Paul Petersen had a rather lucrative TV career for nearly thirty years. He appeared in such shows as My Three Sons, F Troop, Lassie, The Flying Nun, Matt Houston, the unsold pilot of High School U.S.A., and in the Walt Disney film The Happiest Millionaire. But without a doubt his most notable role was in The Donna Reed Show, in which he portrayed Donna’s son Jeff Stone in 275 episodes. Back in the late 1990’s, I had my friend Bob pick me up a signed photo of Paul Petersen (directly below), but my chance to meet him didn’t come until February 11, 2012.
The meeting came with quite a bonus too. He had his sister Patty Petersen with him, making a rather rare personal appearance. She had been tapped to come on board The Donna Reed Show to fill the void left when Shelly Fabares left the series in 1963. Although the resemblence between the two Petersens was uncanny, she actually portrayed Trisha, a newly adopted child in the Stone household in 98 episodes during the final three seasons from 1963-66.
My original intention was just to bring along the previously signed photo of Paul and request a photo with him. However when I saw the cool color shot that included both Paul and Patty and they were offering to both sign it for a total cost of $30, I immediately changed my plan. Not only did they look alike, but their signatures were almost identical as well!
The posed for a group shot with me for free, and even were kind enough to take care of my bag of shirts that I left behind at their table. When I back-tracked to them in search of the missing clothing, they had kept it for me safe and sound. I guess Donna Reed set an excellent example for these ultra-kind siblings.
Celebrity encounters of the Winter 2012 Hollywood Show will continue…
The leaving of your bag of shirts behind their table is, of course, classic and priceless.
Peter
August 26th, 2012
I remember watching The Donna Reed show and loved Paul and Patty Peterson. I loved his hit single “And She Can’t Find Her Keys”.
Bev
August 26th, 2012
“And He Can’t Find His Bag Of Shirts.”
Peter
August 26th, 2012