1955–1959: Disney

Considine's first acting performances included roles in the 1955–1957 Disney TV serials which appeared as 15-minute segments on The Mickey Mouse Club.^[1]

Based on the 1942 novel Marty Markham by Lawrence Edward Watkin, Disney adapted the novel into a serial, with the working title The Marty Markham Story. Considine was originally cast as the main lead of Marty, but preferred the secondary character, Spin. The project was retitled to Spin and Marty, and expanded the role of Spin to a lead character. Considine personally recommended his friend and actor, Stollery, for the role of Marty.^[3] The serial was made into three seasons, The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955), The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty (1956), and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (1957).

In the 1956 serial, The Hardy Boys, Considine played older brother Frank Hardy, opposite Tommy Kirk as Joe Hardy. It aired for two seasons, The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure (1956) and The Mystery of Ghost Farm (1957).

In 1957, Considine played the role of Ned Nickerson in a television unaired pilot made for CBS based on the popular Nancy Drew series of books by Carolyn Keene. He co-starred with Roberta Shore and Frankie Thomas.^[4]

Also as part of The Mickey Mouse Club, Considine starred in the 1958 serial, Annette, which featured the Mouseketeer Annette Funicello. Considine played a character called Steve, and once again, co-starred with Stollery.

In 1959, he appeared in the Disney show The Swamp Fox as Gabriel Marion, nephew of Francis Marion.

In the Disney motion picture The Shaggy Dog (1959), Considine was cast as Buzz Miller, and appeared alongside his Disney co-stars Funicello, Kirk and Stollery.

1959–1970: Television and film

Considine appeared as the eldest son, Mike Douglas, in the first years of the long-running television series My Three Sons, when it aired on ABC. In both The Shaggy Dog and My Three Sons, he starred with Fred MacMurray.^[1][2]

On December 31, 1959, his 19th birthday and before the debut of My Three Sons, Considine appeared as Jamie Frederick in the episode "Bound Boy" on CBS's Johnny Ringo western television series, starring Don Durant in the title role. In the story line, a rancher is investigated for turning orphaned boys into virtual slaves.^[5][6]

The following year, Considine played the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt's eldest son James between ages 14 and 17, in the 1960 feature film Sunrise at Campobello.^[1]

In a 1966 episode of The Fugitive he acted as a helper for Dr. Kimble.^[2][7] He played young rebel Billy Penn in the Bonanza episode "The Reluctant Rebel", which aired on November 21, 1965.^[8] Considine played the role of "Scott Coleman" in the 1970 Gunsmoke television film series (S16.E6 and S16.E7), "Snow Train" parts 1 and 2.

Considine later featured in the 1970 film Patton, portraying the shell-shocked soldier slapped by General George S. Patton, Jr. The role is credited as "Soldier Who Gets Slapped".^[9][10]

Post acting-career

As an adult, Considine was an automobile historian, photographer, and writer who specialized in motor sports. He was the author of The Photographic Dictionary of Soccer (1979, ISBN 0-446-87953-3), The Language of Sport (1982, ISBN 0-87196-653-0), and American Grand Prix Racing: A Century of Drivers and Cars (1997, ISBN 0-7603-0210-3). He also filled in for the late William Safire as writer of the "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine.^[1] His photography work included the cover of Joni Mitchell's 1971 album Blue.^[11]

Anniversary

In 2000, Considine and David Stollery, his co-star in the Spin and Marty serials, made cameo appearances in The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior, a made-for-TV movie on the ABC network.^[10] A DVD version of the Adventures of Spin & Marty was released in December 2005 as part of the fifth wave of the Walt Disney Treasures series.^[12] On the 50th anniversary of the serial's premiere, Considine and Stollery were interviewed by Leonard Maltin as a DVD bonus feature about their experiences filming the hit series.^[13] Considine later participated in the My Three Sons 50th-Anniversary Reunion at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, California, on June 19, 2010. He was a panelist at the event alongside most of the surviving cast members.^[14][15]

Film

Television