Luke Halpin: Difference between revisions

'''Luke Austin Halpin''' (born April 4, 1947) is ana [[Unitedformer States|American]] actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a [[child actor]] at the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature films ''[[Flipper (1963 film)|Flipper]]'' and ''[[Flipper's New Adventure]]'', as well as for reprising his role for the [[NBC]] [[television series]] adaptation, also called ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)|Flipper]]''.

Halpin was born in [[Astoria, Queens]], [[New York City]], the son of Eugene A. Halpin and the former Helen Joan (Szczepanski) Halpin. His father was of Irish and German descent, and his maternal grandparents were [[Poland|Polish]]. He grew up with his family in [[Long Island City]].<ref>"Luke Halpin Answers 40 Intimate Questions", ''16'' Magazine, February 1965</ref> He has an older brother, Eugene, Jr., and an older sister, Joan. He and his siblings were rearedraised as [[Roman Catholic]]s.<ref>"Ten Things You Never Knew about ME, by Luke Halpin", ''16'' Magazine, December 1966.</ref><ref>[http://www.cpps90.com/luke/html/galleries/luke89b.html My Whole Life Story] ''[[16 (magazine)]]'', June 1965.</ref>

After ''Flipper'' ended, Halpin appeared in feature films, including as Stu MacRae (teen son of [[Richard 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 comedy ''[[If 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 movie ''[[Shock Waves (film)|Shock Waves]]'' (1977) and as Ken Wilson in ''Flipper'' co-creator [[Ricou Browning]]'s ''[[Mr. No Legs]]'' (1979). Halpin's guest appearances on television in the years shortly after ''Flipper'' were; as Kenny Carter, Jr., in the [[Carl Betz]] series ''[[Judd, for the Defense]]'' (1968), as a celebrity contestant on ''[[The Dating Game]]'' (1968), as Ben Cabot, Jr., in ''[[Bracken's World]]'' (1969), as Greg in Ivan Tors' ''[[Primus (TV series)|Primus]]'' (1972), and as Eric Bates in ''[[Caribe (U.S. TV series)|Caribe]]'' (1975).

He appeared in the 1968 episode, "A Mule … Like the Army's Mule" of the syndicated [[anthology series]] ''[[Death Valley Days]]'', in which he was cast as the outlaw [[Sandy King]], the youngest member of the [[William Brocius|"Curly Bill" Brocius]] gang. In the story line, King is befriended by a [[United States Army]] lieutenant, played by [[Sam Melville (actor)|Sam Melville]]. Robert Yuro was cast as "Curly Bill".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959693/|title=''Death Valley Days'': "A Mule ... Like the Army's Mule", October 5, 1968|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|accessdateaccess-date=October 26, 2012}}</ref>

A notable later appearance was in the 1980 television movie ''The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd'', a dramatization about [[Samuel Mudd]] (played by [[Dennis Weaver]]), the [[Maryland]] physician who was imprisoned as an accomplice to [[John Wilkes Booth]] in the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]], where Halpin played [[David Herold]], the conspirator who brought Booth, suffering from a broken leg incurred in the process of assassinating Lincoln, to Dr. Mudd for treatment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081281/|title=The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdateaccess-date=October 27, 2012}}</ref>

Following an acting career that spanned three decades, Halpin began working as a stuntman, marine coordinator, diver, and [[speedboat]] pilot for such feature films as ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'', ''[[Porky's Revenge!]]'', ''[[Flight of the Navigator]]'' and ''[[Speed 2: Cruise Control]]'' as well as for the television series ''[[Miami Vice]]''.<ref name="The Palm Beach Post">{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PBPB&p_theme=pbpb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF3F86BAE197FD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Will The Real Flipper Please Swim By?|author=Kevin D. Thompson|date=May 17, 1996|work=The Palm Beach Post}}</ref><ref name="South Florida Sun-Sentinel">{{cite web|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/650291591.html?dids=650291591:650291591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+12%2C+2004&author=Sally+Kestin+Staff+Writer&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&desc=SWIMMING+IN+NOSTALGIA+STARS+FROM+THE+FLIPPER+TV+SERIES+RETURN+TO+MIAMI+TO+REMINISCE+AND+PROMOTE+SEAQUARIUM+SHOWS.+BUT+THOSE+GOOD+OLD+DAYS+ARE+OVER%2C+CRITICS+SAY.&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131165443/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/650291591.html?dids=650291591:650291591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+12,+2004&author=Sally+Kestin+Staff+Writer&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&desc=SWIMMING+IN+NOSTALGIA+STARS+FROM+THE+FLIPPER+TV+SERIES+RETURN+TO+MIAMI+TO+REMINISCE+AND+PROMOTE+SEAQUARIUM+SHOWS.+BUT+THOSE+GOOD+OLD+DAYS+ARE+OVER,+CRITICS+SAY.&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Stars From The Flipper TV Series Return To Miami|author=Sally Kestin|date=June 12, 2004|work=South Florida Sun-Sentinel}}</ref> He also continued to make [[cameo appearance]]s, most notably, on the television series ''[[Key West (TV series)|Key West]]'', ''[[Miami Vice]]'' and in the 1996 feature film remake, ''[[Flipper (1996 film)|Flipper]]'', starring a 15-year-old [[Elijah Wood]] as Sandy Ricks.<ref name="The Palm Beach Post"/><ref name="Bangor Daily News">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1KhJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MQ4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5880,1674573&dq=luke-halpin&hl=en|title=Tales Of The Human Heart: Flipper|author=|date=December 6, 1996|work=Bangor Daily News}}</ref>

Halpin lives on the west coast of [[Florida]] with his wife, Deborah.<ref name="Ocala Star-Banner">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RuJPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_ggEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5605,5368802&dq=luke-halpin+wife&hl=en|title=Flipper's 40th Is Celebrated In Miami|author=Associated Press|date=June 142015, 2004|work=Ocala Star-Banner}}</ref> He has three sons, Kyle Austin Halpin (born October 1980), Blair Luke Halpin (born December 1982), and Courtney Luke Halpin (born April 1990).<ref name="The Palm Beach Post"/><ref name="Ocala Star-Banner"/> In 2015 it was reported that Halpin was suffering from Stage IV [[head 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 of [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref name="das Neue">{{cite web|url=http://www.pressreader.com/germany/das-neue/20160402/283072708423935|title=Luke Halpin: "Meine Frau ist mein Halt im Leben"?|date=April 2, 2016|work=das Neue}}</ref>

[[Category:Male actors from Queens, New York City]]