Carmen Pantages Considine, 89, Gave Time And Money To Veterans

Seattle native Carmen Pantages Considine, daughter of impresario Alexander Pantages, whose glitzy theaters dot North America, enjoyed a life of privilege from the start.

Fine homes and fashion, world travel and famous friends filled her life from childhood in Seattle to adulthood in Los Angeles.

But she gave of her time and money for more than 40 years to the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

She also taught her children all they needed to know about a life of love and service, said her son John Considine of Port Townsend, a film and television actor and writer.

"We went to Catholic schools," said her son, "and when they taught about Christ, I always thought my mother was the closest to being like he was of anyone I knew."

Mrs. Considine died Tuesday (Sept. 15) of heart failure in Culver City, Calif. She was 89.

As a girl, she appeared at the openings of her Greek-immigrant father's theaters. Alexander Pantages founded his first theaters in Seattle and Tacoma. Most were designed in a showy, Moorish style by architect B. Marcus Priteca.

Mrs. Considine danced a jig at the opening of the Tacoma Pantages Theater in 1918, while her mother played violin.

At home, the tiny, shy girl tended goal, albeit reluctantly, for her hockey-playing brothers in the ballroom of their 1909 mansion in Seattle's Washington Park.

In her late teens she attended the exclusive Westlake School for Girls near Los Angeles, then married Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filmmaker John W. Considine II. Her husband produced such films as "Boys Town" and "Broadway Melody of 1936."

Former actress Marion Davies, the mistress of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, was maid of honor at Mrs. Considine's wedding. Mrs. Considine often visited Hearst's San Simeon ranch on the Central California coast.

"We learned to swim in Hearst's pool," said her son Tim Considine, a writer and former child actor ("My Three Sons" and "Spin and Marty").

For 45 years, Mrs. Considine and one of her late brothers went every Monday to bring movies and serve food to paralyzed veterans at hospitals near Los Angeles. She also loved throwing parties for veterans at her home.

"To the end she was happy and, I can tell you, she was beautiful," Tim Considine said. "She's always looked very young. After her divorce from my father (1958), she had men friends but never remarried. There was also never an unkind word about him . . . or anyone else."

Survivors include her daughter, Erin Considine Magnin of Los Angeles, and four grandchildren.

No services are planned in Seattle. Requiem Mass will be said Sept. 26 in Beverly Hills.

Remembrances may go to the California Paralyzed Veterans of America Association, Veterans Administration Medical Center, 5901 E. Seventh St., Long Beach, CA 90822.