| Luke Halpin - The 1960s teen star of Flipper still shines |
Even the world-famous dolphin couldn't outdo its hunky teenage co-star, Luke Halpin.
Best known as the star of the 1960s Flipper TV series, Luke Halpin set a high standard for generations of TV teen stars to come.
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Luke A. Halpin was born in 1947 in New York City. His natural talent was evident at an early age, and, upon the advice of a teacher, Luke took up acting. The youngster's career advanced quickly, and in a few years expanded to stage and television. Barely into his teens, he became one of the most sought-after young actors in the business. He worked with many famous names of Hollywood, including Natalie Wood and Jackie Gleason, and compiled a resume that included virtually all the major television shows at the time.
Luke, then, was already a veteran child star long before Flipper (1963) came along. He was 15 when he got the role of Sandy Ricks. The success of the film led to a sequel, and then a TV series that is still in syndication today. (see Biography, 16 Mag: My Life In 50 Pix)
The show's success made Luke Halpin popular around the world. During the first season, Luke, 17, personally thanked his many fans for their support:
"I think of all of
you who are interested enough to care about me as FRIENDS. From the letters
you write to me, I'd say you are "the greatest". I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you across America (and overseas) for the nice letters and cards you have sent me. Though I can't answer each one personally, I do read them all and cherish every one. " (16 Magazine, May 1965 issue)
Luke's talent in water sports made him a natural to play the adventurous Sandy Ricks. As an expert swimmer and diver, the blonde-haired teen did all his own underwater stunts.
Frequently dressed down to little more than cutoff jeans, Luke's lean, tanned body was widely admired among his fans. His athletic build helped make him one of the most popular teen stars in early color television history. (see The Remarkable Body of Luke Halpin)
"His blond hair, thick and soft, gets bleached by the sun and has that wonderfully carefree wind-blown look. In fact, everything about Luke, from the way he walks and talks, to the way he dresses is wonderful to behold." (Teen Life Magazine)
"In each episode viewers were sure to be guaranteed that Luke would be wearing little more than his trademark cutoff jeans and golden tanned swimmer’s muscles. In fact, more than one fan magazines [sic] dubbed him a modern Adonis." (CVMC.net)
The TV series can be watched online at Fancast.com and Hulu.com.
The Luke Halpin Gallery is dedicated to remembering the young career of Luke Halpin. |
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About this site |
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The Luke Halpin Gallery was created in 1999 as a standalone site dedicated to the 1960s teen actor Luke Halpin. (Read more) |
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The Remarkable Body of Luke Halpin |
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Few young TV actors have ever matched the physical excellence
of Luke Halpin. Luke's lean, well-toned body was first featured in the two Flipper features. But during the TV series, Luke's bare-chested, athletic look was seen almost weekly, generating excitement and admiration from fans all over the world. |
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| The Luke Halpin Gallery is dedicated to promoting appreciation of Luke's handsome physical image with one of the largest collections of Luke Halpin pictures on the internet: thousands of pictures, scans, and screencaps carefully catalogued in over 600 galleries. In addition, a special focus section The Remarkable Body of Luke Halpin is offered to aid the study of the finer details of Luke Halpin's physical form. |
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The Remarkable Body of Luke Halpin |
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Galleries |
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Biography |
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Life story of the famed New York teen actor! (Read) |
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Flipper on DVD |
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Flipper (1963), Flipper's New Adventure (1964): dbl feature DVD, released Jan 31, 2006; click here (Amazon) |
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Flipper Season 1 (released Apr 27, 2007): 30 episodes on 4 dbl-sided discs, Flipper Trivia Game; click here (Amazon) |
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Flipper Season 2 (released June 3, 2010): 30 episodes on 8 discs, no extras; click here (Amazon) |
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Flipper Season 3 (not yet released) |
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TV Series online |
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You can see the entire Flipper TV series online for free at Hulu.com and Fancast.com! |
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News articles
NOTE: In later years, Luke Halpin revealed that most of the
magazine articles "written" by him were actually by ghost-writers
paraphrasing the raw information he supplied. While not always
pleased with the results, Luke felt 16
Magazine did a good job. |
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16 Magazine: Luke Halpin (Dec 1963) |
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16 Magazine: Luke
Halpin Answers 40 Intimate Questions |
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16 Magazine: All
About Me |
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16 Magazine: Luke Halpin's
Most Secret Secrets |
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16 Magazine: My Life In 50 Pix (June 1965) |
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16 Magazine: Letter
from Luke |
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16 Magazine: Luke Halpin
Singing Star |
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16 Magazine: Ten
Things You Never Knew About Me |
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Teen Life: This is me - I Live Dangerously! |
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Tiger Beat: A Private Visit with Luke Halpin |
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Catholic Youth Magazine, Nov 1965 |
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Captions to various pictures of Luke Halpin |
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To Tell The
Truth: transcript |
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Guest starring with Danny Thomas (script dialogue) |
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Other site features |
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Galleries
- Guide to all the website galleries
(Special thanks to Alan R's contributions) |
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Flipper, TV Series - Information about the TV series |
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Guestbook |
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Original guestbook archive |
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Email
cpps90 |
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