Darryl Hickman
Darryl Hickman | |
---|---|
![]() Hickman inThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers(1946) | |
Born | Darryl Gerard Hickman July 28, 1931 |
Died | May 22, 2024 | (aged 92)
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1934–1999 |
Spouses | |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Dwayne Hickman(brother) |
Darryl Gerard Hickman(July 28, 1931 – May 22, 2024) was an American actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in theGolden Age of Hollywoodand appeared in numerous television serials as an adult, including several episodes of the CBS seriesThe Nanny.He appeared in films such asThe Grapes of Wrath(1940) andLeave Her to Heaven(1945).
He was the older brother ofDwayne Hickman,an actor, television executive, producer and director.
Child actor in the 1930s and 1940s
[edit]In the mid-1930s, Darryl was discovered by a dance-school director, and subsequently became a student there. The following year, Hollywood studioParamountsigned a contract with the child actor. His first film role was asRonald Colman's son inThe Prisoner of Zendain 1937.[1]He attended Paramount's school in California and his classmates includedGene NelsonandJackie Cooper.[2]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Darryl_Hickman_in_Joe_Smith%2C_American_%281942%29.png/220px-Darryl_Hickman_in_Joe_Smith%2C_American_%281942%29.png)
In preparation for the 1939Bing CrosbymovieThe Star Maker,Paramount casting agents, led byLeroy Prinz,interviewed more than a thousand children. Hickman won one of the parts in the film. Pleased with Hickman's performance, Crosby notified his older brother and talent agent Everett Crosby of the young actor.[3][4]After this, he went on to appear in multiple motion pictures throughout the 1930s and 1940s in a wide array of genres. A busy performer, he sometimes worked on different films simultaneously.[5]
In 1939, Hickman was cast in20th Century Fox's film adaption ofJohn Steinbeck's best-selling novel from 1939,The Grapes of Wrath,starringHenry Fondaand directed byJohn Ford.He portrayed Winfield Joad, the youngest member of a family trying to cope with the hardships ofthe Great Depression.[6]The film was a critical and commercial success, with Ford winning anAcademy Award for Best Director,while actressJane Darwellwon forBest Supporting Actress.[7][8]In 1941, Hickman played a reform-school juvenile delinquent inMen of Boys Town,"almost running away [with the movie] right under [co-star]Mickey Rooney's nose ", said one review.[9]Another notable role during this time included the wartimemelodramaThe Human Comedy,where he played a mentally slow child. Hickman made a featured appearance as Frank in the 1942Our Gangcomedy shortGoing to Press.[10][unreliable source]In 1944, he again played the bad-boy antagonist, cast oppositeJimmy Lydon'sgoody two-shoescharacter in the filmHenry Aldrich, Boy Scout.[9]
In 1946, he played the younger version ofVan Heflin's character Sam Masterson in thefilm noirThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers.To make it seem credible that Hickman looked like a young Van Heflin, the latter provided a picture of himself as a teenager to makeup artistWally Westmore.[11]In this period, he also acted alongsideGene TierneyandCornel Wildein the 1945 filmLeave Her to Heaven.Being the sole survivor among the cast, he provided extra commentary in the DVD release of the movie. His experience of working with Tierney was mixed; he considered her to have been aloof and not to have given her best performance, although it led to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.[12]
The year after the release ofLeave Her to Heaven,Hickman was lauded by a newspaper as "one of Hollywood's top juveniles".[13]Hickman later became critical of child acting, lamenting how the profession for young actors deprives them of a real childhood. He opted to get therapy for several years to come to terms with his past.[14][15]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Susan_Peters_and_Darryl_Hickman_in_Song_of_Russia.jpg/220px-Susan_Peters_and_Darryl_Hickman_in_Song_of_Russia.jpg)
Adult years as an actor
[edit]Hickman graduated fromCathedral High SchoolinLos Angelesin 1948 (his brotherDwaynegraduated from the same school in 1952).[16]Finding it hard to adjust to adulthood after being in the limelight for most of his childhood, he retired fromshow businessto enter amonasteryin 1951 as aPassionistmonk. He returned to Hollywood around one month later.[17][18]He continued acting, but with fewer roles than he had at the peak of his career. One of his most notable roles during this time was as Al in the 1956 filmTea and Sympathy.He also began acting for the first time in the then-new entertainment medium of television. The switch did not always turn out successfully, for many shows were cancelled for various reasons in the early years of television.[19]Hickman's ongoing efforts to reinvigorate his acting career were interrupted for two years while he served in theU.S. Armyfrom 1954 to 1956 during theKorean War.[20]
In 1959 and 1960, Hickman appeared on younger brother Dwayne Hickman'sCBSsitcomThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,playing Dobie's older brother Davey in three episodes: "The Right Triangle" (1959), "Deck the Halls" (1959), and "Where There's a Will" (1960).[21][unreliable source]Also in 1959 he starred twice in the TV WesternGunsmoke;as "Andy Hill" in the episode "The Choice" (S4E34) and as "Danny" in the episode "Target" (S5E1). In 1961, Hickman starred in a short-lived TV seriesThe Americans.[19]
In 1957, Hickman played murderer Steve Harris in thePerry Masonepisode "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece". He appeared in two episodes ofThe Untouchables,"You Can't Pick the Number" and "Pressure". Aside from film and television, Hickman also starred in theBroadwayproduction ofPulitzer Prize-winning playHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Tryingin 1963, substituting for starRobert Morse,[19]and in the touring company of the musicalGeorge Min 1969.[22]In 1976, after a 17-year hiatus from movies, Hickman had a minor role as Bill Herron inNetwork.[23][24]
Television executive and acting coach
[edit]Hickman became a television executive, producer, and occasional screenwriter, mainly working in New York City.[15]He wrote the scripts for several 1961 episodes ofThe Loretta Young Show.[25]In the early 1970s, Hickman was associate producer of the long-running soap operaLove of Life.[15]He was also one of the producers ofA Year at the TopwithNorman Learin 1977. During the production of thepilotepisode forA Year at the Top,he reunited with guest-star Mickey Rooney, with whom he had acted in theBoys TownsequelMen of Boys Townin 1941.[26]
Hickman's book about acting techniques,The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, in Full Command,was published in April 2007.[27]In it, he explains how his approach to acting evolved through his interactions with the various actors and directors with whom he worked over the years. One of his most important influences came from working withSpencer TracyandGeorge Cukorin the 1942 movieKeeper of the Flame.In another book written by James Curtis and published in 2011,Spencer Tracy: A Biography,Hickman's admiration for Tracy and Cukor is again documented. He praises the two men's patience in that biography, as well as their ability to give due attention to inexperienced actors such as himself.[28]Earlier, in a 2002 interview, Hickman stated that the current generation of young Hollywood actors was talented, but lacked the proper coaching and ambition.[29]
Personal life and death
[edit]Hickman was born inHollywood, California,on July 28, 1931,[30]to Milton and Katherine (née Ostertag) Hickman.[citation needed]His father sold insurance and his mother was a housewife.[30]His maternal grandfather, Louis Henry Ostertag, was aU.S. Navyseaman on CommodoreGeorge Dewey's flagship, the cruiserUSSOlympia(C-6),and present at theBattle of Manila Bayon May 1, 1898, for which he was awarded theDewey Medalby Act of Congress. Per the 1940 Census, Darryl and his family were living with his grandparents at 950 N. Kenmore Ave. in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
Hickman married actressPamela Lincoln,with whom he had acted in the movieThe Tingler,on November 28, 1959.[31][32]The couple, who had two sons, divorced in 1982. Their younger son, Justin, committedsuicideat the age of 19 in 1985.[17]
Hickman died on May 22, 2024, at the age of 92.[30][33]
Selected filmography
[edit]Features
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1937 | The Prisoner of Zenda | Bit Role | Uncredited |
1938 | If I Were King | Child | Uncredited |
1939 | The Star Maker | "Boots" | |
1940 | Emergency Squad | Bob | Uncredited |
The Grapes of Wrath | Winfield Joad | ||
The Farmer's Daughter | Billy Bingham | Uncredited | |
The Way of All Flesh | Victor As A boy | ||
Prairie Law | Homesteader's Son | Uncredited | |
Untamed | Mickey Moriarty | ||
Mystery Sea Raider | Benny | Uncredited | |
Young People | Tommy | ||
1941 | Sign of the Wolf | Billy Freeman | |
Men of Boys Town | "Flip" | ||
Mob Town | Butch "Shrimp" Malone | ||
Glamour Boy | Billy Doran | ||
1942 | Young America | David Engstrom | |
Joe Smith, American | Johnny Smith | ||
Jackass Mail | Tommy Gargan | ||
Northwest Rangers | 'Blackie' As A Boy | ||
1943 | Keeper of the Flame | Jeb Rickards | |
The Human Comedy | Lionel | ||
Assignment in Brittany | Etienne | ||
1944 | Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout | Peter Kent | |
Song of Russia | Peter Bulganov | ||
And Now Tomorrow | Joe | Uncredited | |
Meet Me in St. Louis | Johnny Tevis | Uncredited | |
1945 | Salty O'Rourke | "Sneezer" | |
Captain Eddie | Eddie Rickenbacker As A Boy | ||
Rhapsody in Blue | Ira GershwinAs A Boy | ||
Kiss and Tell | Raymond Pringle | ||
Leave Her to Heaven | Danny Harland | ||
1946 | Two Years Before the Mast | Sam Hooper | |
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers | Young Sam Masterson | ||
Boys' Ranch | Hank | ||
1947 | The Devil on Wheels | Micky Clark | |
Black Gold | Schoolboy | ||
Dangerous Years | Leo Emerson | ||
1948 | The Sainted Sisters | Jud Tewilliger | |
Fighting Father Dunne | Matt Davis | ||
Big Town Scandal | "Skinny" Peters | ||
1949 | Alias Nick Beal | Larry Price | |
The Set-Up | Shanley | ||
Any Number Can Play | Paul Enley Kyng | ||
A Kiss for Corliss | Dexter Franklin | ||
1950 | The Happy Years | "Tough" McCarty | |
1951 | Lightning Strikes Twice | "String" | |
Criminal Lawyer | Bill Webber | Uncredited | |
Submarine Command | Jack Wheelwright | ||
1953 | Destination Gobi | Wilbur "Coney" Cohen | |
Island in the Sky | Swanson | ||
Sea of Lost Ships | Senior Cadet Pete Bennett | ||
1954 | Southwest Passage | Jeb | |
Prisoner of War | Merton Tollivar | ||
Ricochet Romance | Dave King | ||
1955 | Many Rivers to Cross | Miles Henderson | Uncredited |
1956 | Tea and Sympathy | Al | |
1957 | The Iron Sheriff | Benjamin "Benjie" Galt | |
The Persuader | Toby Bonham | ||
1959 | The Tingler | David Morris | |
Time Element | Ensign Janoski | TV series | |
1976 | Network | Bill Herron | |
1981 | Looker | Dr. Jim Belfield | |
Sharky's Machine | Detective Smiley | ||
1982 | The Tragedy of King Lear | Earl of Kent | |
1986 | GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords | Marbles / Hornet | Voice |
Television
[edit]Title | Year | Role | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sneak Preview | 1956 | Season 1 Episode 5: "The Way Back" | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | 1957 | Jackie Blake | Season 3 Episode 4: "Heart of Gold" | |
Wanted: Dead or Alive | 1959 | Damon Ring, Jr. | Season 1 Episode 18: "Rope Law" | ||||
Gunsmoke | 1959 | Andy Hill | S4:E34, "The Choice" | ||||
Danny | S5:E1, "Target" | ||||||
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | 1959–1960 | Davey Gillis | Episode: "The Right Triangle" | ||||
Episode: "Deck the Halls" | |||||||
Episode: "Where There's a Will" | |||||||
Rawhide | 1961 | Andy Miller | S3:E18, "Incident of the Running Iron" | ||||
The Untouchables | 1959-1962 | Phil Morrisey | S1:E11, "You Can't Pick the Number" | ||||
Danny Madikoff | S3:E26, "Pressure" | ||||||
Good Old Days | 1966 | Rok | unsold sitcom pilot |
Short films
[edit]- Coffins on Wheels(1941) – Billy Phillips
- Heart Burn(1942) – Nephew
- Going to Press(1942) – Frank
- Boogie Woogie(1945) – Junior Stumplefinger
References
[edit]- ^"Darryl Hickman Right In His Element In Kiss For Corliss".The Capital.Annapolis, Maryland. January 30, 1950. p. 10.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– viaNewspaperarchive.
- ^"The Hollywood Round-Up".Amarillo Globe-News.UP. September 12, 1939. p. 13.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Written at Hollywood."Darryl Hickman finds brother is now his Boss".The Mercury.Pottstown, Pennsylvania. UPI. August 5, 1977. p. 24.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– viaNewspapers.
- ^Neville, Lucie (June 25, 1939)."Pooh for Shirley! They're in the Movies Now!".San Bernardino County Sun.Hollywood. p. 32.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspapers.
- ^"Civil War Theme-'The Americans' Eagerly Watched By Americans".Wilson Daily Times.May 2, 1961. p. 13.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Nugent, Frank (January 25, 1940)."Twentieth Century-Fox Shows a Flawless Film Edition of John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on August 6, 2020.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^"The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners".Oscars.October 5, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on March 21, 2016.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^King, Susan (January 11, 2001)."'Grapes' Memories ".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on August 18, 2016.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
- ^ab"Theaters".Mansfield News Journal.April 13, 1944.Archivedfrom the original on October 28, 2020.RetrievedOctober 23,2020– via Newspapers.
- ^Going to PressatIMDbRetrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^"Photographers Serve As Makeup Models".Brownsville Herald.Hollywood. February 10, 1946. p. 28.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Henderson, Eric (May 28, 2013)."Leave Her to Heaven".Slant Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on September 12, 2015.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^"'Devil On Wheels' Is Lesson Film ".Camden News.June 28, 1947. p. 2.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Sifford, Darrell (October 29, 1984)."Former child star learns to cope".Boca Raton News.p. 6.Archivedfrom the original on May 22, 2022.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Google News Archive.
- ^abcDunn, Bill (May 29, 1971)."Actor Now Producing And Writing".The Tribune.Seymour, Indiana. p. 18.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Wakelee-Lynch, Joseph (November 17, 2011)."The Careers of Dwayne Hickman '56".Loyola Marymount University.Archived fromthe originalon March 12, 2016.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^ab"Overview for Darryl Hickman".Turner Classic Movies.Archivedfrom the original on June 12, 2016.RetrievedJuly 2,2016.
- ^Graves, Jim (July 27, 2017)."The Hollywood Round-Up".Catholic World Report.Archivedfrom the original on September 23, 2017.RetrievedSeptember 23,2017.
- ^abc"Darryl Hickman He Has TV Scars".Doylestown Intelligencer.December 21, 1963. p. 21.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^"Darryl Hickman".Turner Classic Movies.Archived fromthe originalon August 8, 2016.RetrievedJuly 3,2016.
- ^"Darryl Hickman"ArchivedApril 21, 2017, at theWayback Machine.IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^"Darryl Hickman – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedJuly 2,2024.
- ^Crosby, Joan (September 29, 1977)."Ex-child actor busy in adult behind-camera work".El Paso Herald-Post.p. 44.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedJuly 2,2016– via Newspapers.
- ^Monaco, James (1992).Network.Perigee Trade. p. 617.ISBN9780399517808.
- ^Witbeck, Charles (July 2, 1961)."Darryl Hickman's Growing Up".Chicago Tribune.p. 8.Archivedfrom the original on May 25, 2024.RetrievedJuly 3,2016.
- ^"'A Day at the Top', Norman Lear's Latest ".Findlay Courier.Los Angeles. AP. January 5, 1977. p. 13.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Hickman, Darryl (2007).The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, In Full Command.Small Mountain Press.ISBN978-0977680924.
- ^Curtis, James (2011).Spencer Tracy: A Biography.Knopf.ISBN978-0307262899.
- ^Koseluk, Chris (February 14, 2002)."Acting Out".Backstage.Archivedfrom the original on August 14, 2016.RetrievedJuly 3,2016.
- ^abcMurphy, Brian (May 26, 2024)."Darryl Hickman, celebrated child actor in the 1940s, dies at 92".Washington Post.RetrievedMay 28,2024.
- ^"Actor Darryl Hickman Marries in Hollywood".Racine Journal Times.Hollywood. AP. November 29, 1959. p. 10.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2023.RetrievedDecember 20,2023– via Newspaperarchive.
- ^Morris, Eric (2015).The Diary of a Professional Experiencer: An Autobiographical Journey Into the Evolution of an Acting System.Ermor Enterprises.ISBN978-0962970955.
- ^Barnes, Mike (May 24, 2024)."Darryl Hickman, Young Actor in 'The Grapes of Wrath' and 'Leave Her to Heaven,' Dies at 92".The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on May 24, 2024.RetrievedMay 24,2024.
Bibliography
[edit]- Holmstrom, John.The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995,Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 169–170.
- Best, Marc.Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen,South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 105–110.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
External links
[edit]- 1931 births
- 2024 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- Actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles
- American acting coaches
- American male child actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- American television executives
- Male actors from Los Angeles
- Military personnel from California
- Paramount Pictures contract players
- United States Army personnel of the Korean War