Tim Considine, ‘My Three Sons’ Star, Dead at 81

Tim Considine, who starred in My Three Sons and Disney’s Spin and Marty, died on March 3. He was 81. Considine died at his home in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, his son Christopher told The Hollywood Reporter.

Considine was born in Los Angeles to MGM producer John W. Considine Jr. and Carmen Considine, the daughter of theater magnate Alexander Pangates. He began acting in 1953, making his debut in the Red Skelton movie The Clown. He also had small roles in the movies Executive Suite, Her Twelve Men, Unchained, and The Private War of Major Benson.

In 1955, Considine scored his first major television role as Spin in the Disney television serial The Adventures of Spin and Marty, which aired during The Mickey Mouse Club. He also played Frank Hardy in Disney’s The Hardy Boys and Frank Abernathy in Annette. Considine’s other Disney projects include The Shaggy Dog and The Swamp Fox serial, which aired during The Magical World of Disney. In 2006, Disney honored his work with the company by naming him a Disney Legend.

Considine was best known for starring as Mike Douglas on My Three Sons. He starred on the long-running show for its first five years, from 1960 to 1965. After he left, the show moved from ABC to CBS, where it also made the transition from black and white to color. The show ended in 1972. After My Three Sons, Considine would go on to star in episodes of Bonanza, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, Ironside, Legend, and Simon & Simon.

The actor’s most famous film role was one of his shortest. In 1970, he played the shell-shocked soldier who gets slapped by George C. Scott’s Gen. George S. Patton in Franklin J. Schaffner’s Patton. Considine’s other films included The Waring Dobermans and Sunrise at Campobello. His last on-screen role came in the 2006 movie Ray of Sunshine.

After he stepped away from acting in the early 1970s, Considine focused on his other interest. He wrote several books about cars and photography, including American Grand Prix Racing: A Century of Drivers & Cars (1997) and Around the Clock: The Yanks at Le Mans (2018). He also published essays in The New York Times Magazine.

Considine is survived by his second wife Willett, whom he married in 1979; his son Christopher; his sister Erin; his brother, actor John Considine; and his two grandchildren. Considine was married to Little House on the Prairie actress Charlotte Stewart from 1965 to 1969.