Lee Aaker, best known as the 1950s child star of “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin”, has died at the age of 77. The news comes via a message on social media by former actor and activist Paul Petersen. Petersen said Aaker “died in Arizona on April 1, alone and unclaimed, being referred to as a ‘needy deceased.’
Aaker was 11 when ‘The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin’ first appeared on ABC. The Western’s original performance on Friday nights lasted from October 1954 to May 1959. Aaker played Rusty, a boy orphaned during an Indian raid on Fort Apache. He starred opposite James E. Brown’s lieutenant Ripley “Rip” Masters and of course a number of German shepherds who portrayed the titular dog.
Aaker’s career started well. Even before “Rin Tin Tin”, at the age of 8, he had uncredited appearances in films such as “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) and “High Noon” (1952). Aaker then appeared opposite Barbara Stanwyck in director John Sturges’ noir thriller “Jeopardy” (1953). That same year, he starred in five other films, including ‘Hondo’ with John Wayne and Geraldine Page.
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But it was ‘Rin Tin Tin’ that strengthened him in the public imagination. ABC taught the series from 1959 to 1961. It was then recorded by CBS from 1962-1964. A new series of rebroadcasts began in 1976 and continued into the 1980s.
In the early 60’s Aaker appeared in ‘The Donna Reed Show’, ‘Route 66’, ‘The Lucy Show’, ‘Make Room for Daddy’ and ‘The Magical World of Disney’.
His career did not continue quickly after that. By the mid-1960s, the roles had dried up.
According to Petersen, Aaker serves in the air force, but dies this month ‘alone and unclaimed … needy’. Petersen indicated that he was attending a proper funeral, to which Aaker is entitled because of his service in uniform.