Tim Considine, best-known for roles in TV programmes including My Three sons and Spin and Marty, has died at the age of 81.
The esteemed actor died on Thursday in Los Angeles at his home in Mar Vista, his son Christopher confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. A cause of death of has not been announced.
Having first embarked on his acting career in his early adolescence, in 1955, Considine first started playing the role of Spin in Disney’s Spin and Marty, a series of TV shorts that aired as part of The Mickey Mouse Club show of the mid-1950s.
He also appeared in the Hardy Boys serial with Tommy Kirk, playing the older brother out of the pair, named Frank.
As a young adult, Considine starred in My Three Sons, playing the eldest son Mike Douglas for five years from 1960 to 1965, before his character was written out of the show.
The late actor’s exit from the programme came about after he expressed a wish to direct rather than star in the series, subsequently resulting in him choosing not to renew his contract.
Some of his other roles included appearing in the Disney motion picture The Shaggy Dog, Disney show The Swamp Fox and playing Franklin D Roosevelt’s eldest son James in the 1960 film Sunrise at Campobello.
In 1970, Considine delivered an unforgettable performance in the film Patton, depicting a shell-shocked soldier who was slapped by the general, in a role known simply as ‘Soldier Who Gets Slapped’.
He was officially dubbed a Disney Legend 16 years ago, with Disney stating: ‘The film and television actor was named a Disney Legend, an illustrious honor given to individuals in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to The Walt Disney Company, in 2006.’
On Disney’s website, it includes a quote from Considine about what it was like to grow up in the spotlight, where he said: ‘It was generally a pretty good experience for me. What I missed, I’m sure I missed, but I’m not too unhappy about what I did. I’ve had the opportunity to screw up all kinds of things, and not just in that one career!’
In addition to acting, the late star also forged a career in the field of motor sports, becoming an automobile historian, photographer and writer, writing several books including American Grand Prix Racing: A Century of Drivers & Cars.
Considine married Little House on the Prairie actress Charlotte Stewart in 1965, before the couple divorced four years later.
He is survived by his wife Willette Hunt, who he married in 1979, and their son.
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