Ted Donaldson | |
---|---|
Born |
New York City, U.S. | August 20, 1933
Died | March 1, 2023
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 89)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1937–1976 |
Ted Donaldson (August 20, 1933 – March 1, 2023) was an American actor.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Donaldson was the son of singer-composer Will Donaldson and Josephine M. Donaldson née Plant. His mother died when he was 4+1⁄2 months old. [1] His stepmother was radio organist and composer Muriel Pollock. [2] He attended the Professional Children's School in New York City. [3]
Donaldson began his acting career in December 1937 when he appeared in an NBC radio show. [3] In 1941, he played Tiny Tim in a week-long serialized version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol that was presented on Wheatena Playhouse. [4]
As an 8-year-old, Donaldson portrayed Harlan in the Broadway stage production of Life With Father. [5] In 1943, he performed alongside Gregory Peck in the play Sons and Soldiers. [2]
The performance led to a starring role as Arthur "Pinky" Thompson in his first movie, Once Upon a Time (1944), opposite Cary Grant and Janet Blair. Columbia Pictures put him under contract after the film was finished. In 1945, Donaldson was cast in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which marked the directorial debut of Elia Kazan. [2]
Donaldson also starred as Danny Mitchell in the 1940s Rusty series of eight films about a German Shepherd dog. [2]
From 1949 to 1954, he played Bud, the son of Robert Young's character in the radio version of Father Knows Best. [6] He was offered the same role on the television version of the series, but turned it down, saying, "I didn't want to be typed. I didn't want to be a 21-year-old playing a 15- or 16-year-old kid. I wanted to do other things." [2] As an adult, he recalled that "one of the two or three most stupid things I have not done because not only would the salary have been very nice for five years, but the residuals would have also." [2]
He retired from acting in 1976.
As an adult, Donaldson worked as an acting teacher and as a bookseller. [7] In his later years, Donaldson gave a number of interviews about his film career. [8]
In January 2023, Donaldson suffered a fall in his Echo Park apartment. He died of complications from the fall on March 1, 2023, at the age of 89. [7]