Biography

On television as a young child, he started appearing uncredited at the age of 8 in films such as The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and High Noon (1952). He quickly moved to featured status by the end of that year.

He showed talent as the kidnapped Indian "Red Chief" in a segment of the film O. Henry's Full House (1952) and another kidnap victim as the son of scientist Gene Barry in The Atomic City (1952).

In 1953, he co-starred in the John Wayne western classic Hondo (1953) as the curious blond son of homesteader Geraldine Page.

He also appeared in other film styles such as the film noir thriller Jeopardy (1953) with Barbara Stanwyck, the horse opera drama Arena (1953) with Gig Young, and the comedies Mister Scoutmaster (1953) with Clifton Webb and Ricochet Romance (1954) with Marjorie Main.

In 1953-54, Aaker was among the many child actors who auditioned for the role of "Jeff Miller" on the original 1954 Lassie series, which later aired as Jeff's Collie. That role went to Tommy Rettig. Two weeks later, Aaker won the role of "Rusty" on The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, co-starring James Brown (1920-1992) as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters. Aaker and Rettig were friends, and both shows were popular with audiences.

Unable to find work as an adult actor, Aaker got involved as a producer and later worked as a carpenter.

Lee Aaker has resided in Mammoth Lakes, California, for many years and is a special-needs ski instructor.

In 2005, Aaker won the Golden Boot Award as Kids of the West.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role
1951	Benjy	Benjy
1952	The Greatest Show on Earth	(uncredited) Boy
1952	Something to Live For	(uncredited) Alternate Boy
1952	My Son John	(uncredited) Boy
1952	The Atomic City	Tommy Addison
1952	No Room for the Groom	Donovan
1952	O. Henry's Full House	J. B. Dorset aka Red Chief (The Ransom of Red Chief)
1952	Desperate Search	Don Heldon
1952	Hans Christen Andersen	(uncredited) Little Boy
1953	Jeopardy	Bobby Stilwin
1953	Take Me to Town	Corney Hall
1953	Arena	Teddy Hutchins
1953	Mister Scoutmaster	Arthur
1953	A Lion Is in the Streets	Johnny Briscoe
1953	Hondo	Johnny Lowe
1954	Ride Clear of Diablo	(uncredited) Boy
1954	The Raid	(uncredited) Larry's Friend
1954	Her Twelve Men	(uncredited) Michael Elliot
1954	Ricochet Romance	Timmy Williams
1954	Destry	Eli Skinner
1954	Black Tuesday	Little Boy
1955	Spin and Marty: The Movie	Russell the Muscle
1956	Bigger Than Life	(uncredited) Joe
1957	The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin	Rusty
1963	Bye Bye Birdie	(uncredited) Student leader

Television roles

Year	Title	Role
1952	Your Jeweler's Showcase	(one episode only)
1953	Fireside Theatre	(one episode only) Sandy
1953 to 1954	The Ford Television Theatre	(two episodes) Joey
1954	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	(one episode only)
1954	General Electric Theater	(one episode only) Tim Kelly
1955	The Adventures of Spin and Marty on Walt Disney Presents	Russell
1955	The Lone Ranger	(one episode only) Tommy Righter
1953 to 1955	Letter to Loretta	(two episodes) Jimmy Preston; Myron Carrington
1955	Screen Directors Playhouse	(one episode only) Cowhide
December 20, 1956; December 19, 1957	The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford	(two Christmas episodes, with Rin Tin Tin)
1957	Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers	(one episode only)
1959	The Millionaire	(one episode only) Tommy Spencer
1954 to 1959	The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin	Rusty
1959	Rescue 8	(one episode only) Billy
1959	The Donna Reed Show	(one episode only) Kenny
1959 to 1962	Disneyland	(four episodes) Willy; Chuck Taylor
1960	Make Room For Daddy	(one episode only) Charles
1963	The Lucy Show	(one episode)

Charities

Lee Aaker supports the following charitable cause: ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]