Luke Halpin: Difference between revisions

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

'''Luke Austin Halpin''' (born April 4, 1947) is ana [[Unitedformer States|American]] former actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a [[child actor]] at the age of eight and 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 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>

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]]' 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. 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 by [[Tommy Norden]].

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). TelevisionHalpin'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]]