'That Girl' Star Ted Bessell's Life and Sudden Death

Ted Bessell, who is best known for his role as Donald Hollinger in the TV series "That Girl," passed away in 1996. He was 57.

The television actor and director was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center's emergency room. His family doctor said the cause was an aortic aneurysm, as reported by The New York Times.

During the 1980s, he made an appearance in several other television movies and also played regular roles on a couple of short-lived sitcoms.

Bessell is survived by his wife, Linnell, two daughters, Sarah and Mary, his mother, Jo, and brother, Frank. He is interred in Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica, California.

Prior to his demise, Bessell was getting ready to direct a film version of the popular television sitcom "Bewitched."

In "That Girl," which ran from 1966 to 1971 on ABC, Bessell co-starred as Marlo Thomas's boyfriend and fiancé, Newsview magazine writer Don Hollinger. Thomas played an aspiring young actress in New York named Ann Marie.

At the point when "That Girl" ended its run, Bessell starred in another sitcom "Me and the Chimp," in which he played as dentist Mike Reynolds. The show had an unsuccessful run of 19 episodes in 1972.

In 1974, he was picked to star in the television film "Bobby Parker and Company." It wasn't until 1975 that he would show up in another sitcom as Joe Warner for two episodes on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

During the 1980s, he made an appearance in several other television movies and also played regular roles on a couple of short-lived sitcoms.

Bessell shared an Emmy as a producer on "The Tracy Ullman Show" in 1989. He was likewise a director and producer of a 1991 series "Sibs."

Born in Flushing, New York, in 1939, Bessell grew up in Manhasset, Nassau County, Long Island. At first, he was preparing for a career as a classical musician. However, he chose to concentrate on acting after attending Georgetown University and the University of Colorado.