Tim Considine - A Disney Legend

Tim Considine was one of Disney’s most popular television actors and was in fact one of the very first of TV’s teen idols in 1955.

Born Dec. 31, 1940 in Los Angeles, California, Tim grew up not very much unlike his first screen roles – the restless son from a wealthy family. His family background included an Oscar-nominated movie producer ( John Considine Jr. ); a vaudeville impresario grandfather ( John Considine ); a sports writer for King Features Syndicate ( Bob Considine ); and a theatre magnet grandfather ( Alexander Pantages ). It’s no wonder that at a young age Tim wanted to enter into show business and try his hand at making a name for himself.

By-passing traditional “bit-part” starts, Tim was fortunate to have an endearing personality that made him appealing to producers from the start. He was given the lead in The Clown ( 1952 ) opposite Red Skeleton at the tender age of 12. It was a remake of MGM’s previous success The Champ ( 1932 ).

A few brief television roles followed an appearance in the star-studded Executive Suite ( 1954 ), where Tim played the son of William Holden and June Allyson. In later years he would return to television guest-starring on such television shows as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Untouchables , Johnny Ringo and The Fugitive. His most successful characterization was that of a boarding school snob, a role which he played in Her Twelve Men ( Greer Garson, 1954 ) and The Private War of Major Benson ( Charleton Heston , 1955 ). These performances caught the attention of Walt Disney Studio executives who wished for him to continue these roles and offered him the lead in an upcoming serial for The Mickey Mouse Club – “Marty Markham”. Considine, however, didn’t want to be pigeon-holed and asked for the part of cool kid Spin Evans instead.

When the newly retitled The Adventures of Spin and Marty debuted, Tim Considine and costar David Stollery were instant successes. Fan mail began to pour in and Tim’s flat-top buzz-cut hairdo became the “in” style of the teen set of the 1950s.

The popular Hardy Boy’s serial The Mystery of Applegate’s Treasure followed in the heels of Spin and Marty’s success, as well as several other third and fourth season reprises of their signature roles, and a recurring role in The Swamp Fox with Leslie Neilson.

In 1959, Walt Disney decided to cast Tim Considine opposite his Hardy Boy brother Tommy Kirk in The Shaggy Dog, a film which grossed big at the box-office.

In spite of his blossoming success at the Walt Disney Studios, Considine wanted to branch out and try his hand at other things. A growing love for automobile racing was sparking as was a thirst for writing. Living in an apartment with his older brother John, Tim collaborated with him on several scripts and teleplays before serving overseas with the U.S. Air Force.

Upon his return in 1963 he was back in front of the cameras though- this time as Mike Douglas….Fred MacMurray’s eldest son in the popular My Three Sons television series. While working on the show he tried to contribute to the teleplays and direct sequences of episodes. Don Fedderson ( the producer of the show ) didn’t want Tim directing full episodes and after a disagreement over this, Tim walked out on the series in 1965.

Although Tim Considine continued to make films throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, he has devoted most of his time to writing, and pursuing his love of automobiles and photography. Three talents which he combined in his award-winning book “American Grand Prix Racing: A Century of Drivers and Cars” ( 1997 ).

Considine currently lives in California with his wife of 38 years, where he continues to write as a freelancer about sports, automobiles, travel, and photography.