Dick Kallman
Kallman (right) with Linda Foster in Hank, 1965
Born(1933-07-07)July 7, 1933
DiedFebruary 22, 1980(1980-02-22) (aged 46)
Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathGunshot Wound
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Partner(s)Steven Szladek
(1954-1980, their murders)

Dick Kallman (July 7, 1933 – February 22, 1980) was an American actor.

Early life

Kallman was born in Brooklyn in New York City, into wealth. His father, Alvan Kallman, a former barnstorming pilot, was owner of the Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City, The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire, and the St. Johns Hotel in Havana.[1][2] Kallman's mother, Zara Whitman Kallman, had been a Broadway actress.[3]

Career

After working on the New York stage where he won a Theater World Award for his performance in the 1951 Broadway musical Seventeen,[4] Kallman starred in the title role of the 1965–1966 television sitcom Hank. He returned to Broadway, taking over the leading role in the musical Half a Sixpence.[5] As a singer, he released several albums of pop standards, including Hits & the Misses and Speak Softly, and in conjunction with his TV series, Hank Sings and Dick Kallman Drops in as 'Hank'. He performed one of his songs on an episode of Hullabaloo.[6]

Kallman played non-recurring roles in TV series such as The Jack Benny Show, Bachelor Father and Medical Center. He also acted in episodes 110 and 111 of Batman, playing Little Louie Groovy, a takeoff on record producer Phil Spector. Groovy is a victim of a robbery at his apartment by the team of Catwoman and The Joker.

Filmography

Television and Film
Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Billy Rose Show Unnamed role (TV Series), 1 episode: "Bright Golden Girl"
Skylarkin' Time Singer (Short film)
1955-1960 The Jack Benny Program Dancer in Diner (1955)/ Unnamed role (1960) (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Jack's Lunch Counter" and "Lunch Counter Murder"
1957 Hell Canyon Outlaws Smiley Andrews (Western film)
1958-1960 U.S. Marshal Young Deputy (1958)/ Harry (1960) (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Seventh Stranger" and "Paper Bullets"
1959 The Texan Ben Howell / Grady Fenton (TV Series), 2 episodes: "The Gunfighter" and "Dangerous Ground"
Markham Martin Valcour (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Nephews"
Born to Be Loved Eddie Flynn (Comedy Film)
Bachelor Father Mike Brinkerhoff (TV Series), 1 episode: "Bentley and the Motorcycle"
Whirlybirds Johnny (TV Series), 1 episode: "A Matter of Trust"
The Californians Armand (TV Series), 1 episode: "Deadly Tintype"
Verboten! Helmuth Strasser (War film)
1960 The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Bellboy (TV Series), 1 episode: "Lucy Meets the Mustache"
1961 Back Street Sailor at USO (Drama Film)
1965-1966 Hank Hank Dearborn (title role) (TV Series), 26 episodes
1967 Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! Pat Murad (Comedy Film)
1967-1968 Batman Little Louie Groovy (TV Series), 2 episodes: "The Funny Feline Felonies" and "The Joke's on Catwoman"
1970-1974 Medical Center Dr. Charlie Guinness (1970)/ Dr. Styles (1972)/ Larry (1974) (TV Series), 3 episodes: "Witch Hunt", "The Outcast" and "Adults Only"

Personal life

Kallman had from youth exhibited an appreciation of fine antique furnishings and an acumen for business.[1] Kallman formed a music publishing company in 1966.[3] By the late 1970s, he had retired from show business and was a wealthy antiques and art dealer and living with Stephen Szladek, his life partner, in a Manhattan apartment.

Kallman and Szladek were murdered by three intruders in 1980 during a robbery of the art, antiques and jewelry in their apartment.[7][8][9] The killers were later caught and convicted.[8] A fictionalized account of Kallman’s life, Up With the Sun by Thomas Mallon, was published by Knopf in Feb., 2023.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Better To Have Had and Lost Than Never to Have Had at All". El Paso Herald-Post. El Paso. December 11, 1965. p. 20. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  2. "Alvan E. Kallman, 62, Dies". New York Times. September 4, 1964. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Notes About NBC Television Shows". Biddeford-Saco Journal. Biddeford-Saco, Maine. June 11, 1966. p. 12. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  4. Naden, Corinne J. The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre: 1943-1965 Scarecrow Press, 2011 p 205
  5. Dick Kallman, 1966 - NYPL Digital Collections
  6. Dick Kallman discography at Discogs
  7. "Dick Kallman". NNDB (Notable Names Database). Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Anonymous (July 8, 2010). "The life and death (murder) of closeted gay actor Dick Kallman". Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  9. J. D. Doyle (October 2010). "October 2010 – Script". Queer Music Heritage. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  10. Jacobs, Alexandra (March 5, 2023). "A Louche Life Set to a Show-Tunes Score". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
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