To the millions watching the 1950s TV show "Father Knows Best," actress Jane Wyatt was the wholesome stay-at-home mom who, the series' title notwithstanding, could be counted on every week to solve crises on the homefront.
"Each script always solved a little problem that was universal," she told The Associated Press in 1989. "It appealed to everyone. I think the world is hankering for a family. People may want to be free, but they still want a nuclear family."
Wyatt, who won three Emmy Awards, died Friday in her sleep of natural causes at her Bel-Air home, according to publicist Meg McDonald. She was 96.
