Tim Considine, ‘My Three Sons’ Actor, Dies at 81

Tim Considine, the actor best known for the role of eldest son Mike on the long-running sitcom “My Three Sons,” died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a Facebook post from his co-star Stanley Livingston. He was 81.

Born in Los Angeles to a showbiz family –– his father, John Considine Jr. was an Oscar-nominated film producer for “Boys Town,” and his mother was the daughter of theater magnate Alexander Pantages –– Considine got his start as a child actor in the 1950s, playing characters in Disney Television’s “Mickey Mouse Club” serials. His roles included Frank Hardy in a “Hardy Boys” serial and Spin Evans in “The Adventures of Spin and Marty.” In 2000, he returned to make a cameo appearance in a TV movie reboot, “The New Adventures of Spin and Marty.” In 1959, Considine appeared alongside his future television father Fred MacMurray in the Disney film “The Shaggy Dog.”

A year later, the first season of “My Three Sons” would premiere. The series starred MacMurray as widower Steven Douglas, as he raised his three sons following the death of his wife. Considine starred alongside Livingston as the youngest brother Chip and Don Grady as middle-child Robbie. Considine also directed, for the first and only time in his career, one of the episodes in the series, “The Leopard’s Spots.” The series was one of the most successful sitcoms of the 60s, running for 12 years. Considine, however, would leave after the fifth season, and his character was written out by having him marry his fiancé Sally (Meredith MacRae).

After leaving “My Three Sons,” Considine made numerous guest appearances in various TV shows throughout the 60s and 70s, including “The Fugitive,” “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “Ironside” and “Medical Center.” He also had a brief but memorable scene in the 1970 Oscar-winner “Patton,” as a soldier slapped by George S. Patton (George C. Scott).

Considine mostly retired from acting in the ensuing decades, working instead as a writer, photographer and automobile historian. Notably, he took the photo of Joni Mitchell that appears on her album “Blue.” He published several photography books such as “The Photographic Dictionary of Soccer” in 1979, “The Language of Sport” in 1982 and “American Grand Prix Racing: A Century of Drivers and Cars” in 1997. He also occasionally wrote the “On Language” column for The New York Times Magazine, filling in for regular columnist William Safire.

Considine is survived by his son Christopher, wife Willett, two grandchildren, sister Erin and brother John Considine.

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