Luke Halpin: Difference between revisions

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 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, and young 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 TV series)]]'' that commenced filming in the summer of 1964 (when Halpin was 17) adding younger brother Bud, played by [[Tommy Norden]] when Norden was 11. Famous [[character actor]] [[Andy Devine]] appeared in five episodes of the series' first season, and Swedish actress [[Ulla Strömstedt]] appeared in 12 episodes of the second season. In addition, there were guest appearances from a number of veteran actors such as [[Huntz Hall]], [[Jean-Pierre Aumont]] and [[Gloria DeHaven]], as well as several actors who would become famous in later years such as [[Burt Reynolds]], [[Martin Sheen]], [[Barbara Feldon]], [[Jessica Walter]], [[Cheryl Miller (actress)|Cheryl Miller]], [[Lynda Day George]], [[David Soul]] and [[Daniel J. Travanti]].

The ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)]]'' ran for eighty-eight episodes from 1964 to 1967 (with Halpin appearing in all but three episodes) and is still in 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 famous [[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.