Luke Halpin: Difference between revisions

|occupation =* Actor,
* stuntman,
* marine coordinator

'''Luke Austin Halpin''' (born April 4, 1947) is an Americana former American actor., stuntman, Beginningmarine acoordinator, careerdiver asand pilot. He became a [[child actor]] at the age of eight, Halpinand is perhaps bestwidely 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 titled ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)|Flipper]]''.

Halpin was born in [[Astoria, Queens]], [[New York City]], the son of Eugene A. Halpin and Helen Joan (née Szczepanski) and Eugene A. 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 raised 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>

Halpin's most famous role came when at age 15 he was picked to play the 12-year-old Sandy Ricks in producer [[Ivan Tors]]' 1962 (released 1963) feature film ''[[Flipper (1963 film)|Flipper]]'' (filmed in the [[Florida Keys]] and Miami), starring alongside [[Chuck 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-star [[Brian Kelly (actor)|Brian Kelly]] as Porter Ricks, a trainee Park Ranger who, after his training, is assigned to the fictitious Coral Key Park,. andKelly youngplayed 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 ''[[Flipper (1964 TVtelevision series)]]'' that commencedbegan filming in the summer of 1964 (when Halpin was 17), adding younger brother Bud, played by [[Tommy Norden]] when Norden was 11.

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 playedfilled 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 ''[[Flipper (1964 TVtelevision series)]]'' ran for eighty-eight episodes from 1964 to 1967 (with Halpin appearing in all but three episodes) and is still in [[Television syndication|syndication]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thistv.com/view/series/673/Flipper%20(1964) |title = This TV weekday mornings 5am (eastern US)}}</ref> It was filmed in the park and waters around [[Key Biscayne, Florida]], at the Ivan Tors (now Greenwich) Studios and the [[Miami 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 debut [[1964-65 United States network television schedule|1964-65 season]]. The series made Halpin a [[teen idol]], especially among adolescent viewers. He was often featured in such magazines as ''[[Bravo (magazine)|Bravo]]'', ''Teen Life'', ''[[16 Magazine]]'', and the earliest issues of ''[[Tiger Beat]]''. On the basis of his appearances in the original ''[[Flipper (1963 film)|Flipper]]'' feature films, Halpin was a guest 'contestant' on the [[CBS]] panel show ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'' just prior to the beginning of filming of the ''[[Flipper (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.

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). TVHalpin's guest appearances on television in the years shortly after ''Flipper'' includewere; 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 1968, wherewhich he playedwas cast as the outlaw [[Sandy King]], athe youngyoungest member of the [[William Brocius|"Curly Bill" Brocius]] gang. In the story line, whoKing 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=httphttps://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=httphttps://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 heHalpin was sufferingat fromthe 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]]

[[Category:People from CharlotteLong CountyIsland City, FloridaQueens]]