Darryl Hickman

Not to be confused withDarrell Hickman.

Darryl Hickman
Hickman inThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers(1946)
Born	Darryl Gerard Hickman (1931-07-28)July 28, 1931 Hollywood, California,U.S.
Died	May 22, 2024(2024-05-22)(aged 92) Montecito, California,U.S.
Occupations	Actor screenwriter television executive acting coach
Years active	1934–1999
Spouses	Pamela Lincoln ​ ​ (m.1959;div.1982)​ Lynda Farmer Hickman (m.19??)
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

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.He attended Paramount's school in California and his classmates includedGene NelsonandJackie Cooper.

Hickman inJoe Smith, American(1942)

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.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.

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.The film was a critical and commercial success, with Ford winning anAcademy Award for Best Director,while actressJane Darwellwon forBest Supporting Actress.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.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.In 1944, he again played the bad-boy antagonist, cast oppositeJimmy Lydon'sgoody two-shoescharacter in the filmHenry Aldrich, Boy Scout.

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.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.

The year after the release ofLeave Her to Heaven,Hickman was lauded by a newspaper as "one of Hollywood's top juveniles".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.

Hickman with Susan Peters inSong of Russia(1944)

Adult years as an actor

Hickman graduated fromCathedral High SchoolinLos Angelesin 1948 (his brotherDwaynegraduated from the same school in 1952).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.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.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.

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).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.

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,and in the touring company of the musicalGeorge Min 1969.In 1976, after a 17-year hiatus from movies, Hickman had a minor role as Bill Herron inNetwork.

Television executive and acting coach

Hickman became a television executive, producer, and occasional screenwriter, mainly working in New York City.He wrote the scripts for several 1961 episodes ofThe Loretta Young Show.In the early 1970s, Hickman was associate producer of the long-running soap operaLove of Life.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.

Hickman's book about acting techniques,The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, in Full Command,was published in April 2007.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.Earlier, in a 2002 interview, Hickman stated that the current generation of young Hollywood actors was talented, but lacked the proper coaching and ambition.

Personal life and death

Hickman was born inHollywood, California,on July 28, 1931,to Milton and Katherine (née Ostertag) Hickman.His father sold insurance and his mother was a housewife.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.

Hickman married actressPamela Lincoln,with whom he had acted in the movieThe Tingler,on November 28, 1959.The couple, who had two sons, divorced in 1982. Their younger son, Justin, committedsuicideat the age of 19 in 1985.

Hickman died on May 22, 2024, at the age of 92.

Selected filmography

Features

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

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

• Coffins on Wheels(1941) – Billy Phillips
• Heart Burn(1942) – Nephew
• Going to Press(1942) – Frank
• Boogie Woogie(1945) – Junior Stumplefinger

Bibliography

• 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.

External links

• Darryl HickmanatIMDb
• Darryl Hickmanat theTCM Movie Database
• Darryl Hickmanat theInternet Broadway Database
• Darryl Hickmanat theAmerican Film Institute Catalog
• 2009 Half-Hour TV Interview on The Creative Community