Ted Bessell

Ted Bessell
Bessell in the early 1970s
Born	Howard Weston Bessell, Jr. (1935-03-20)March 20, 1935 Flushing, New York, U.S.
Died	October 6, 1996(1996-10-06) (aged 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	aortic aneurysm
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1962–1996
Spouse(s)	Linnell Nobori (m. 1982)
Children	2

Ted Bessell (born Howard Weston Bessell, Jr.; March 20, 1935 – October 6, 1996) was an American television actor and director. He is best known for his role as Donald Hollinger, the boyfriend and eventual fiancé of Marlo Thomas's character in the TV series That Girl (1966–71).

Born in Flushing, New York, to Howard Weston "Buster" Bessell (1904–1958) and his wife, Jo (1915–2004), Ted Bessell grew up in Manhasset, Nassau County, Long Island. He was originally gearing up for a career as a classical musician. As a 12-year-old child prodigy, he performed a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. Bessell played lacrosse in high school with future football star and actor Jim Brown.

After attending Georgetown University and the University of Colorado, Bessell decided to focus on acting. He studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, studied dance and dramatic movement with Martha Graham and Louis Horst, was a member of a professional acting class under Meisner, and worked with Wynn Handman in another professional acting group. He worked at ABC New York as a page (or usher) to supplement his income in the late 1950s.

He appeared on such talk shows as Who Do You Trust? with Johnny Carson and The Dick Clark Show, a Saturday-night variety show featuring rock 'n roll stars. He directed and acted in where he appeared in a wide spectrum of theatre works ranging from Shakespeare to Jule Styne. He then was cast in the off-Broadway production of The Power of Darkness, which led to further off-Broadway work with the Blackfriars Guild. He co-produced (with his brother, writer-director Frank Bessell) Joe Orton's Crimes of Passion, directed by Michael Kahn.