Peter Griffith - Peter Griffith Actor

Peter Atwill Griffith (October 23, 1933 â€" May 14, 2001) was an American advertising executive and child stage actor, appearing on Broadway a few times. His daughters Melanie Griffith and Tracy Griffith, and his granddaughter, Dakota Johnson, became notable actresses.

Life and career

Griffith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Hilda (nÃ©e Atwill) and Ben E. Griffith. He had one sister, Sally Ann Griffith. His mother managed his stage acting career as he worked as a child actor, appearing on Broadway a few times. Griffith served in the Korean War in the U.S. Army.

Griffith married five times. In 1952, at age 18, he married 22-year-old Tippi Hedren, who later worked as an actress. They had a daughter, Melanie Griffith, before divorcing in 1959. In 1960, he married actress Nanita Greene, and together they had two children, Tracy Griffith who also became an actress, and Clay Griffith, a set decorator and production designer. After a fourth divorce, Griffith married Debra Meyer Boyd and remained with her until his death. In the early 1970s he moved his family to Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands, and separated from Greene in 1976. In 1992, he sold his real-estate business, Holiday Homes, and moved to New Mexico.