Tim Considine – The Disney Years

 

The recent passing of Tim Considine hit me harder than expected. 

 

 

Those who remember him only from My Three Sons may be surprised to learn that he was something of a modern-day renaissance man; in addition to his acting career Considine was also a gifted photographer (he shot the iconic cover image for Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” album), and a guest columnist for the New York Times when William Safire was on vacation.

 

Which is certainly impressive, but to me he is as closely associated with the Disney brand as ‘E’ tickets and overpriced churros. Through the roles he played in the serials featured on the original Mickey Mouse Club, Considine once personified the ideal of the American teenager, even more so perhaps than the Mouseketeers themselves.

 

Disney back then was not the same as Disney now. Walt Disney had his shortcomings but while he was in charge he always strived to surpass the expectations of his customers, whether it was a film, a television show, or a theme park. That philosophy is no longer observed, but it was still enforced when Considine made his first appearance alongside David Stollery in The Adventures of Spin and Marty. 

 

 

In this first serial, pampered rich kid Marty (Stollery) arrives at the Triple R (with his own butler!) and dismisses the place as a “dirty old ranch.” That doesn’t go over well with Spin (Considine), who is right at home in his rough-and-tumble surroundings. Eventually the two become friends and Marty begins to fit in and overcome his fear of horses, when he competes at the annual rodeo.

 

The story focuses mainly on Marty’s transition from privileged brat to experienced ranch hand – but Spin is the boy that kids watching at home wanted to be. Smart, popular, self-assured, he was living the dream of a summer of riding horses every day and singing songs round the campfire at night in the beautiful American west. How appealing that must have been to so many young fans growing up surrounded by asphalt and high rises. 

 

 

Two more Spin and Marty serials were commissioned after the first one generated 30,000 fan letters, and between visits to the Triple R Considine also starred in two Hardy Boys adventures, playing Frank Hardy opposite Tommy Kirk as Joe Hardy. Once again, he was playing material that fed into the fantasies of young viewers, solving mysteries amidst danger and intrigue. 

 

 

But my favorite Mickey Mouse Club serial is Annette, in which Considine played a supporting role to Annette Funicello, alongside his Spin & Marty costar David Stollery. It’s a wonderful showcase for all of them, as well as Mouseketeers Doreen Tracy, Tommy Cole, Cheryl Holdridge, Sharon Baird and Bonnie Fields. 

 

Also in the stellar cast: Shelley Fabares (before her rise to fame in The Donna Reed Show), Doris Packer (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis), Richard Deacon (Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show), Sylvia Field (Dennis the Menace), Roberta Shore and the always amazing Mary Wickes.

 

I just love this beyond words. Every time I finish watching its 20 ten-minute installments on DVD, I have to resist the temptation to go back to Chapter One and immediately watch it again. And with each viewing I notice something different and delightful about it, like how every little detail in every set is so beautifully thought out.

 

The story you’ve seen a hundred times: country girl (Annette) shows up on the doorstep of her stodgy aunt and uncle in the upscale community of Ashford.  Gradually she ingratiates herself into the local teen scene and catches the eye of Steven Abernathy (Considine), the most popular boy in town. But Steve has a girlfriend – snotty and sophisticated Laura (Shore), whose expensive necklace disappears during a party at the Abernathy home. She accuses new girl Annette of stealing it. 

 

Though it tackles the same traumas of cliques and class distinctions that have not gone away, it’s still so foreign to the way teenagers live now that I was sure today’s teens would rip it to shreds. But the comments on the chapters uploaded to YouTube are overwhelmingly positive – they not only enjoy it, they get hooked into the story.

 

“I honestly don't know what Steve sees in Laura. She's such a snob!”

 

“Steady needs to be taught manners and thoughtfulness towards the girl who really likes him.”

 

“Jet is so cute. Annette should marry the soda fountain boy.”

 

“I grew up in the 90s, but boy do I wish I grew up in this decade.”

 

It’s also a reminder of the days when TV was new, and for the first time families could get acquainted with fictional characters who came into their homes every day. That forged an enduring connection that spanned decades. That’s why the Mouseketeers who have passed - Cheryl, Bonnie, Karen Pendleton – despite being out of show business and the public eye for 40 years, received long and loving tributes in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. “Former Mouseketeer” was an exalted status to the generation that grew up watching them. And their legacy lives on through everyone wearing those mouse ears at Disneyland. 

 

And while Tim Considine never made a Mouseketeer roll call, he was their equal in talent and popularity. In Annette once again he played an ideal – a big man on campus with a kind heart and a cool hot rod, who treated the kids from the poor side of town with the same respect he had for his affluent neighbors. Ideals can be unrealistic but that doesn’t mean they cannot serve a purpose. They show us how to act and relate to others to have a contented life.

 

One of the YouTube commenters said of Annette, “If there is a Heaven, and if I am worthy of it, I think it will be something like this time and place.” If that proves to be true, then Tim Considine is already right at home.