Theodore D. "Ted" Donaldson (August 20, 1933 – March 1, 2023) was an American actor and child actor. Donaldson was best known for his roles as Bud Anderson in the radio version of Father Comes Home and as Cornelius "Neely" Nolan in the 1945 film A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Donaldson was born Theodore D. Donaldson in Brooklyn, the son of Josephine Marion Plant and the singer and composer William John Donaldson. His mother died when he was four and a half months old. His stepmother was the radio organist and composer Muriel Pollock. He attended the Professional Children's School in New York City.
At the age of eight, he played Harlan in the Broadway production of Life With Father. In the same year, he was heard as Tiny Tim alongside Edmund Gwenn in a radio play adaptation of A Christmas Carol by the Wheatena Playhouse. In 1943, he appeared on Broadway in Sons and Soldiers alongside Gregory Peck at the Morosco Theatre.
In 1944, he made his film debut in Pinky and Curly as Arthur “Pinky” Thompson alongside Cary Grant; Grant called him ‘Teddy’ and attended Donaldson's 1949 high school graduation at the Beverly Hills Hotel with his wife Betsy Drake. In addition to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, he appeared in films such as Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1945), A Stranger Calls (1952), and a series of eight films starring the German Shepherd “Rusty”. From 1949 to 1954, he was heard as Bud Anderson, son of the character Jim Anderson, voiced by Robert Young, in the radio version of Father's the Best. When the program was broadcast on television, Donaldson turned down the role because he was already 21 years old at the time and did not want to be typecast; the on-camera role was taken by Billy Gray.
In 1944, he made his film debut in Pinky and Curly as Arthur “Pinky” Thompson alongside Cary Grant; Grant called him ‘Teddy’ and attended Donaldson's 1949 high school graduation at the Beverly Hills Hotel with his wife Betsy Drake. In addition to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, he appeared in films such as Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1945), A Stranger Calls (1952), and a series of eight films starring the German Shepherd “Rusty”. From 1949 to 1954, he was heard as Bud Anderson, son of the character Jim Anderson, voiced by Robert Young, in the radio version of Father's the Best. When the program was broadcast on television, Donaldson turned down the role because he was already 21 years old at the time and did not want to be typecast; the on-camera role was taken by Billy Gray.
He later appeared in television series such as Front Row Center, Matinee Theatre and 1958's The Silent Service, his last role in front of the camera. After giving up acting in the late 1950s, he taught acting and worked in a Hollywood bookstore in the late 1970s.
Donaldson was a guest of honor at several TCM Classic Film Festivals, for example in 2016, when a restored version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was shown to enthusiastic audiences.
He died on March 1, 2023 at the age of 89 from injuries sustained in a fall.
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