Ted Donaldson

Ted Donaldson (August 20, 1933 – March 1, 2023) was an American actor born in Brooklyn, New York. His father was singer-composer Will Donaldson, and his mother, Josephine M. Donaldson née Plant, died when he was four and a half months old. His stepmother was Muriel Pollock, a radio organist and composer. Donaldson received his formal training at the Professional Children's School in New York City.

His professional career began in December 1937 with an appearance on an NBC radio program. In 1941, he took on the role of Tiny Tim in a week-long serialized adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, broadcast on Wheatena Playhouse. On stage, Donaldson portrayed Harlan in the Broadway production of Life With Father as an eight-year-old. In 1943, he appeared on Broadway in the drama Sons and Soldiers, performing alongside Gregory Peck.

That stage work led directly to his film debut, a starring role as Arthur "Pinky" Thompson in Once Upon a Time (1944), opposite Cary Grant and Janet Blair. Columbia Pictures signed him to a contract following the completion of that film. In 1945, he was cast in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which marked the directorial debut of Elia Kazan. Throughout the 1940s, Donaldson also starred as Danny Mitchell in the Rusty series, a run of eight films centered on a German Shepherd dog.

From 1949 to 1954, he played Bud, the son of Robert Young's character, in the radio version of Father Knows Best. He was offered the identical role for the television adaptation of the series but declined, later describing that decision as one of the most ill-advised choices of his career, citing the lost salary and residuals. He retired from acting in 1976.

Following his retirement from performing, Donaldson worked as an acting teacher and a bookseller. In his later years he gave multiple interviews reflecting on his film career. He died on March 1, 2023, at the age of 89, from complications following a fall he suffered in January of that year at his Echo Park apartment.