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 Alvan Edward Kallman (March 13, 1902 – September 1, 1964) was an American hotelier. Kallman was born in New York City to Charles Kallman and Regina Kallman. His father died when he was ten or eleven. Kallman was a barnstorming pilot and later ...

, a former

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

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. Kallman's mother, Zara Whitman Kallman, had been a Broadway actress.

Career

After working on the New York stage where he won a

Theatre World ''Theatre World'' is an annual United States, American theatre pictorial and statistical print publication. It includes Broadway theatre, Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre, nation ...

Award for his performance in the 1951 Broadway musical '' Seventeen'', 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''. 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''. Kallman played non-recurring roles in TV series such as ''

The Jack Benny Show ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...

'', '' Bachelor Father'' and '' Medical Center''. He also acted in episodes 110 and 111 of ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', playing Little Louie Groovy, a takeoff on record producer

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

. Groovy is a victim of a robbery at his apartment by the team of

Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...

and Joker.

Filmography

Personal life

Kallman had from youth exhibited an appreciation of fine antique furnishings and an acumen for business. Kallman formed a music publishing company in 1966. 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. The killers were later caught and convicted. A fictionalized account of Kallman's life, ''Up With the Sun'' by

Thomas Mallon Thomas Mallon (born November 2, 1951) is an American novelist, essayist, and critic. His novels are renowned for their attention to historical detail and context and for the author's crisp wit and interest in the "bystanders" to larger historic ...

, was published by

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

in February 2023.

Early life

Career

Filmography

Personal life

References

External links