- Born
- Birth nameLuke Austin Halpin
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Luke Austin Halpin was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the youngest of three children of Helen Joan (Szczepanski) and Eugene A. Halpin. His father was of Irish and German descent, and his maternal grandparents were Polish.
Luke's acting career started when a music teacher encouraged him to try out acting. Luke turned out to be a natural; his film debut was in the Studio One (1948) episode, entitled "Miracle at Potter's Farm", starring Natalie Wood. His performance was well-received, and when he was in his mid-teens, he had already appeared in many TV series and in films.
His big break when he was cast in Flipper (1963), which co-starred Chuck Connors. The film was a major success and spawned a sequel, Flipper's New Adventure (1964), which subsequently led to a highly successful TV series. But when the series was canceled, he was unable to maintain his career momentum, and he eventually faded from the public eye. He subsequently retired from acting. However, he remains well-known around the world, where the "Flipper" series continues to run in syndication.
After battling cancer, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. He lives in Florida.- IMDb Mini Biography By: anonymous
- SpousesDeborah Jane Durrell(August 1, 1991 - present) (1 child)Judy Suzanne Meyer(November 19, 1977 - October 15, 1987) (divorced, 2 children)Patricia Warren Ott(January 25, 1971 - ?) (divorced)
- Cut off jean shorts - in "Flippers New Adventure" Luke wore just cut offs for 90% of the movie
- Known for his mop of beach blond hair that would fall on his face and he'd flip back
- Known for his tanned ripped swimmer's torso as he did many scenes in Flipper shirtless
- Long feet.
- Apart from the dolphins who 'played' Flipper, he was the only actor to act in all the Flipper related productions starting with the Flipper movie (filmed 1962), its sequel and the 3 seasons of the TV series (ending in 1967) playing the 12-year-old to 18-year-old Sandy Ricks.
- Lives in Florida, where he works as a pilot and marine technician for a film production company.
- In Season 3 of the Flipper TV series he was age 19 and joined the National Guard and, as a consequence, had to be filmed with shorter hair.
- At age 13, he sang and danced with Mary Martin in Peter Pan (1960).
- Days before his 14th birthday acted opposite Broadway luminaries Burgess Meredith and Zero Mostel in a television production of Samuel Beckett's acclaimed stage play, "Waiting for Godot", broadcast on Play of the Week (1959).
- That's part of the problem with being a kid actor. When your show's over, nobody informs you that your career's over, too.
- I had to go to private school and had my own teachers. When others got to go play football or just hang around, I had to sit and learn the script of the studios. I will not allow that this happen with my kids.
- [on an interview with Bild am Sonntag, about his dangerous adventures with the famous fish]: I think it is quite sad. The years with Flipper were my best time. It was like being on vacation forever. The sea, the sun, our boat and Flipper, the best partner you can have! I would leave any woman for Flipper. What we had together was even better than what you watched on your TV screen. Whenever we were separated, I was sick - and Flipper too. The caretakers wanted to avoid that the dolphins would become to close to me. We lived together for months. It was easy for both of us to get used to each other, and saying goodbye was always very painful.
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