Linnell S. Nobori was the wife of actor and director Ted Bessell. The couple married in 1982 and remained so until Bessell died in 1996. Ted is best known for his role in the television series, That Girl, which ran from 1966 to 1971. In the series, Ted played Donald Hollinger, the boyfriend, and fiancé of Marlo Thomas’ character. Linnell was an artist, but she has stayed away from the spotlight throughout her life.
Please keep reading to get more insight into the life of Ted Bessell, his wife, and his children.
Linnell S. Nobori Bio
Linnell is popularly known as the wife of Ted Bessell. Unfortunately, the details of her personal life are unknown. Sources say that she was an artist, but that is not confirmed. Linnell married her husband in 1982 and had two daughters, Sarah Bessell and Mary Bessell. Their daughters seem to have followed in their mother’s footsteps, keeping their lives away from the limelight. Linnell and Bessell remained married until his demise in 1996. Her whereabouts are undisclosed.
Linnell S. Nobori Husband’s Early Life
Born Howard Weston “Ted” Bessell Jr. on 20 March 1935 in Flushing, New York, Ted Bessell grew up in Manhasset, Nassau County, Long Island. His parents were Howard Weston “Buster” Bessell and his wife, Jo. Bessell performed piano at Carnegie Hall as a child prodigy. During his high school years, he played lacrosse. He attended Georgetown University and the University of Colorado and decided to focus on acting. At some point, he wanted to pursue the priesthood as a vocation.
Ted Bessell’s Career
Bessell went on to study dance and dramatic movement. He worked as an usher at ABC New York to get extra income in the ‘50s. He began his acting career by taking up minor roles in television shows like Who Do You Trust? And The Dick Clark Show. During that time, he also acted and directed summer-stock theater, appearing in various works, including Shakespeare and Jule Styne.
Bessel also worked on several off-Broadway projects like The Power of Darkness. Bessell and his brother Frank Bessell co-produced Crimes of Passion. He got good critical recognition as a producer after the production of Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel. He landed more minor roles in The Outsider and Lover Come Back and appeared in the 1962 short-lived series; It’s a Man’s World. He got more roles in episodes of 12 O’Clock High, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Jim Nabor’s Gomer Pyle, USMC.
His career highlight was from 1966 to 1971 when he was cast as Donald Holinger, Mario Thomas’ boyfriend and fiancé in That Girl. He appeared in other sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Me and the Chimp, and Good Time Harry. In 1989, he shared an Emmy as a producer of The Tracey Ullman Show.
Bessel was married two times before meeting his wife, Linnell Nobori, with whom he had two daughters. He died of an aortic aneurysm on 6 October 1996.
Wrapping Up
Linnell stayed by her husband’s side until his last breath, although she kept out of the limelight throughout her marriage to the That Girl star.
