopt each other's kids and Mike really did join the Marines instead of the Navy.
The way Frank and Helen met was way different than the movie. Helen wanted her kids in parochial school when she moved to the Bay area from Washington State. There was not much space but the mother superior had such pitty on Helen that she took her kids in and told Helen about her brother Frank who had recently been widowed. Acutally Frances had died only 2 months before. Helen was so grateful to have her kids in parochial school that she sent a prayer that had helped her after Dick's death to mother superior and asked her to pass it on to Frank. A bit over one month later Dick's friend died and Helen wanted to send the prayer to his widow but she had lost the prayer, so Helen wrote Frank asking for a copy. They then started writing to each other. So Frank and Helen knew about each other's kids long before their first date. On the eve of Mother's day they had their first date. Frank came to the San Francisco area and they really did spend their first date in San Francisco. They went out for dinner and dancing. They did not go to a bar like in the movie and Helen did not loose her slip or false eyelashes. That was all written in for comical effect.
One very important thing here that the movie is NOT like real life. The Beardsley kids really did LOVE Helen from the very first meeting! They never spiked her drink. As a matter of fact Greg said recently in an interview that his dad would have 'killed' them had they done that. The Beardsley kids quickly considered Helen their mother and loved her as such until her death.
The real Beardsleys and Norths are a wonderful bunch of people. I'm lucky enough to email on a regular basis with 3 of them and I've emailed shortly with a fourth. Anyone would be happy to have them as sibling! They are a great family!
Thanks dfortier5, for the link. I found it an interesting read as I have wondered for quite a few years (let's just say a loooooong, loooooooooooong time) about the real story. Got any more?
People! I ain't People! I am a shimmering star in the cinema firmament. It says so right here.
Your welcome greenmother.
Sure I know much, much more. But I don't know what types of things you want to know. Please tell me and if I can answer without invading the Beardsleys' privacy, I will answer.
Well, mostly is was about the real family and what became of them. My fave all time true "family" story is "Cheaper by the Dozen" and I have always love stories about real families (large, that is). I always wanted a large family, but that's not really feasible in this day and age, but still a fave none the less. Any other links you have I would love to check out and no I do not want to invade their privacy, as that had alway been a major factor for me. I would always want to respect and keep their wishes intact.
Thanks again
p.s. I come from a long line of lots kids, so I do know about that, lol.
"Freedom is a word I rarely use without thinking" Donovan
Frank and Helen had 2 kids together, a boy and a girl, both born within less than 3 years after their wedding.
When Frank left the Navy he opened a nut and gift shop then he opened 3 donut shops where all the kids 11 years old and older who lived at home worked at. They prepared donuts assembly style. Helen worked at the donut shop then when the stores closed she began working in a hospital and ended up working as a cardiovascular technologist.
Helen died in April 2000. Frank is still living. He is 90 years old. He has since married a third time. She is a lovely woman who is loved by the Beardsley 'kids'. They live in California. There are 2 Beardsley 'kids' living in the State of Washington. One each live in Alaska, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kansas. The remaining 14 live in California.
All were married except for one.
Of the 19 that did marry, 2 did not have any children, 7 were divorced, one was widowed, six were re-married. Two of the divorced spouses died after the divorce.
The 17 that had children gave Frank and Helen 46 grandchildren (28 boys & 18 girls), the oldest grandkid being 36 and the youngest is less than a year old. There is 1 family of 5 kids, 2 families of 4 kids, 5 families of 3 kids, and 9 families of 2 kids.
The line of work the Beardsleys/North family are in, or have been in is varied. They include Senior VP of Marketing & Sales, Financial Advisor, Executive Assistant, Systems Analyst, Accountant, Aquatic Ecologist, Caterer, Baker, Professional Cook, Nurse, Hospital Worker, Phlebotomist, Paramedic, Laboratory Manager, Teacher, Instructional Aid, Professional Artist and Navy SEAL Procurement Officer. Some own their own businesses as Real Estate Developer, Vendor of Christian Homeschooling books, House Contractor, Bed & Breakfast Owner and Window Cleaner.
Anything else you'd like to know?
Thank you so much for the info. I have loved the original move from the first time I saw it as a young girl. I also read the book Mrs. Beardsley wrote when I was young as well. I was sorry to hear that Mrs. Beardsley died, but happy that Mr. Beardsley was lucky enough to find love a 3rd time and that all the kids were doing well. It made my day to find this site and read about a family that has held a part of my heart for decades now.
shareYour welcome
To find out more information on the Beardsleys, go to the ONLY real Beardsley family website availble:
http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~webbrl/YoursMineOurs/
Thank you for that link - great website! I especially enjoyed the family photos and the photo of their house.
God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
dfortier, I've been reading at this board, and it's fascinating to me. I loved the movie Yours, Mine, and Ours way back when it was first made - didn't care for the remake. I thought it was based on a real family and I'm delighted to learn about them.
You said one of the 'children' is a vendor of Christian Homeschooling books. I'm amazed to hear that. Can you tell me the name of their company? You don't need to name the 'child'.
Thank you.
Audree,
As far as I know she is no longer in business.
"I'd rather believe what I believe and be wrong than believe what you believe and be wrong."
Thanks for the answer. I have friends who are home educators and would have been interested.
God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Was the 36 year old grandchild Helen's or Frank's biological grandchild? How about the 2 great grandchildren that were around at Helen's death. Were they Helen's or Frank's biological great grandchildren and how old were they when she passed? Any idea when helen's mother was born and the dates of birth of her siblings? Please reply. Thanks
shareGreenmother,
I am from a large family as well. In addition to the books you mentioned, you may also want to read a lesser known work by Bellamy Partridge called "Big Family" No doubt they brainstormed for hours before they came up with that name!
Steve
I adore the original book Cheaper by the Dozen. I've read it like 8 times at least I'd say. I always end up crying by the end but everyone should read it it is so moving and so much fun!
shareI love the original book Cheaper by the Dozen, too - I also love the original movie, though I don't care for the remake.
Have you read the sequel, Belles on Their Toes? It's a good read, too. I loved finding out what happened, how the family managed, after Dad was gone. Their mom was quite a lady!
God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Thanks for all the info, dfortier5. It's awesome that you know so much about the real story. I didn't even know the movie was based on a true story until I read this thread!
shareYou're welcome! It was my pleasure.
shareWhat happened to Frank's first wife? I couldn't find that info.
shareOn Sunday November 20, 1960, Frances went into a diabetic coma. The following day she passed away. Her death came suddenly to the family.
As for Dick North's death, on June 7, 1960 he was getting ready to go on a bombing practice in an A-3B aircraft. There were 4 men on the aircraft. Dick and the pilot died in the crash and the two others survived. The accident happened during the take-off. Dick died instantly.
"I'd rather believe what I believe and be wrong than believe what you believe and be wrong."
Did any one have the experience that I had?
I'd read the book with interest. But I hated the movie when I had to go and see it with my mom -- I was in my teens. I knew how much it was fictionalized for the sake of comedy and I just couldn't see why. The story in the book was plenty interesting.
I also seem to remember a "teenage issue" of the girl's boyfriend, involving how far to go on a date and what parties to go to -- a non-issue with me since I'd never had a boyfriend, or a date, and wasn't expectin one in the near future -- and some lecture (a lecture AAARG)about life when they are rushing mom to the hospital to have her baby.
Or am I getting that mixed up with some other family comedy?
I figured that as long as they were fictionalizing so heavily for the sake of a ha-ha, why not throw in -- say -- a girl who just wants privacy so she can stick her nose in a book and write in her diary? Or how about a tomboy who DOESN"T suddenly transform into the prettiest girl at the dance?
I felt exactly the same way, agailstone. I had read the book "Who Gets the Drumstick?" and loved it. I didn't see the movie until it played on TV some years later, but I've always despised its "sitcomization" of the North-Beardsley marriage. Yuck, yuck, ptooey! That lecture scene you describe is simply the most egregious of many horrible creations for the movie. Just thinking of it again makes me ::shudder:: !
shareI knew the movie years before I read the book but I agree that the movie would have been a lot better had they stuck to the book. That is why I was SO dissappointed when Hollywood had a chance to make it right with the 2005 version and really made a worse mess of it!
As a movie I really like the 1968 version, but it is too unlike the book. However I was glad that the 1968 movie did at least keep some things like the true story.
1) They kept the real kids' names although the order and ages of the kids were changed.
2) They kept the thing about Phillip saying the good die young. Actually in real life it was Nick who said that about his father.
3) Germaine and Joan really did live away from the family but they lived with friends of Frank's and not his brother.
4) Helen really was a nurse.
5) Frank and Helen really did go to supper on their first date but they ended up in a place where they could dance, not a crowded bar.
6) Frank really did mention Germaine and Joan not living with him on their first date and Helen really did feel sorry for him.
7)Helen and Frank seem to get married in a relatively short amount of time in the movie. In real life they married less than 4 months after their first date.
8) The wedding invitation in the movie was the same as the real one.
9) In the morning it is true that each kid had a chore to do.
10) It is true the Beardsleys bought more than what they needed to save money down the line because everything would eventually fit somebody.
11) Frank really did stay up all night to put together toys at Christmas, just like the movie.
12) Mike really joined the Marines instead of the Navy.
13) Frank and Helen really adopted each other's kids.
"I'd rather believe what I believe and be wrong than believe what you believe and be wrong."
Interesting post
shareDid Helen really not tell her husband she was pregnant for a long time? Was he at sea when he found out? I'm guessing this part was all made up.
Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!