Television: Everybody's Doing It

TV has always tried to keep its entertainment "in the family." Now the family is on TV. Pat Boone brought his daughter Cheryl Lynn, 3, on his show long past her bedtime; the James Masons dragged their daughter Portland, 8, along to Dean Martin's show; and in filming her TV entry for this week, Gale Storm warbled to eleven-month-old Susanna, who promptly went to sleep on camera. Last week Frank Sinatra, 39, sang with his bobby-soxer daughter Nancy, 17, whom his scripters described as having the "sweet, cool disposition of a strawberry soda." Says Frankie: "A bit of show-business exposure goes a long way toward developing poise and self-confidence." Coming up on future Sinatra songfests: Frank Jr., 13, on the piano, and Christina, 9, in a dance.

The stars give other reasons for bringing their children along. Comedian George Gobel says "all children have a need to identify with their dad's work." Arlene Francis puts Peter, 10, on camera because "I just like to have him with me. Some people don't want to go into their private lives, but I think we on TV belong to the public." Groucho Marx offers a more practical reason for having daughter Melinda, 11, as a guest: "She's not in my tax bracket. We can keep what she makes."

The stars don't necessarily wait for the stork either. This week, to model a maternity wardrobe on Today, Singer Helen O'Connell, who is conveniently pregnant, will be joined by Dave Garroway's expectant wife.