Michael Shea | |
---|---|
![]() Michael Shea as Huckleberry Finn, 1968. | |
Born | Michael D. Shea November 4, 1952 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1963–1973 |
Michael Shea (born November 4, 1952) is an American former child actor. Beginning a prolific career at the age of ten, Shea is perhaps best known for portraying the title role in the NBC children's television series, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , as well as for his feature film roles: as Nick in the Ivan Tors family film, Namu, the Killer Whale ; as Jimmy in the MGM western, Welcome to Hard Times ; and as "Cav" in the Walt Disney drama, Ride a Northbound Horse . Although born and raised in New York City, Shea was primarily cast as the wholesome small-town "country boy" throughout most of his career as a child star.
Michael Shea was born on November 4, 1952 (some sources mistakenly reporting his year of birth as 1951) in Glendale, New York to parents Mr. and Mrs. Frank Shea. [1] [2] [3] He spent his early years raised in New York and grew up with four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. [1] [3] When Shea was nine years old, a neighbor reportedly approached him with the idea of entering show business; however, the thought of stardom frightened him. In a 1968 interview, Shea recalled the early experience saying, "I ran into the woods and started crying. I kept saying, 'I don't want to be a star.'" [1]
At the age of ten, Shea reconsidered the possibilities of a professional acting career. In 1968, he recounted his reasoning saying, "I thought I'd like to try acting, but I wasn't sure I'd want to stay in it, so I asked my neighbor if I could get out if I didn't like it. He said 'sure.'" Shea's neighbor was Aliam Dunn, casting director of The Ed Sullivan Show , who used his industry connections to introduce Shea to a New York talent agent. Soon, Shea was landing work as a child model and actor, appearing in television commercials for Campbell's Soup and Scooter Pies among others. [1] [4]
After learning the show business ropes as a working actor in commercials, Shea made his theatrical debut, appearing in two "experimental" off-Broadway productions by Edward Albee, and made his television debut in The Bell Telephone Hour Christmas special. [1] [3] [5] In 1965, Shea was signed to play the title role in a proposed western television series titled Joshua, which prompted the Shea family to relocate from its New York home to California. [1] [2] [4] However the series never made it to television. [1]
After Shea was released from his obligations for Joshua, the family remained in California where he was soon landing guest-starring roles on such popular television shows of the time as Blue Light , Camp Runamuck , and The Fugitive . [1] [2] In 1966, Shea made his feature film debut in the Ivan Tors family drama Namu, the Killer Whale appearing as Nick, one of the antagonists to a family caring for a killer whale, inciting fear and hostility within their small seaside community. [1] [2] [6]
After Namu, Shea returned to television roles, guest-starring on episodes of Mission: Impossible , Bewitched and The Virginian . [1] [2] [4] In 1967, Shea landed a co-starring role in the western film Welcome to Hard Times as Jimmy, an orphan boy who is taken in by Will Blue (Henry Fonda) after his father is murdered by a vicious stranger terrorizing their small town. [1] [2] [7] In the months that followed, Shea continued to appear on television, guest-starring on episodes of The Wild Wild West and The Danny Thomas Hour , before taking the role that would make him a star. [1] [2]
In 1968, Shea landed the lead role in the Hanna-Barbera television series The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , loosely based on the characters from the Mark Twain novel. [1] [2] [8] [9] Reportedly beating out over 1,300 other boys for the role, Shea starred as the titular "Huck Finn" alongside LuAnn Haslam as Becky Thatcher and Kevin Schultz as Tom Sawyer, navigating weekly adventures within an animated world as they attempted to outrun a vengeful "Injun Joe", played by Ted Cassidy. [1] [9] [10] [11]
Premiering on NBC on September 16, 1968, the program was the first weekly television series to combine live-action performers with animation. [8] [9] [10] [12] In her review of the series, television critic Kathy Brooks described Shea's boy-next-door appeal, writing, "a more freshly-scrubbed looking Huck would be hard to find." [9] All less than a year apart in age, the show's three teenage stars were tutored together for three hours a day on the set between scenes, with each episode reportedly taking approximately four hours to film and six months to animate. [1]
In a departure from the network's usual Saturday morning cartoon schedule, the series aired Sunday nights and made its three young stars popular teen idols of the era. [10] [11] [13] The series aired in over 15 countries and its three young leads were routinely in demand to make celebrity appearances to meet with fans across the United States during the show's original run. [1] [2] [4] [9] Although the series lasted only one season, it continued to air in reruns as part of The Banana Splits syndication package, becoming well known to subsequent generations for the next four decades. [13] [14]
After Huck Finn ended in 1969, Shea appeared in the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color film Ride a Northbound Horse. [1] [2] Premiering on March 16, 1969, the special presentation starred Shea as "Cav Rand", a 15-year-old orphan in the old west who buys a prize race horse, only to have it stolen by a con-artist played by Carroll O'Connor. [15] [16] [17] Although airing in two-parts over a period of two Sundays in the United States, the story was presented in European markets as a stand-alone film. [15] [16] [17]
In 1970, Shea made two appearances on the television series Headmaster and in 1971, began a recurring role as Dick Van Dyke's son Lucas Preston for two seasons on The New Dick Van Dyke Show . [18] [19] [20] During this time, Shea also continued to guest-star on other popular series of the time, appearing on two episodes of the high school drama series Room 222 , as well as appearing in two episodes of the religious anthology series Insight , the second of which would be his final television appearance in the July 1973 episode entitled "Celebration in Fresh Powder".
After Huck Finn ended, Shea attended classes at Van Nuys High School in the San Fernando Valley where he lived with his family. [3] [11] Shea graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1971 and, after leaving show business in 1973, began working in a patio furniture shop in Studio City, Los Angeles. [4] In 1979, Shea became a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. [4]
In 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported that one of Shea's duties with the LAPD included serving as the head of security for celebrities riding in the Hollywood Christmas Parade, exactly 25 years after he'd ridden in the same parade himself as the celebrity guest of honor during the height of his Huck Finn fame. In the same article, the L.A. Times also reported that Shea was married and resided in Castaic, California with his wife and children. [4]
In September 2010, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce posted a video on its official YouTube channel of Shea at the 7th Annual Hollywood PAL Benefit where he had been honored for his "incredible dedication and hard work" and "community involvement" as a law enforcement officer. At the ceremony, it was announced that Shea had recently retired from his 31-year career with the LAPD as a Senior Lead Officer. [21]
Michael is the father of Mike Shea, Paralympic Snowboarder & winner of the silver medal in snowboard-cross at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games. [22]
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
1966 | Namu, the Killer Whale | Nick | — |
1967 | Welcome to Hard Times | Jimmy Fee | — |
1969 | Ride a Northbound Horse | Cav Rand | European release |
Television | |||
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
1964 | The Bell Telephone Hour | Himself | Christmas Special |
1965 | The Defenders [5] | (Unknown) | (Unknown episode) |
1966 | Blue Light | Klaus | "How to Kill a Soldier" |
1966 | Camp Runamuck | Hefflefinger | "Commander for a Day" |
1966 | The Fugitive | Rick | "In a Plain Paper Wrapper" |
1966 | Mission: Impossible | Pieter Stakovar | "A Spool There Was" |
1966 | Bewitched | Johnny Mills | "Soapbox Derby" |
1967 | The Virginian | Jamie Adams | "Bitter Harvest" |
1967 | The Wild Wild West | Boy | "The Night of the Falcon" |
1968 | The Danny Thomas Hour | David Rubin | "The Last Hunters" |
1968–1969 | The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Huck Finn | Starring |
1969 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | Cav Rand | "Ride a Northbound Horse" - Parts 1 & 2 |
1969 | Me and Benjy [1] [2] | Teenage Boyfriend | Possibly unaired episodes |
1970 | Headmaster | Fred / Wayne | 2 episodes |
1972 | Room 222 | Scott | 2 episodes |
1971–1973 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Lucas Preston | Recurring |
1971–1973 | Insight | Jack | 2 episodes |
Mary Tyler Moore was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and especially The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), which "helped define a new vision of American womanhood" and "appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence". Moore won seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Ordinary People. Moore had major supporting roles in the musical film Thoroughly Modern Millie and the dark comedy film Flirting with Disaster. Moore also received praise for her performance in the television film Heartsounds. Moore was an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism and diabetes awareness and research.
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961, to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Productions in association with the CBS Television Network, and was shot at Desilu Studios. Other producers included Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. The music for the show's theme song was written by Earle Hagen.
Moritz Amsterdam was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966.
Barbara Bain is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Cinnamon Carter Crawford on the action television series Mission: Impossible (1966–1969), which earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination. She also starred as Dr. Helena Russell on the British-Italian coproduction science-fiction television series Space: 1999 (1975–1977). Bain has also appeared in the films Animals with the Tollkeeper (1998), Panic (2000), Forget Me Not (2009) and On the Rocks (2020).
Richard Wayne Van Dyke is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His work spans screen and stage, and his accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and six Emmy Awards. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, he was also honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2020, and was recognized as a Disney Legend.
Richard Lewis Deacon was an American television and motion picture actor, best known for playing supporting roles in television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver, and The Jack Benny Program, along with minor roles in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).
Rose Marie was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night clubs and television. As a child performer during the years just after the silent film era, she had a successful singing career under the stage name Baby Rose Marie.
Denver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, as Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985, as Mad Jack in the NBC television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and as the titular character's father, Buck Webb, in CBS's The Doris Day Show. In many of his roles, he portrayed either authority figures, or gruff, demanding father figures, often as comic relief. Perhaps his most memorable film role was that of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), as the lawman who relentlessly chased down and finally killed the notorious duo in an ambush.
Jerry McCord Van Dyke was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke.
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series Have Gun – Will Travel.
Barry Van Dyke is an American actor and the second son of actor and entertainer Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett, and nephew of Jerry Van Dyke. He has often worked with his father. He is best known to audiences as Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan, a homicide detective and the son of Dr. Mark Sloan on Diagnosis: Murder. In the show, the characters' relatives were frequently played by real-life family members.
Sheldon Leonard Bershad was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.
Diagnosis: Murder is an American mystery medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyke's real-life son Barry. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman, became a series of three television films, and then a weekly television series that premiered on CBS on October 29, 1993. Joyce Burditt, who created the show, wrote the Jake and the Fatman episode.
The New Dick Van Dyke Show is an American sitcom starring Dick Van Dyke that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1974. It was Van Dyke's first return to series television since The Dick Van Dyke Show.
William Gerald Paris was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and for directing the majority of the episodes of the sitcom Happy Days.
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American live-action and animated fantasy television series that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1968, through February 23, 1969. Produced by Hanna-Barbera and based on the classic Mark Twain characters, the program starred its three live-action heroes, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher, and Tom Sawyer, navigating weekly adventures within an animated world as they attempted to outrun a vengeful "Injun Joe". After the show's original run, the series continued to air in reruns as part of The Banana Splits and Friends Show syndication package.
Phil Leeds was an American character actor. He is best known for appearing in many movies and television series, including guest appearances in The Dick Van Dyke Show, Maude, Friends, Barney Miller, The Golden Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, Boy Meets World and more.
Keith and Kevin Schultz are American identical twin photographers and former actors. Reportedly making their screen debut as infants, the Schultz brothers are perhaps best known for their roles as brothers Jefferson and Fennimore on the ABC western frontier series The Monroes, as well as for Kevin's role as Tom Sawyer on the NBC live-action/animated series The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. After careers as child actors in front of the camera, the Schultz brothers transitioned to a career working together as professional photographers, best known for their celebrity "head shots" of notable Hollywood child stars.
LuAnn Haslam is an American blogger and former child actress. Beginning a career as a professional child model and actress at the age of eleven, Haslam is best known for her role as "Becky Thatcher" on the Hanna-Barbera children's television series, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which originally aired on NBC from 1968 to 1969. After leaving acting and becoming a high school teacher, Haslam assumed the identity of prom expert "Patty the Prom Pro", offering advice and services to high school students on the website Prom-Night.com
Dick Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, singer, dancer, writer and producer. He first gained recognition on radio and Broadway, then he became known for his role as Rob Petrie on the CBS television sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran from 1961 to 1966. He also gained significant popularity for roles in the musical films Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).