Tim Considine, the young star of “My Three Sons”, has died at the age of 81

The show premiered on ABC in 1960 and continued, moving to CBS, until 1972. But Mr. Considine gave up in 1965; his protagonist married his girlfriend, played by Meredith McRae, and walked away. (To fill his shoes, more or less, the family adopted a neighborhood boy, Ernie Thompson, played by Barry Livingston, Stanley’s younger brother in real life.)

Timothy Daniel Considine was born on December 31, 1940 in Los Angeles. His father, John W. Considine Jr., was a producer whose films included The Broadway Melody of 1936, The City of Boys (1938), and The Young Tom Edison (1940). His mother Carmen (Pantages) Considine is the daughter of Alexander Pantages, founder of the vaudeville and movie theater chain.

His paternal grandfather, John Considine Sr., was Pantages’ biggest rival. His uncle was the columnist and author Bob Considine.

As Timmy Considine, he made his film debut at 12 in The Clown (1953), Red Skelton’s review of the 1930s sentimental drama The Champ, starring Wallace Beery and 9-year-old Jackie Cooper. The Times review called Timmy “respectively longing, serious and manly” in the role of the son of a washed-out alcoholic comic.

He followed this with guest television roles, from “The Ford Television Theater” to “Rin Tin Tin” and four films. Then came Disney and brought him a decade of success and popularity, which included the role of the Revolutionary War hero’s nephew in The Swamp Fox (1957-60) with Leslie Nilsson and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s teenage son in Sunrise. Campobello ”(1960), with Ralph Bellamy.

Leaving My Three Sons, Mr. Considine made six television appearances in five years and had a memorable scene – playing a character credited as a soldier who receives slaps – with George C. Scott in the 1970 film Patton.

Over the next 50 years, he played even less, appearing on screen once or twice a decade and playing his last role as a judge with a gray beard in the thriller “Ray of the Sun” (2006).