Ted Donaldson, of Father Knows Best and in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, dies at 89

Ted Donaldson, who starred as Bud Anderson on the original radio version of Father Knows Best and as Neely Nolan in the beloved family drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the first feature directed by Elia Kazan, has died. He was 89.

Donaldson was in numerous movies with major movies start such as Once Upon a Time (1944), starring Cary Grant and Janet Blair.

He also starred B-movies from Columbia Pictures that revolved around a German shepherd named Rusty. He was in the following movies:  After Adventures of Rusty, Donaldson came back for The Return of Rusty (1946), For the Love of Rusty (1947), The Son of Rusty (1947), My Dog Rusty (1948), Rusty Leads the Way (1948), Rusty Saves a Life (1949) and, finally, Rusty’s Birthday (1949).

He was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 20, 1933. His father was singer-composer Will Donaldson (he co-wrote “Do Wacka Do,” years later a hit for Roger Miller). 

For more information, please visit a nice article by the Hollywood Reporter.