Hal Stalmaster
| Hal Stalmaster | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Harry Lapidus Stalmaster March 29, 1940 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Residence | Sherman Oaks, California |
| Occupation | Former actor, talent agent |
| Spouse(s) | Caryl S. Stalmaster, Nancy E. Stalmaster, Lynne Stalmaster Nobles |
| Children | Cyndy Stalmaster |
Harry Lapidus Stalmaster, known as Hal Stalmaster (born March 29, 1940), is a former actor best known for his lead role in the 1957 Walt Disney film of the American Revolution, Johnny Tremain, based on the 1943 Esther Forbes novel of the same name.
Johnny Tremain
In the dramatization, Stalmaster is an apprentice silversmith who burns his hand and requires surgery for proper healing from the noted physician Joseph Warren, played by Walter Coy. Spurred to fight the British for colonial independence, young Tremain joins the Sons of Liberty and participates in the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's ride.[1] Walt Disney dedicated Johnny Tremain "to the youth of the world . . . in whose spirit and courage rests the hope of eventual freedom for all mankind." Disney continued, "Johnny Tremain is about the nameless, unsung patriots whose hunger for freedom made possible the independence that is enjoyed in America today."
Stalmaster is the younger brother of former actor and casting director Lynn A. Stalmaster, a native of Omaha, Nebraska.[2] Stalmaster said that his brother "didn't help me one bit [in landing the role of Johnny Tremain]. He thought I was too young to start acting and besides, he didn't think I could act!"
Stalmaster was seventeen when Johnny Tremain was filmed. The picture also ran as "The Liberty Story" on two segments of Walt Disney Presents,[1] which then aired on ABC. He attended Beverly Hills High School and went on to attend UCLA.
Other roles
In 1957, Stalmaster also played Olympic athlete Bob Richards as a child in the episode "Leap to Heaven" of the ABC series Cavalcade of America. In 1959, he played the role of "Skinny" in the episode "Misfits" of Nick Adams's unconventional western series on ABC, The Rebel.[2]
In 1960, Stalmaster portrayed Gwynn in three of the eight hour-long segments of the Walt Disney Presents miniseries, The Swamp Fox, with Leslie Nielsen in the title role of General Francis Marion of the southern theater of the American Revolution. After The Swamp Fox ended, Stalmaster did not act again until 1966, when he made his final performances on two network programs: as Borden in the episode "Robbie and the Little Stranger" of Fred MacMurray's CBS sitcom My Three Sons and as Lieutenant Gurney in the episode "Back to the Drawing Board" on Paul Burke's ABC adventure series about World War II, Twelve O'Clock High.[2]
Stalmaster and his wife, Caryl, reside in Sherman Oaks, California. His daughter from his first marriage is Cyndy Stalmaster of La Jolla, California.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hal Stalmaster News". tvguide.com. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Hal Stalmaster". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved April 16, 2011.