Anissa Jones was born Mary Anissa Jones on March 11, 1958 in Lafayette, Indiana to Mary P. Tweel and John P. Jones. Jones had one sibling, a brother by the name of Paul. Shortly after Jones was born, the family headed out west to Playa Del Rey, California. Jones’s television debut was in a cereal commercial that she landed at the age of 6.
In 1966, producers of a new television series called “Family Affair” were looking to cast for the character of “Ava Elizabeth ‘Buffy’ Patterson-Davis”. The series revolved around three siblings, with two being twins, who move in with their uncle and his butler after their parents pass away from a car accident. Apparently two cast members, Brian Keith and Johnny Whitaker were in the room when Jones auditioned and thought the part was made for her. Jones was hired as one of the twins. The series was an instant success and launched Jones into stardom. A doll that Jones carried on the show, “Mrs. Beasley” was eventually marketed by Mattel. It became the most popular doll in the United States. Though Jones’s schedule on “Family Affair” was extremely exhausting she did find time to appear in “The Trouble with Girls” starring Elvis Presley in 1969. Jones also made a guest appearance in the television series, “To Rome with Love” playing her character from “Family Affair”. In 1971, after five seasons, “Family Affair” came to an end. Jones was 13 years old. After it ended, Jones auditioned for the role of “Regan Teresa MacNeil” in “The Exorcist” but lost to actress, Linda Blair. At this time Jones decided she wanted to have a normal life and no longer had an interest in acting so she left the business behind.
Jones returned back to Playa Del Rey where she attended Orville Wright Middle School and Westchester High School. Jones’s family life was turbulent in previous years when her parents divorced in 1965. Custody battles ensued thereafter and it was finally awarded in in 1973 to her father, John P. Jones. Heart disease took his life and her younger sibling, Paul moved in with their mother. Jones decided to move in with a friend and began missing classes much to the dismay of her mother and she was reported as a runaway. Jones then served time in juvenile hall. Upon release, her life continued on a downward spiral. Jones began stealing and began involved with a man by the name of Allan Kovan who was a heavy drug user. In March of 1976, Jones received a large sum of money in the amount of $70,000 from a trust fund. Earnings stemmed from the series “Family Affair”. Jones later moved in with Kovan and her brother. On August 28, 1976, Jones was staying with a friend in Oceanside, California. She passed away in her sleep from deadly cocktail of various drugs including PCP and cocaine. The coroner stated that he had never witnessed a drug overdose of this magnitude. Anissa Jones was only 18 years old. Her body was later cremated and her ashes were strewn about in the Pacific Ocean.
