Todd Porter (actor)

Last updated
Todd Porter
Born
Todd Daymond Porter

(1968-05-15) May 15, 1968 (age 56)
Montclair, New Jersey
Occupation(s)Actor, model
Years active1976–1986
SpouseSuePorter/Jacqueline-Intili-Porter/Linda Porter

Todd Daymond Porter (born May 15, 1968) is an American former actor and model. Beginning his career as a professional child actor at the age of eight, Porter is perhaps best known for his television roles; as Chris on the Saturday morning children's series Starstuff and as Hamilton Parker on the CBS action-adventure series Whiz Kids .

Contents

Early life

Porter was born in Montclair, New Jersey to parents Betty and R. Bruce Porter. [1] [2] [3] He grew up in New Jersey with his parents and three older brothers; Frank, who was a musician, and Bruce and Rich, who were also child actors in commercials. [2] [3] [4] Porter took an early interest in music and, by the age of five, he was learning to play the piano and drums, interests he would continue to pursue throughout his childhood and teenage years. [3]

Career

In 1976, Porter began his professional career as an actor and model at the age of eight, appearing in numerous television commercials and print advertorials throughout his childhood. [2] [3] [4] In 1979, Porter made his theatrical debut co-starring as John Darling alongside Sandy Duncan as Peter Pan and George Rose as Captain Hook in the 1979 revival of Peter Pan during the months prior to the musical's premiere on Broadway. [2] [5]

In the fall of 1980, Porter made his television debut with a starring role on the locally produced WCAU-TV Saturday morning children's series Starstuff . [2] [6] On the science-fiction themed program, 12-year-old Porter starred in the lead role of Chris, a computer and radio enthusiast who builds a computer which enables him to communicate with a girl living in a space colony 30 years in the future. [6] [7] In December of that same year, Porter voiced the title role of Pinocchio in the Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated holiday special Pinocchio's Christmas . [8] [9]

In 1981, Porter made his feature film debut in the science fiction comedy Earthbound . [2] [3] In the film, Porter co-starred as Tommy Anderson alongside Burl Ives as his grandfather Ned Anderson as they befriend a family of extraterrestrials and help disguise them as humans after their space ship lands on earth. [10] [11] The film, which was originally intended to be a pilot for a potential television series, instead received a theatrical release in the United States and Canada. [12]

In the fall of 1983, Porter landed a co-starring role on the CBS mystery-adventure series, Whiz Kids . [13] [14] [15] On the series, Porter once again portrayed an adolescent computer prodigy, co-starring as Hamilton "Ham" Parker, the best friend of Richie Adler, portrayed by Matthew Laborteaux who, along with a group of high school friends, solve crimes and bring perpetrators to justice with the help of Ralf, a talking computer. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Porter's portrayal of "Ham" on Whiz Kids earned the 15-year-old a 1983 Youth in Film Award (now known as the Young Artist Award) nomination as "Best Young Actor in a New Television Series" [16] and launched him as a popular teen idol of the mid-1980s, with articles and pinups appearing in various teen magazines of the era, including 16 magazine , Bop and Teen Beat among others. [1] [2] [3] [4] The role also led to Porter and the rest of his teenage Whiz Kids co-stars to make a crossover appearance on the 1983 episode of Simon & Simon entitled "Fly the Alibi Skies". [17]

Personal life

During his time on Whiz Kids, Porter split his time living in California and New Jersey. [1] [2] At the time, the tenth-grader was reportedly an honor roll student at his New Jersey high school and was a member of his school's Key Club, a Kiwanis-inspired organization for young achievers. [1] [2] [3] [4] His extra-curricular activities at the time included playing his grand piano, two synthesizers and 28-piece drum set. [3] [4] Other interests included baseball, basketball, break-dancing, photography and his state-of-the-art Atari 800 computer. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Filmography

Film
YearFilmRoleNotes
1981 Earthbound Tommy Anderson—
Television
YearProgramRoleNotes
1980–1981 Starstuff ChrisStarring
1980 Pinocchio's Christmas Pinocchio (Voice)
1983–1984 Whiz Kids Hamilton "Ham" ParkerStarring
1983 Simon & Simon Hamilton "Ham" ParkerEpisode: "Fly the Alibi Skies"
1986 Kate & Allie JeffEpisode: Winning
Theatre
YearProductionRoleNotes
1979 Peter Pan John Darling —

Awards

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
1983 Youth in Film Award
(now known as the Young Artist Award)		 Best Young Actor in a New Television Series Whiz Kids Nominated [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Brolin</span> American actor (born 1940)

James Brolin is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. Brolin is the father of actor Josh Brolin and the husband of Barbra Streisand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Taylor Thomas</span> American actor, voice actor, and director

Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on Home Improvement and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and Pinocchio in New Line Cinema's 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dulé Hill</span> American actor (b. 1975)

Karim Dulé Hill is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series The West Wing, for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and pharmaceutical salesman-private detective Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA Network television comedy-drama Psych. He also had minor roles in the movies Holes, The Guardian, and She's All That and a recurring role on Ballers. He joined the regular cast of Suits for seasons 8 and 9, and played patriarch Bill Williams in the 2021 remake of The Wonder Years. Hill also serves as a member of the SAG-AFTRA Board of Directors.

<i>Whiz Kids</i> (TV series) American science fiction adventure television series

Whiz Kids is an American science fiction adventure television series that originally aired on CBS from October 5, 1983, to June 2, 1984. The show was created by Philip DeGuere, who had also created the detective series Simon & Simon for CBS in 1981, and Bob Shayne and produced by Universal Television. DeGuere also served as executive producer.

Adolfo Larrue Martínez III, credited as A Martinez, is an American actor and singer. He had roles in the daytime soap operas Santa Barbara, General Hospital, One Life to Live, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Days of Our Lives, and the primetime dramas L.A. Law, Profiler, Longmire and Dark Winds. His feature films include The Cowboys (1972), Powwow Highway (1989), Curse of Chucky (2013), Ambulance (2022) and Far Haven (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Weatherly</span> American actor and director (born 1968)

Michael Weatherly Jr. is an American actor, producer, director, and musician, known for playing the roles of special agent Anthony DiNozzo in the television series NCIS and Logan Cale in Dark Angel (2000–2002). From 2016 to 2022, he starred as Dr. Jason Bull in Bull, a courtroom drama. He also starred in Meet Wally Sparks.

<i>Simon & Simon</i> American TV series

Simon & Simon is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who operate a two-person detective agency in San Diego, California.

Andrea Hope Elson is an American retired actress. Beginning her professional career as a child actress and model, Elson is perhaps best known for her television roles as Alice Tyler on the CBS science-fiction adventure series Whiz Kids and as Lynn Tanner on the NBC comedy series ALF, which garnered the teenage actress two Youth in Film Award nominations in 1986 and 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Gail</span> American actor (born 1943)

Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations. Gail also won the 2019 and 2021 Daytime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mike Corbin on the soap opera General Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Mazzello</span> American actor (born 1983)

Joseph Francis Mazzello III is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, Roarke Hartman in The River Wild, Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network, and Queen bass player John Deacon in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Urbaniak</span> American character actor (born 1963)

James Christian Urbaniak is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: Henry Fool (1997), Fay Grim (2006) and Ned Rifle (2014), Robert Crumb in American Splendor (2003), Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture on the animated series The Venture Bros. (2003–2023), Grant Grunderschmidt on Review (2014–2017), and Arthur Tack on Difficult People (2015–2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Michael Murray</span> American actor (born 1981)

Chad Michael Murray is an American actor, writer and former model. He played the lead role of Lucas Scott in The WB/CW teen drama series One Tree Hill, and recurring roles as Tristin DuGray on Gilmore Girls (2000–01), Charlie Todd on Dawson's Creek (2001–02), and Edgar Evernever on Riverdale (2019), all on the same network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belinda Montgomery</span> Canadian-American actress

Belinda Montgomery is a Canadian-American actress. She initially attracted notice for playing Cinderella in the 1969 television film Hey, Cinderella! She appeared in films including The Todd Killings (1971), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975) and its sequel The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2 (1978), Stone Cold Dead (1979), and Silent Madness (1984). She starred as Dr. Elizabeth Merrill in the science-fiction series Man from Atlantis (1977–78), and as Katherine Howser, Doogie's mother, in the medical comedy-drama series, Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masi Oka</span> Japanese actor

Masayori "Masi" Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's Heroes as Hiro Nakamura, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and in CBS's Hawaii Five-0 as Doctor Max Bergman.

<i>Starstuff</i> Television series

Starstuff is an hour-long children's television program taped at WCAU-TV Studios on City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was shown in the Philadelphia television market only. There was only one season of Starstuff with a total of 18 episodes. The debut episode was aired on Friday, August 29, 1980 at 7:00pm, with the following episodes shown at 7:30am on Sunday mornings for the rest of the season.Reruns for Starstuff were shown repeatedly until the spring of 1991, usually airing at 6:00am or 6:30am on Saturday mornings. The opening and closing music consisted of a mélange of music from Gustav Holst's The Planets suite, movements four and six, Jupiter and Uranus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinocchio</span> Fictional character created by Carlo Collodi

Pinocchio is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan village. He is created as a wooden puppet, but he dreams of becoming a real boy. He is known for his long nose, which grows when he lies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Michaels</span> American television producer (born 1965)

Jim Michaels is an American television producer. He is the son of Anna Mae and Robert Michaels and was raised in the Chicago suburbs of Des Plaines and Arlington Heights, Illinois. Michaels graduated from John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and attended the University of Evansville, graduating with a degree in business. Michaels started and ran the in-house computer graphics department at MCA/Universal Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nolan Gerard Funk</span> Canadian actor, singer and model

Nolan Gerard Funk is a Canadian actor and singer, known for portraying Hunter Clarington in the musical comedy-drama television series Glee, Collin Jennings in the comedy-drama television series Awkward, "Angel Eyes" in the drama series Counterpart and Conrad Birdie in the 2009 Broadway revival of the musical Bye Bye Birdie.

The 5th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and theater for the 1982-1983 season, and took place on December 4, 1983, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan O'Brien</span> American actor (born 1991)

Dylan Rhodes O'Brien is an American actor. His first major role was as Stiles Stilinski in the MTV supernatural series Teen Wolf (2011–2017). He achieved further prominence for his lead role in the science fiction Maze Runner trilogy (2014–2018), which led to more film appearances.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Those Wonderful Whiz Kids". Bop Magazine . No. December 1983. Laufer Media. p. 39.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Who's Who on 'Whiz Kids'". Teen Beat . No. February 1984. Ideal Publishing Corporation. pp. 11–13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Meet Todd Porter, He's Whiz Kids' Ham – And That Says It All". 16 Magazine . No. May 1984. p. 54.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Hot Times For Todd". Teen Beat . No. May 1984. Ideal Publishing Corporation. pp. 47–48.
  5. ↑ Gardner, R.H. (July 23, 1979). "'Peter Pan' flies – Continuously entertaining". The Baltimore Sun . p. B1, B6.
  6. 1 2 Plant, Emmett (December 19, 2009). "Sci-Fi Rewind: Memories of 'Starstuff'". io9 . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  7. ↑ WCAU-TV (July 9, 1980). "Starstuff Episode #11 – Tape No. 417-60P". CBS . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Of Special Interest: Pinocchio's Christmas". The New York Times . December 3, 1980. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Todd Porter movies, photos, reviews, filmography and biography". AllMovie.com . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Friday – 12:00 "Earthbound" A hotel owner and his grandson". The Ludington Daily News. July 25, 1986.
  11. ↑ Linda Gross (February 3, 1981). "A Paranoid Space Family Robinson". Los Angeles Times .
  12. ↑ Christopher Hicks (May 14, 1981). "Movie Review: 'Earthbound' really is". The Deseret News .
  13. ↑ Greenberger, Robert. "Whiz Kids". Starlog (February 1984). O'Quinn Studios, Inc.: 34–35.
  14. ↑ John J. O'Connor (October 5, 1983). "TV: A Youthful Computer Genius". The New York Times .
  15. ↑ Mike Boone (October 12, 2013). "'Whiz Kids' a little far-fetched, but it's worth accessing". The Montreal Gazette .
  16. 1 2 "Fifth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1982-1983". Young Artist Awards . Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  17. ↑ Hulu (October 27, 1983). "Simon & Simon Full Episode (Fly The Alibi Skies)". IMDb.com . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.