Celebrity Biographies
Lee Aaker
He became popular as a child for the series “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin” in the 1950s, and later took part in various films. Lee Aaker passed away as a result of a stroke on April 1, 2021, in Mesa, Arizona. Apparently he was homeless. “They use you as a child to please everyone, but when there is nothing left, they forget about you,” says Paul Petersen, an advocate for former child actors, who has announced the death.
Born on September 25, 1943, in Los Angeles, Lee William Aaker –his full name– was the son of the owner of a dance school, who at the age of 4 made him perform in local clubs. Director Fred Zinnemann saw him on a live KTLA show one Saturday night and cast him as the title character in Benjy (1951), which won the Oscar for best documentary short.
At the age of eight, Lee Aaker was involved in the feature films The Greatest Show on Earth and Alone in Danger , where he has minimal involvement. His roles as a kidnapped Indian in Four Pages of Life , Barbara Stanwyck ‘s offspring in Cunning a Woman , and the son of a rancher in Hondo , alongside John Wayne , are more relevant .
But above all, Lee Aaker became popular for the Rin Tin Tin series (1954-1959). He played Rusty, an orphan raised by troopers at Fort Apache after his parents were killed by Native Americans. He established a great friendship with the leading German shepherd. After the show ended, he guest-starred on The Donna Reed Show, Route 66 and The Magical World of Disney and appeared in A Kiss for Birdie (1963).
When he grew up, nobody gave him work as an actor. So Lee Aaker ended up becoming a carpenter. He was married to Sharon Ann Hamilton, from whom he divorced after two years. He lived for a long time in Mammoth Lakes, California, where he worked as a sports instructor for the disabled.