If you turn on TCM on a lazy Sunday afternoon, there is a decent chance you’ll run into a blended family comedy that feels suspiciously like a precursor to The Brady Bunch. It’s 1968. Cinema is changing. While Night of the Living Dead and 2001: A Space Odyssey were busy dismantling everything we knew about movies, a 44-year-old Doris Day was making her final big-screen appearance. The cast of With Six You Get Eggroll didn’t just provide a lighthearted romp about widower Abby McClure and widower Jake Iverson; they essentially closed the book on the Golden Age of the studio star system.
It’s a weirdly charming movie. Honestly, it’s better than it has any right to be. People often lump it in with Yours, Mine and Ours, which came out the same year, but the vibe here is different. It’s crunchier. It’s got that late-sixties "we’re trying to be hip but we’re still wearing cardigans" energy.
The Heavy Hitters: Doris Day and Brian Keith
Doris Day was, for lack of a better term, a titan. But by 1968, she was tired. She didn't even really want to make this movie. Her husband and manager, Marty Melcher, had signed her up for it—along with a TV series—without her knowing the full extent of their financial ruin. She plays Abby McClure, a widow with three sons who runs a lumberyard. It’s classic Day: independent, slightly frazzled, but impeccably coiffed.
Then you’ve got Brian Keith. Most people know him as the quintessential TV dad from Family Affair, which was actually filming during the same era. As Jake Iverson, he brings that gruff, lovable-bear energy that balanced Doris Day’s high-frequency performance perfectly. He’s a widower with one daughter. When they get married on a whim, the "yours and mine" math starts to get messy.
The chemistry works because they don't feel like "movie stars" trying to be parents. They feel like parents who are desperately trying to stay sane while their kids actively sabotage their new marriage. It’s relatable, even decades later.
The Kids: A Who’s Who of Future Stars and Familiar Faces
This is where the cast of With Six You Get Eggroll gets actually fascinating for trivia buffs. You aren't just looking at random child actors; you're looking at the start of several massive careers.
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Take Barbara Hershey. She’s credited as Barbara Seagull for a period later in her career, but here, she’s just starting out as Stacey Iverson, Jake's teenage daughter. She’s rebellious, moody, and skeptical of her new stepmom. Watching her here, it’s hard to imagine she’d go on to do Hannah and Her Sisters or Black Swan, but the talent is clearly there. She anchors the "kid" side of the drama with a level of sincerity that keeps the movie from drifting into pure slapstick.
On the McClure side, you have the boys.
The eldest, Flip, was played by Richard Steele.
Then there’s Mitch, played by Jimmy Bracken.
And the youngest, Jason, played by Kevin Burchett.
But wait—look closer at the hippies and the background characters. One of the most famous "blink and you'll miss him" cameos in the cast of With Six You Get Eggroll is a young Mark Hamill. Yes, Luke Skywalker himself. He’s uncredited, playing a character named "Messenger" or simply appearing in a party scene depending on which film historian you ask. It was one of his very first professional gigs.
The Supporting Players: Comedy Royalty
You can’t talk about this movie without mentioning the comedy veterans who fill out the margins. This was the era of "hey, it’s that guy!" casting.
- Pat Carroll: Before she was the voice of Ursula in The Little Mermaid, she was Maxine Scott, Abby’s cynical and hilarious friend. She delivers lines with a dry wit that cuts right through the saccharine moments of the plot.
- Alice Ghostley: She plays the maid, Molly. If you grew up watching Bewitched, you know her as Esmeralda. She had this nervous, fluttery energy that was comedy gold in the 60s.
- George Carlin: This is the one that blows people's minds. A very young, very "clean-cut" George Carlin plays Herbie Fleck, a carhop at a drive-in. It was his film debut. He doesn’t have the beard. He isn't talking about the seven words you can't say on television. He’s just a funny guy in a uniform, yet you can still see that sharp, observational timing that would eventually make him a legend.
- Jamie Farr: Before MASH* made him a household name as Klinger, Farr was part of the "hippie" crowd in this film.
Behind the Scenes: Why the Title?
The title itself is a bit of a period piece. It comes from a scene where the massive, combined family goes out for Chinese food. In the 60s, "Family Style" menus often had a rule: if you had a party of six, you got a free side—in this case, eggrolls. It was meant to symbolize the "bonus" or the chaos of a large, blended family.
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It’s also worth noting that the film was produced by Cinema Center Films, which was a theatrical film production arm of CBS. This is why the movie has a very "televisual" feel. It’s bright, it’s shot mostly in high-key lighting, and it moves at the pace of a sitcom. This wasn't an accident. The producers knew exactly who their audience was: the families who were currently making The Lucy Show and The Andy Griffith Show the biggest hits on the planet.
The Legacy of the 1968 Ensemble
When you look at the cast of With Six You Get Eggroll, you’re looking at a bridge between two worlds. You have the Old Hollywood glamour of Doris Day, who represented the 1950s ideal of womanhood, clashing with the burgeoning counterculture represented by the "hippie" characters and actors like Hershey and Carlin.
The movie was a hit, surprisingly. It out-earned many of the more "artistic" films of the year. People wanted comfort. They wanted to see a big house, a messy family, and a happy ending.
Why It Still Matters for Film Fans
If you're a student of 60s pop culture, this movie is a goldmine. It captures a very specific moment in time—the transition from the studio system to the independent era.
- It was Doris Day's swan song. She walked away from movies after this and never looked back, transitioning to her TV show and then to her animal rights activism.
- It served as a launchpad for George Carlin and Barbara Hershey.
- It perfected the "blended family" trope that would dominate 70s television.
How to Experience the Film Today
If you’re looking to track down the work of the cast of With Six You Get Eggroll, don’t just watch it for the plot. Watch it for the performances in the background.
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Pro Tip for Viewers: Keep your eyes peeled during the drive-in scenes. The interaction between Brian Keith and George Carlin is a masterclass in two different styles of comedy—Keith’s traditional "straight man" timing versus Carlin’s fast-paced, verbal dexterity.
Check the Credits: If you’re watching a high-definition restoration, look at the set design. The McClure house is a perfect time capsule of 1968 interior design—lots of wood paneling, avocado greens, and that specific "California suburban" architecture that defined the era.
Look for the Cameos: Beyond Mark Hamill, look for William Christopher (who would later play Father Mulcahy on MASH* alongside Jamie Farr). The "CBS family" was very tight-knit back then, and they shared actors across projects constantly.
Actionable Takeaways for Cinephiles
- Compare and Contrast: Watch this back-to-back with Yours, Mine and Ours (the Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda version). It’s a fascinating look at how two different studios handled almost the exact same premise in the same year.
- Track the Careers: Follow Barbara Hershey's filmography from this point forward. It is one of the most diverse and interesting career trajectories in Hollywood.
- Doris Day's Technique: Notice how Day uses her voice. Even in a simple comedy, her training as a big band singer allows her to control the rhythm of a scene better than almost anyone else in the cast.
The cast of With Six You Get Eggroll represents more than just a family comedy. It’s a snapshot of a Hollywood in flux, a farewell to a legendary star, and the first steps of several future icons. It reminds us that even "disposable" studio comedies often hold the seeds of future greatness.
Next time you’re browsing a digital library or flipping through cable channels, give it a look. It’s a breezy 95 minutes that feels like a warm hug from a decade that was, in reality, much more turbulent than the movie lets on.