Lee Aaker

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American actor (1943–2021)

title: "Lee Aaker" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1943-births", "2021-deaths", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "male-actors-from-los-angeles", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-male-child-actors", "people-from-mammoth-lakes,-california"] description: "American actor (1943–2021)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Aaker" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor (1943–2021) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Lee Aaker
image	Paul Birch Lee Aaker Rin Tin Tin 1956.jpg
caption	Lee Aaker, Rin Tin Tin and Paul Birch (1956)
birth_name	Lee William Aaker
birth_date
birth_place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Maricopa County, Arizona, U.S.
occupation
years_active	1951–1963 (actor)
spouse
::

Lee William Aaker (September 25, 1943 – April 1, 2021) was an American child actor, producer, carpenter, and ski instructor known for his appearance as Rusty of "B-Company" in the 1950s television program The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. He was the final surviving cast member of the series. In 1952, Aaker appeared in Desperate Search with Howard Keel and Keenan Wynn.

Early years

Aaker was born to DeForest LeRoy Aaker and Dorothy Dean Baker. His mother later married Myles Wilbour in Los Angeles on January 19, 1951. She was the owner of a Los Angeles dance school. (Another source says that she "ran a children's theatre academy" and that when Aaker was 4, she had him "singing and dancing at local clubs.") Lee Aaker had an elder brother, Dee Aaker (born 1941), also a child actor.

Film

Aaker appeared on television as a young child, and landed uncredited roles in motion pictures beginning at age eight, 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 played the kidnapped "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, Aaker 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.

Television

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. The two actors and the two star dogs appeared together in a photograph used on the cover of the July 2, 1955 issue of TV Guide.

Later years

Aaker told a newspaper reporter that when he reached the age of 21, he was paid a $10,000 lump sum () by the studio that produced Rin Tin Tin "and he spent the rest of the '60s traveling around the world 'as sort of a flower child." Unable to find work as an adult actor, Aaker got involved as a producer and later worked as a carpenter.

Personal life and death

In the late 1960s, Aaker was married to Sharon Ann Hamilton for two years. He resided in Mammoth Lakes, California, for many years and was the first adaptive sports instructor for Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra at Mammoth Mountain.

According to Paul Petersen, an advocate for former child actors, Aaker experienced poverty toward the end of his life, and had struggled for years with substance abuse. Petersen said Aaker had suffered a stroke and died in Maricopa County, Arizona, near the city of Mesa, on April 1, 2021, and was listed as an "indigent decedent". Petersen was arranging Aaker's burial. As a US Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, Aaker was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.

Recognition

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

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Benjy	Benjy
1952	The Greatest Show on Earth	Boy	Uncredited
1952	Something to Live For	Alternate Boy	Uncredited
1952	My Son John	Boy	Scenes deleted
1952	No Room for the Groom	Donovan
1952	High Noon	Boy	Uncredited
1952	The Atomic City	Tommy Addison
1952	O. Henry's Full House	J. B. Dorset aka Red Chief (The Ransom of Red Chief)
1952	Desperate Search	Don Heldon
1952	Hans Christian Andersen	Little Boy	Uncredited
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	Uncredited
1953	Hondo	Johnny Lowe
1954	Ride Clear of Diablo	Boy	Uncredited
1954	The Raid	Larry's Friend	Uncredited
1954	Her Twelve Men	Michael Elliott	Uncredited
1954	Ricochet Romance	Timmy Williams
1954	Destry	Eli Skinner
1954	Black Tuesday	Little Boy	Uncredited
1957	The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin	Rusty
1963	Bye Bye Birdie	Student leader
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Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Your Jeweler's Showcase		Episode: "Teacher of the Year"
1953	Fireside Theatre	Sandy	Episode: "The Boy Down the Road"
1953–1954	The Ford Television Theatre	Tony Evans / Joey	3 episodes
1953–1955	Letter to Loretta	Jimmy Preston / Myron	2 episodes
1954	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars		Episode: "Pearl-Handled Guns"
1954	General Electric Theater	Tim Kelly	Episode: "Wild Luke's Boy"
1954–1959	The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin	Rusty	164 episodes
1955	The Adventures of Spin and Marty on Walt Disney Presents	Russell
1955	The Lone Ranger	Tommy Righter	Episode: "The School Story"
1955	Screen Directors Playhouse	Cowhide	Episode: "The Brush Roper"
1956–1957	The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford	(two Christmas episodes, with Rin Tin Tin)
1957	Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers	Govinda	Episode: "The Glass Necklace"
1959	The Millionaire	Tommy Spencer	Episode: "Millionaire Henry Banning"
1959	Rescue 8	Billy	Episode: "Runaway"
1959–1961	The Donna Reed Show	Walter the Wizard / Kenny	2 episodes
1959–1962	Disneyland	Willy / Chuck Taylor	4 episodes
1960	Make Room For Daddy	Charles Crane	Episode: "Rusty Meets Little Lord Fauntleroy"
1963	The Lucy Show	Cadet Blake	Episode: "Lucy and the Military Academy"
::

References

978-0786412549, pp. 5–12
(October 28, 1956). "'Corporal Rusty' Battles Indians On Television and Books With Tutor". The Times.
(March 14, 1959). "Corporal Rusty's Mother Is Teacher, Nurse, Banker". San Angelo Standard-Times.
(2011). "Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend". Simon and Schuster.
(15 April 2016). "X Child Stars: Where Are They Now?". Rowman & Littlefield.
(November 15, 1976). "Rin Tin Tin's friend is now a carpenter". Southern Illinoisan.
Barnes, Mike. (April 13, 2021). "Lee Aaker, Child Actor on 'The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin', Dies at 77". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
"The Golden Boot Awards".

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