CONCORD - Belle (Gerherdt) McDonald, age 89, an actor of stage and screen, and longtime Concord resident died November 20, 2015. She was the beloved wife for 52 years of the late Bill McDonald who died in 1999. Born in Chicago, Illinois on April 6, 1926, she attended Chicago public schools and enjoyed taking dance lessons as a child. When she was a teenager she joined the Sauline Players, a travelling acting troupe, where she learned the craft she so joyfully engaged in her entire life. Following WW II, Belle joined and performed with the (USO) United Service Organization in Japan. The play, called "Is Zat So?" was enjoyed by many servicemen. Throughout her life she remembered her time in Japan fondly. In 1947, she came to New York City to study acting at the Fagin School of Drama where she met her future husband, Bill McDonald. He was telling jokes to his fellow aspiring actors; Belle laughed the loudest, so he asked for a date. They were married in 1948. Together they formed a nightclub act in New York City. As television grew more popular and live entertainment less so, they moved to the Boston area to work in Scollay Square and the nightclubs on the North Shore. They bought a house in North Reading, lived briefly in Middleton, and in the middle 1950s settled at White Pond in Concord with their two daughters. Belle continued acting in Community Theater, receiving excellent reviews for such roles as Lola in "Come Back Little Sheba." A resident of Concord, Belle was active in the Concord Players as an Actor and Director. She was a member of the First Parish in Concord. Belle worked in numerous movies including Jaws, Housesitter and Celtic Pride and was also an actor for many years in Shear Madness in Boston. She is survived by her two daughters, Virginia"Ginny" Averill and her husband Robert of Buffalo, NY and Melissa "Missy" Juchniewicz and her husband Bruce of Chester, NH. Visiting hours at the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street, Concord will be held on Sunday, December 20th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. followed by a Remembrance Service at 3 p.m. Burial will be in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord. Arrangements are under the care of the Dee Funeral Home of Concord.