Charles Hallahan

Charles John Hallahan (July 29, 1943 – November 25, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor. His films include '' Going in Style'' and ''Nightwing'' (both 1979), '' The Thing'' (1982), '' Silkwood'' and '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (both 1983), ''Vision Quest'' and ''Pale Rider'' (both 1985), '' P.K. and the Kid'' (1987), '' Cast a Deadly Spell'' (1991), ''Executive Decision'' (1996), ''Dante's Peak'' (1997), and ''Mind Rage'' (2001). On television, he appeared in guest turns on ''The Rockford Files'', ''Happy Days'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', ''Dallas'', ''All in the Family'', ''Soap'', ''Good Times'', ''The Waltons'', ''Hart to Hart'', '' Trapper John, M.D.'', ''M*A*S*H'', ''Hill Street Blues'', '' Lou Grant'', '' The Equalizer'', '' Wings'', ''Picket Fences'', '' In the Heat of the Night'', ''Law & Order'', '' Mad About You'', ''Murder, She Wrote'', '' JAG'', ''NYPD Blue'', and '' Coach'', among many others. He is, perhaps, best known for his role as Capt. Charles "Charlie" Devane in the NBC cop action-drama ''Hunter'' from 1986 to 1991. Hallahan also appeared as a series regular in both CBS' '' The Paper Chase'', as Ernie, from 1978 to 1979, and ABC's ''Grace Under Fire'', as Bill Davis, from 1993 to 1994, as well as a recurring performer providing various characters' voices on the ABC children's animated series '' Gargoyles'', from 1995 to 1996. An accomplished stage veteran, Hallahan was thrice honored with Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Lead Performance for his turns in productions of '' Rat in the Skull'' in 1986, '' The Kentucky Cycle'' in 1992, and '' Endgame'' in 1995.

Biography

Hallahan was born in Philadelphia to Charles John Hallahan Jr. and Margaret Catherine ( Sweeney), both of Irish Catholic descent. He grew up in Harrisburg and then Green Ridge, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He was a student at St. James High School in Chester, leaving in 1961. He attended Rutgers University-Camden, graduating with a BA degree in 1968. He then continued for a masters degree earning an MFA from Temple University in 1971.

He served three years in the US Navy in the early 1960s, including time as a Navy hospital corpsman. He moved to Los Angeles in 1977.

Career

Hallahan was a member of the American Conservatory Theater and appeared in many productions there such as '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest'', '' Equus'', and ''The Threepenny Opera''. In 1977, Hallahan was a founding member of The Matrix Theatre Company in Los Angeles. performing in plays like '' Endgame (play)'' and ''The Seagull'', and Robert Schenkkan's play, '' The Kentucky Cycle''.

On screen, Hallahan has played Chet Wilke in '' Lou Grant'' (1979–1982). In 1982, he portrayed geologist Vance Norris in the remake of '' The Thing'' alongside Kurt Russell. He starred as LAPD Captain Charlie Devane on ''Hunter''. He portrayed the nameless "Coach" in ''Vision Quest'', opposite Matthew Modine. Hallahan also co-starred as a regular cast member in two popular television series, ''Grace Under Fire'' and the long-running '' The Paper Chase''.

One of his final film roles--and arguably among his best remembered--was his portrayal of volcanologist Dr. Paul Dreyfus in the 1997 disaster-thriller film ''Dante's Peak'', which also starred Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. His final screen turn--and his lone big-screen leading role--was as corrupt Los Angeles homicide detective Jack Stillman in the 2001 independent Hitchcockian noir-thriller ''Mind Rage'', a film eventually released, posthumously, four years after his untimely death. In 1997, Hallahan was cast as Liam Bilby for the '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode " Honor Among Thieves", but was replaced after having died.

Death

On November 25, 1997, he died of an apparent heart attack while driving his car in Los Angeles. He left behind his wife, Barbara; two sons, Seamus and Liam; and four brothers, Michael, Kenneth, Lawrence and Thomas. His brother, Fr. Kenneth Hallahan, was a Roman Catholic priest in Camden, New Jersey. He was predeceased by his sister, Regina Macrina, an educator from Collingswood, New Jersey.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

* '' Rat in the Skull'' — Winner — Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Performance (1986)

* '' The Kentucky Cycle'' — Winner — Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Performance (1992)

* '' Endgame'' — Winner — Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for Best Lead Performance (1995)

See also

* Back Stage West Garland Awards, first annual awards dedicated honor to Hallahan

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallahan, Charles
1943 births
1997 deaths
American male film actors
American male television actors
Back Stage West Garland Award recipients
Male actors from Philadelphia
Temple University alumni
United States Navy sailors
20th-century American male actors
Rutgers University–Camden alumni
American people of Irish descent