David Alan Bailey

David Alan Bailey (born April 4, 1952^[1]) is an American former actor, sometimes credited as David A. Bailey or simply David Bailey. Beginning a professional career as a child actor at the age of ten, Bailey is perhaps best known for his recurring roles on numerous popular television series of the 1960s and 1970s; including Dennis the Menace, The Andy Griffith Show, and Room 222, as well as for his feature film roles; as a young Robert Peale in the United Artists dramatic biopic, One Man's Way, as Matthew O'Brien in the "kiddie matinee" fantasy film, At the End of the Rainbow (aka: The Princess and the Magic Frog), and as "Rob" in the Walt Disney action-adventure drama, Adventure in Satan's Canyon. With his wholesome looks and endearing demeanor, Bailey was primarily cast as the typical all-American boy-next-door throughout most of his career as a child star.

Career

Early years

Bailey began his professional acting career at the age of ten with a recurring role as "Scotty", one of the neighborhood friends to Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell (portrayed by Jay North) on the popular NBC family comedy series Dennis the Menace.^[2] Airing on March 17, 1963, Bailey made his television debut as Scotty in the episode titled "My Four Boys", in which Mr. Wilson (portrayed by Gale Gordon) recruits Dennis and three of Dennis' friends to pose as his sons in order to win a $1,000 prize.^[2] Following this appearance, Bailey would continue to appear in a recurring role as Scotty until the series ended later that same year.^[2][3]

In September 1963, Bailey transitioned to a recurring role on the ABC crime series Burke's Law portraying "Chris" a neighborhood friend to "Herbie the Paperboy" (portrayed by fellow child star Jimmy Garrett).^[4] In August 1964, Bailey made his feature film debut in the United Artists biopic drama, One Man's Way, co-starring as a young Robert Peale (portrayed as an adult by Gerald Gordon), the son of Methodist minister and author Norman Vincent Peale (portrayed by Don Murray).^[3][5]

Rise to Fame

In 1964, Bailey began a recurring role on the family comedy series The Andy Griffith Show.^[5][6] Airing on January 13, 1964, Bailey made his debut on the series guest-starring as Trey Bowden in the episode "Andy and Opie's Pal", in which Opie (Ronny Howard) befriends Trey, only to become jealous after he begins to fear his father (Andy Griffith) prefers spending time with the fatherless boy more than him.^[5][6] Following this appearance, Bailey would continue to appear in a recurring role as Trey Bowden throughout the fourth season of the series.^[5][6] In 1967, Bailey returned to the series making one last appearance in the premiere episode of its eighth and final season. In the episode entitled "Opie's First Love", Bailey portrayed Fred Simpson, Mayberry's most handsome and popular boy, who becomes a rival for the affections of Opie's first crush.^[7]

In 1965, Bailey appeared in his first starring role in the feature film At the End of the Rainbow (also known as The Princess and the Magic Frog).^[8][9][10] In the film, Bailey starred as the story's young protagonist, Matthew O'Brien, an Irish boy who plays hooky from school on St. Patrick's Day and subsequently finds himself lost in an enchanted forest, navigating a series of fantastical (mis)adventures and encountering an assortment of fanciful characters as he attempts to find his way home.^[9][10][11] Originally released as a children's weekend matinee feature, the film was largely forgotten until Something Weird Video released the film on DVD in 2004, and has since gained something of a cult following for its low budget production values, as well as for the unintentionally camp performances by the adult character actors.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Teen Years

In 1966, Bailey appeared in an uncredited role in the Walt Disney Pictures dramatic feature film, Follow Me, Boys in which he portrayed Duke, one in a troupe of boy scouts who is mentored by Lemuel Siddons (portrayed by Fred MacMurray).^[3][5] Throughout the rest of his teen years, Bailey would continue to make various guest-starring appearances on numerous well-known television series of the time, including Bewitched, Cimarron Strip, My Three Sons, The Psychiatrist and Nanny and the Professor, as well as appearing as several different characters in various episodes of the high school drama Room 222.^[5][12]

In 1973, Bailey co-starred in the dramatic short film Peege, in which he portrayed Jerry, the middle son in a family who pay a Christmas visit to their now blind and helpless grandmother in the nursing home where she resides.^[13][14] Running just 28 minutes, the film won numerous awards as a gerontological educational tool for school age children and was subsequently added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in December 2007.^[13][14] The following year, Bailey made what would be his last on-screen appearance in the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color special presentation Adventure in Satan's Canyon.^[15][16] In the 60-minute action-adventure special, Bailey starred as Rob, a teenage boy who risks his life kayaking through the whitewater rapids of Idaho's Snake River Canyon in order to rescue an injured friend (portrayed by Richard Jaeckel).^[15][16]

Filmography

As a result of several professional actors working under the name "David Bailey", this filmography may be incomplete.

References

External links

• David Alan Bailey at the Internet Movie Database
• David Alan Bailey at AllMovie ★
• David Alan Bailey at TV Guide ★
• David Alan Bailey at TV.com ★

★ Mistakenly combines credits with those of other actors with the same name