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==Adult years as an actor==
==Adult years as an actor==
Hickman graduated from [[Cathedral High School (Los Angeles)|Cathedral High School]] in [[Los Angeles]] in 1948 (his brother [[Dwayne Hickman|Dwayne]] graduated from the same school in 1952).<ref name="Education">{{cite web|url=http://magazine.lmu.edu/archive/2011/careers-dwayne-hickman-56|title=The Careers of Dwayne Hickman ’56|publisher=[[Loyola Marymount University]]|date=November 17, 2011|accessdate=July 2, 2016|author=Wakelee-Lynch, Joseph}}</ref> Finding it hard to adjust to adulthood after being in the limelight for most of his childhood, he retired from [[show business]] to enter a [[monastery]] in 1951 as a [[Passionist|passionist]] monk. He returned to Hollywood around one month later.<ref name="TCM">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/86038%7C35862/Darryl-Hickman|title=Overview for Darryl Hickman|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|accessdate=July 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Catholic">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicworldreport.com/2017/07/27/a-close-friend-remembers-servant-of-god-cora-evans/|title=The Hollywood Round-Up|publisher=Catholic World Report|date=July 27, 2017|accessdate=September 23, 2017|author=Graves, Jim}}</ref> He continued acting, but with fewer roles than he had at the peak of his career. 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.<ref name="Doylestown">{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/doylestown/doylestown-intelligencer/1963/12-21/page-21?tag=darryl+hickman&rtserp=tags/?pep=darryl-hickman|title=Darryl Hickman He Has TV Scars|publisher=''[[Doylestown Intelligencer]]''|date=December 21, 1963|accessdate=July 1, 2016|page=21}}</ref> Hickman's ongoing efforts to reinvigorate his acting career were interrupted for two years while he served in the [[United States Army]] from 1954 to 1956.<ref name="TCMFestival16">{{cite web|url=http://filmfestival.tcm.com/programs/special-guests/darryl-hickman|title=Darryl Hickman|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|accessdate=July 3, 2016}}</ref>
Hickman graduated from [[Cathedral High School (Los Angeles)|Cathedral High School]] in [[Los Angeles]] in 1948 (his brother [[Dwayne Hickman|Dwayne]] graduated from the same school in 1952).<ref name="Education">{{cite web|url=http://magazine.lmu.edu/archive/2011/careers-dwayne-hickman-56|title=The Careers of Dwayne Hickman ’56|publisher=[[Loyola Marymount University]]|date=November 17, 2011|accessdate=July 2, 2016|author=Wakelee-Lynch, Joseph|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312092605/http://magazine.lmu.edu/archive/2011/careers-dwayne-hickman-56|archivedate=March 12, 2016|df=}}</ref> Finding it hard to adjust to adulthood after being in the limelight for most of his childhood, he retired from [[show business]] to enter a [[monastery]] in 1951 as a [[Passionist|passionist]] monk. He returned to Hollywood around one month later.<ref name="TCM">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/86038%7C35862/Darryl-Hickman|title=Overview for Darryl Hickman|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|accessdate=July 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Catholic">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicworldreport.com/2017/07/27/a-close-friend-remembers-servant-of-god-cora-evans/|title=The Hollywood Round-Up|publisher=Catholic World Report|date=July 27, 2017|accessdate=September 23, 2017|author=Graves, Jim}}</ref> He continued acting, but with fewer roles than he had at the peak of his career. 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.<ref name="Doylestown">{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/doylestown/doylestown-intelligencer/1963/12-21/page-21?tag=darryl+hickman&rtserp=tags/?pep=darryl-hickman|title=Darryl Hickman He Has TV Scars|publisher=''[[Doylestown Intelligencer]]''|date=December 21, 1963|accessdate=July 1, 2016|page=21}}</ref> Hickman's ongoing efforts to reinvigorate his acting career were interrupted for two years while he served in the [[United States Army]] from 1954 to 1956.<ref name="TCMFestival16">{{cite web|url=http://filmfestival.tcm.com/programs/special-guests/darryl-hickman|title=Darryl Hickman|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|accessdate=July 3, 2016}}</ref>


In 1959 and 1960, Hickman appeared on younger brother Dwayne Hickman's [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]'', playing his older brother Davey in three different episodes: "The Right Triangle" (1959), "Deck the Halls" (1959), and "Where There's a Will" (1960).<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382718/?ref_=tt_cl_t7 "Darryl Hickman"]. IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2017.</ref> In 1961, Hickman starred in a short-lived TV series [[The Americans (1961 TV series)|''The Americans'']]. Aside from film and television, Hickman also starred in [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] productions, such as the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning play ''[[How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]]'' in 1963, substituting for star [[Robert Morse]].<ref name="Doylestown"/> In 1976, after a 17-year hiatus from movies, Hickman had a minor role as "Bill Herron" in the film ''[[Network (1976 film)|Network]]''.<ref name="ElPaso">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/68939792/?terms=%22darryl%2Bhickman%22|title=Ex-child actor busy in adult behind-camera work|publisher=''[[El Paso Herald-Post]]''|date=September 29, 1977| accessdate=July 2, 2016|author=Crosby, Joan|page=44}}</ref><ref name="MovieGuide">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7MUAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA618&lpg=PA618&dq=%22darryl+hickman%22+%22network%22&source=bl&ots=skKgoLSLRG&sig=6sUYzAep-Eb5pyk-XcaUaDNjU7E&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9hdzxgdfNAhUFZCwKHRezC1wQ6AEIWzAI#v=onepage&q=%22darryl%20hickman%22%20%22network%22&f=false|title=Network|publisher=Perigee Trade|author=Monaco, James|year=1992|page=617|isbn=9780399517808}}</ref>
In 1959 and 1960, Hickman appeared on younger brother Dwayne Hickman's [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]'', playing his older brother Davey in three different episodes: "The Right Triangle" (1959), "Deck the Halls" (1959), and "Where There's a Will" (1960).<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382718/?ref_=tt_cl_t7 "Darryl Hickman"]. IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2017.</ref> In 1961, Hickman starred in a short-lived TV series [[The Americans (1961 TV series)|''The Americans'']]. Aside from film and television, Hickman also starred in [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] productions, such as the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning play ''[[How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]]'' in 1963, substituting for star [[Robert Morse]].<ref name="Doylestown"/> In 1976, after a 17-year hiatus from movies, Hickman had a minor role as "Bill Herron" in the film ''[[Network (1976 film)|Network]]''.<ref name="ElPaso">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/68939792/?terms=%22darryl%2Bhickman%22|title=Ex-child actor busy in adult behind-camera work|publisher=''[[El Paso Herald-Post]]''|date=September 29, 1977| accessdate=July 2, 2016|author=Crosby, Joan|page=44}}</ref><ref name="MovieGuide">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7MUAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA618&lpg=PA618&dq=%22darryl+hickman%22+%22network%22&source=bl&ots=skKgoLSLRG&sig=6sUYzAep-Eb5pyk-XcaUaDNjU7E&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9hdzxgdfNAhUFZCwKHRezC1wQ6AEIWzAI#v=onepage&q=%22darryl%20hickman%22%20%22network%22&f=false|title=Network|publisher=Perigee Trade|author=Monaco, James|year=1992|page=617|isbn=9780399517808}}</ref>

Revision as of 05:32, 7 January 2018

Darryl Hickman
Image: 150 pixels
Darryl Hickman in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Born
Darryl Gerard Hickman

(1931-07-28) July 28, 1931 (age 92)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1937–99
Spouse(s)Pamela Lincoln Hickman (married 1959–1982, divorced); 2 sons
Lynda Farmer Hickman (19??–present)
RelativesDwayne Hickman (brother)

Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American film and television actor, television executive, and acting coach.

Child actor in the 1930s and 1940s

Hickman was born in Hollywood, California to Milton and Katherine Hickman. His father sold insurance and his mother was a housewife. In the mid-1930s, Darryl was discovered by a dance school director and subsequently became a student there. The following year, the famed Hollywood studio Paramount signed a contract with the child actor. His first film role was as Ronald Colman's son in The Prisoner of Zenda in 1937.[1] He attended Paramount's school in California and had classmates like Gene Nelson and Jackie Cooper.[2]

In preparation for the 1939 Bing Crosby movie The Star Maker, Paramount casting agents, led by Leroy Prinz, interviewed over 1000 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.[3][4] 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 would sometimes work at different films simultaneously.[5]

In 1940, he was cast in 20th Century Fox's film adaption of John Steinbeck's best-selling novel from 1939 The Grapes of Wrath, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford. He portrayed the role of "Winfield Joad", the youngest member of a family trying to cope with the hardships of The Great Depression.[6] The film was a critical and commercial success, with Ford winning an Academy Award for best director, while actress Jane Darwell won for Best Supporting Actress.[7][8] Another notable role during this time included the war-time melodrama The Human Comedy, where he played a mentally slow child. Hickman made a featured appearance as well as "Frank" in the 1942 Our Gang comedy short Going to Press.[9]

In 1946, he played the younger version of Van Heflin's character 'Sam Masterson' in the film noir The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. In order to make it seem credible that Hickman looked like a young Van Heflin, the latter provided a picture of himself as a teenager to the makeup artist Wally Westmore.[10] In this period he also acted alongside Gene Tierney and Cornel Wilde in the 1946 film Leave 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, considering her to have been aloof and not given her best performance. It won Tierney an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.[11] The year after the release of Leave Her to Heaven, Hickman was lauded by a newspaper as "one of Hollywood's top juveniles".[12] Hickman later became critical of child acting, lamenting how the profession for young actors deprives them of a real childhood. He opted to get therapeutical assistance for several years in order to come to terms with his past.[13][14]

Adult years as an actor

Hickman graduated from Cathedral High School in Los Angeles in 1948 (his brother Dwayne graduated from the same school in 1952).[15] Finding it hard to adjust to adulthood after being in the limelight for most of his childhood, he retired from show business to enter a monastery in 1951 as a passionist monk. He returned to Hollywood around one month later.[16][17] He continued acting, but with fewer roles than he had at the peak of his career. 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.[18] Hickman's ongoing efforts to reinvigorate his acting career were interrupted for two years while he served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956.[19]

In 1959 and 1960, Hickman appeared on younger brother Dwayne Hickman's CBS sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, playing his older brother Davey in three different episodes: "The Right Triangle" (1959), "Deck the Halls" (1959), and "Where There's a Will" (1960).[20] In 1961, Hickman starred in a short-lived TV series The Americans. Aside from film and television, Hickman also starred in Broadway productions, such as the Pulitzer Prize-winning play How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 1963, substituting for star Robert Morse.[18] In 1976, after a 17-year hiatus from movies, Hickman had a minor role as "Bill Herron" in the film Network.[21][22]

Television executive and acting coach

Hickman eventually became a television executive, producer, and occasional screenwriter, mainly working in New York City.[14] He wrote the scripts for several 1961 episodes of The Loretta Young Show.[23] In the early 1970s, Hickman was associate producer of the long-running Love of Life.[14] He was also one of the producers of A Year at the Top with Norman Lear in 1977. During the production of the pilot episode for A Year at the Top, he reunited with guest-star Mickey Rooney with whom he had acted in the Boys Town sequel Men of Boys Town in 1941.[24]

Hickman's book about acting techniques The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, In Full Command was published in April 2007.[25] In it he explains how his approach to acting evolved through his interactions with the various actors and directors he worked with over the years. Among his most important influences came from working with Spencer Tracy and George Cukor in the 1942 movie Keeper 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.[26] Earlier, in a 2002 interview, Hickman stated that the current generation of young Hollywood actors were talented but lacked the proper coaching and ambition.[27]

Personal life

Hickman married actress Pamela Lincoln, with whom he had acted in the movie The Tingler, on November 28, 1959.[28][29] The couple, who had two sons, divorced in 1982. Their younger son, Justin, committed suicide at the age of 19 in 1985.[16]

Selected filmography

Features

Year Title Role
1937 The Prisoner of Zenda Bit role (uncredited)
1938 If I Were King Child
1939 The Star Maker Boots
1940 The Grapes of Wrath Winfield Joad
Young People Tommy
1941 Men of Boys Town Flip
Mob Town Butch Malone aka Shrimp
1942 Young America David Engstrom
Joe Smith, American Johnny Smith
Keeper of the Flame Jeb Rickards
1943 The Human Comedy Lionel
Assignment in Brittany Etienne
1944 Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout Peter Kent
Meet Me in St. Louis Johnny Tevis
Song of Russia Peter Bulganov
1945 Rhapsody in Blue Ira Gershwin as a boy
Kiss and Tell Raymond Pringle
Leave Her to Heaven Danny Harland
1946 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers Young Sam Masterson
Boys' Ranch Hank
1947 The Devil on Wheels Micky Clark
1948 Big Town Scandal Skinny Peters
1949 A Kiss for Corliss Dexter Franklin
Alias Nick Beal Larry Price
1950 The Happy Years 'Tough' McCarty
1951 Lightning Strikes Twice String
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
1956 Tea and Sympathy Al
1957 The Iron Sheriff Benjamin "Benjie" Galt
The Persuader Toby Bonham
1959 The Tingler David Morris
Time Element Pete Jensen
1976 Network Bill Herron
1981 Looker Dr. Jim Belfield
Sharky's Machine Smiley
1982 The Tragedy of King Lear Earl of Kent
1986 GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords Marbles/Hornet (voice)

Short films

  • Coffins on Wheels (1941)
  • Heart Burn (1942)
  • Going to Press (1942)
  • Boogie Woogie (1945)

References

  1. ^ "Darryl Hickman Right In His Element In Kiss For Corliss". Annapolis Capital. January 30, 1950. p. 10. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "The Hollywood Round-Up". Amarillo Globe-News. September 12, 1939. p. 13. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Darryl Hickman finds brother is now his boss". The Mercury. August 5, 1977. p. 24. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Neville, Lucie (June 25, 1939). "Pooh for Shirley! They're in the Movies Now!". San Bernardino County Sun. p. 32. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Civil War Theme-'The Americans' Eagerly Watched By Americans". Wilson Daily Times. May 2, 1961. p. 13. Retrieved July 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Nugent, Frank (January 25, 1940). "Twentieth Century-Fox Shows a Flawless Film Edition of John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners". Oscars. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  8. ^ King, Susan (January 11, 2001). "'Grapes' Memories". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Going to Press, Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  10. ^ "Photographers Serve As Makeup Models". Brownsville Herald. February 10, 1946. p. 28. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Henderson, Eric (May 28, 2013). "Leave Her to Heaven". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  12. ^ "'Devil On Wheels' Is Lesson Film". Camden News. June 28, 1947. p. 2. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Sifford, Darrell (October 29, 1984). "Former child star learns to cope". Boca Raton News. p. 6. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ a b c Dunn, Bill (May 29, 1971). "Actor Now Producing And Writing". The Tribune (Seymour). p. 18. Retrieved July 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Wakelee-Lynch, Joseph (November 17, 2011). "The Careers of Dwayne Hickman '56". Loyola Marymount University. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b "Overview for Darryl Hickman". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  17. ^ Graves, Jim (July 27, 2017). "The Hollywood Round-Up". Catholic World Report. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Darryl Hickman He Has TV Scars". Doylestown Intelligencer. December 21, 1963. p. 21. Retrieved July 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Darryl Hickman". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  20. ^ "Darryl Hickman". IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  21. ^ Crosby, Joan (September 29, 1977). "Ex-child actor busy in adult behind-camera work". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 44. Retrieved July 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Monaco, James (1992). Network. Perigee Trade. p. 617. ISBN 9780399517808.
  23. ^ Witbeck, Charles (July 2, 1961). "Darryl Hickman's Growing Up". Chicago Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved July 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ "'A Day at the Top', Norman Lear's Latest". Findlay Courier. January 5, 1977. p. 13. Retrieved July 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ Hickman, Darryl (2007). The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, In Full Command. Small Mountain Press. ISBN 978-0977680924.
  26. ^ Curtis, James (2011). Spencer Tracy: A Biography. Knopf. ISBN 978-0307262899.
  27. ^ Koseluk, Chris (February 14, 2002). "Acting Out". Backstage. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  28. ^ "Actor Darryl Hickman Marries in Hollywood". Racine Journal Times. November 29, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved July 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ Morris, Eric (2015). The Diary of a Professional Experiencer: An Autobiographical Journey Into the Evolution of an Acting System. Ermor Enterprises. ISBN 978-0962970955.

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

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darryl_Hickman&oldid=819061544"