Luke Austin Halpin(born April 4, 1947) is a former American actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became achild actorat the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature filmsFlipperandFlipper's New Adventure,as well as for reprising his role for theNBCtelevision seriesadaptation,Flipper.
Luke Halpin | |
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Luke Halpin, May 1965 | |
| Born | Luke Austin Halpin April 4, 1947 |
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| Spouse(s) | Patricia Warren Ott (1971-197?) (divorced) Judy Suzanne Meyer (1977-1987) (divorced) 2 children Deborah Jane Durrell (1991-present) 1 child |
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Early life
editHalpin was born inAstoria, Queens,New York City,the son of Eugene A. Halpin and Helen Joan (Szczepanski) Halpin. His father was of Irish and German descent, and his maternal grandparents werePolish.He grew up with his family inLong Island City.[1]He has an older brother, Eugene Jr., and an older sister, Joan. He and his siblings were raised asRoman Catholics.[2][3]
Career
editEarly career
editHalpin's career began when a music teacher, impressed by Halpin's "all-American" look, encouraged him to try acting.[4]In 1955 he co-starred withNatalie Woodin an episode ofStudio Oneentitled "Miracle at Potter's Farm". Numerous roles followed, and by his mid-teens, Halpin had appeared on many of the major TV series of the day:Armstrong Circle Theatre,The United States Steel Hour,Kraft Television Theatre,Hallmark Hall of Fame,The Phil Silvers Show,Harbormaster,The Defenders,Route 66,Naked City,The Everglades,and had a recurring role for six months on the soap operaYoung Doctor Malone.
Halpin's early career also included several stage roles. He made his Broadway debut inTake Me AlongstarringJackie Gleason,and appeared inSunrise at Campobello,and withMary Martinin bothAnnie Get Your GunandPeter Pan.Halpin also acted in plays that were televised onThe Play of the Weekincluding starring with Broadway luminariesBurgess MeredithandZero Mostelin the critically acclaimed avant-garde playWaiting for Godot.
Flipper
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Halpin's most famous role came when at age 15 he was picked to play the 12-year-old Sandy Ricks in producerIvan Tors' 1963 feature filmFlipper(filmed in theFlorida Keysand Miami), starring alongsideChuck Connors,who played Sandy's father and fisherman Porter Ricks. The successful film spawned a sequel,Flipper's New Adventure(filmed mainly in the Bahamas), released in 1964, and with new co-starBrian Kellyas Porter Ricks, a trainee Park Ranger who, after his training, is assigned to the fictitious Coral Key Park. Kelly played a widowed father to Sandy (although in reality Halpin was only sixteen years younger than Kelly). Kelly and Halpin kept the same roles for the television series that began filming in the summer of 1964, adding younger brother Bud, played byTommy Norden.
Halpin was chosen by Tors for the role of Sandy Ricks because of his skills in the water as well as his extensive prior acting experience. He also proved able to bond quickly with the dolphins who filled the role of Flipper. This chemistry paved the way for the launching of the TV series after the two feature films. By the time filming of the TV series commenced, Halpin had become an expert skin and scuba diver and exhibited an easy athleticism that enabled him to perform many of his own stunts in and below the water including a number of dangerous scenes involving sharks. His popular TV character became defined by many water-activity related plots with him often wearing nothing more than what came to be his signature cut-off blue jeans shorts.
The television series ran for eighty-eight episodes from 1964 to 1967 (with Halpin appearing in all but three episodes) and is still insyndication.[5]It was filmed in the park and waters aroundKey Biscayne, Florida,at the Ivan Tors (now Greenwich) Studios and theMiami Seaquarium,both in Miami. The series performed strongly in the hotly contested Saturday night TV slot, rating in the Top 25 of all TV shows in its debut1964-65 season.The series made Halpin ateen idol,especially among adolescent viewers. He was often featured in such magazines asBravo,Teen Life,16 Magazine,and the earliest issues ofTiger Beat.On the basis of his appearances in the originalFlipperfeature films, Halpin was a guest 'contestant' on theCBSpanel showTo Tell the Truthjust prior to the beginning of filming of theFlipper (1964 TV series),on March 30, 1964. He appeared on the show again just prior to the filming of the second season, on April 15, 1965.
Later work
editAfterFlipperended, Halpin appeared in feature films, including as Stu MacRae (teen son ofRichard Greene's starring character) in Ivan Tors'Island of the Lost(1967), as Bo (student radical who befriends a teenage girl travelling on a European bus tour) in the comedyIf It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium(1969), as Keith (First Mate on a shabby vessel chartered for a tour that stumbles on 'living dead' Nazis) in iconic niche horror movieShock Waves(1977) and as Ken Wilson inFlipperco-creatorRicou Browning'sMr. No Legs(1979). Halpin's guest appearances on television in the years shortly afterFlipperwere; as Kenny Carter, Jr., in theCarl BetzseriesJudd, for the Defense(1968), as a celebrity contestant onThe Dating Game(1968), as Ben Cabot, Jr., inBracken's World(1969), as Greg in Ivan Tors'Primus(1972), and as Eric Bates inCaribe(1975).
He appeared in the 1968 episode, "A Mule… Like the Army's Mule" of the syndicatedanthology seriesDeath Valley Days,in which he was cast as the outlawSandy King,the youngest member of the"Curly Bill" Brociusgang. In the story line, King is befriended by aUnited States Armylieutenant, played bySam Melville.Robert Yuro was cast as "Curly Bill".[6]
A notable later appearance was in the 1980 television movieThe Ordeal of Dr. Mudd,a dramatization aboutSamuel Mudd(played byDennis Weaver), theMarylandphysician who was imprisoned as an accomplice toJohn Wilkes Boothin theassassination of Abraham Lincoln,where Halpin playedDavid Herold,the conspirator who brought Booth, suffering from a broken leg incurred in the process of assassinating Lincoln, to Dr. Mudd for treatment.[7]
After acting
editFollowing an acting career that spanned three decades, Halpin began working as a stuntman, marine coordinator, diver, andspeedboatpilot for such feature films asNever Say Never Again,Porky's Revenge!,Flight of the NavigatorandSpeed 2: Cruise Controlas well as for the television seriesMiami Vice.[8][9]He also continued to makecameo appearances,most notably, on the television seriesKey West,Miami Viceand in the 1996 feature film remake,Flipper,starring a 15-year-oldElijah Woodas Sandy Ricks.[8][10]
Halpin lives on the west coast ofFloridawith his wife, Deborah.[11]He has three sons, Kyle Austin Halpin (born October 1980), Blair Luke Halpin (born December 1982), and Courtney Luke Halpin (born April 1990).[8][11]
In 2015, it was reported that Halpin was suffering from Stage IVhead and neck cancer.A website to assist in his care has been established. In June 2016, a family friend announced the cancer was in remission but that Halpin was at the time in the early stages ofAlzheimer's disease.[12]
References
edit- ^"Luke Halpin Answers 40 Intimate Questions",16Magazine, February 1965
- ^"Ten Things You Never Knew about ME, by Luke Halpin",16Magazine, December 1966.
- ^My Whole Life Story16 (magazine),June 1965.
- ^"This Is Me!...Luke Halpin",Teen LifeMagazine, November 1965
- ^"This TV weekday mornings 5am (eastern US)".
- ^"Death Valley Days:"A Mule... Like the Army's Mule", October 5, 1968 ".Internet Movie Database.RetrievedOctober 26,2012.
- ^"The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd".Internet Movie Database.RetrievedOctober 27,2012.
- ^abcKevin D. Thompson (May 17, 1996)."Will The Real Flipper Please Swim By?".The Palm Beach Post.
- ^Sally Kestin (June 12, 2004)."Stars From The Flipper TV Series Return To Miami".South Florida Sun-Sentinel.Archived fromthe originalon January 31, 2013.
- ^"Tales Of The Human Heart: Flipper".Bangor Daily News.December 6, 1996.
- ^ab"Flipper's 40th Is Celebrated In Miami".Ocala Star-Banner.Associated Press. June 14, 2004.
- ^"Luke Halpin:" Meine Frau ist mein Halt im Leben "?".das Neue.April 2, 2016.
External links
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