Ted Donaldson

Ted Donaldson was an American actor who started in radio before moving to Broadway and Hollywood. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended the Professional Children's School. He played Tiny Tim in a 1941 radio production of A Christmas Carol, appeared on Broadway in Life With Father, and in 1943 acted alongside Gregory Peck in Sons and Soldiers. That led to the starring role of Arthur Pinky Thompson in his first film, Once Upon a Time (1944), with Cary Grant and Janet Blair, and a contract with Columbia Pictures. In 1945 he was cast in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Elia Kazan's directorial debut, and he also played Danny Mitchell in the Rusty series, eight 1940s films featuring a German Shepherd. From 1949 to 1954 he played Bud on the radio version of Father Knows Best, declining the television part. He retired in 1976 and later taught acting and worked as a bookseller. He died in 2023.