Paul Petersen

Before entering the music industry, Paul Petersen built a solid reputation as a child performer, first joining the Mouseketeers at age ten and later securing the part of teenager Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show during the late 1950s. The visibility he gained by the early 1960s attracted multiple recording offers, several of which were incorporated directly into episodes of the series. His first single, the novelty teen-idol track “She Can't Find Her Keys,” appeared on the program and climbed to number 19 on Billboard’s Hot 100. A second lighthearted duet with co-star Shelley Fabares, “What Did They Do Before Rock ’n’ Roll,” followed, and both numbers were collected on his 1962 debut LP, Lollipops and Roses, issued by Colpix Records. That album also contained “Keep Your Love Locked,” a composition from Brill Building songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin.

Petersen’s next release, Teenage Triangle, paired him with Fabares and occasional Donna Reed Show guest James Darren; the spring 1963 set performed strongly and supplied each participant with a pair of Top 40 singles. Later the same year he issued the sentimental single “My Dad,” which was woven into an episode featuring Carl Betz as his on-screen father. After completing the My Dad album, Petersen reunited with Fabares and Darren for the 1964 sequel More Teenage Triangle. He devoted most of the remainder of the decade to acting while releasing occasional singles on the Motown and Tamla imprints.

During the 1970s Petersen stepped away from entertainment to pursue a career as an adventure novelist. He also became a prominent voice for the welfare of former child actors, establishing the advocacy organization A Minor Consideration in 1990 to secure improved working conditions and to assist aging performers in moving into subsequent professions.