| 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 for his role as Sandy Ricks in the 1960s Flipper TV series, Luke Halpin set a high standard for generations of TV teen actors to come.
The Luke Halpin Gallery is dedicated to remembering the young career of Luke Halpin. |
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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 many major television shows.
Luke, then, was already a veteran child professional 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)
Luke Halpin was one of the handsomest teen actors in early color television. His good looks graced the pages of fan magazines all over the world, making Luke one of the first teen celebrities to achieve "idol" status. (see Luke Halpin: His Facial Attractiveness)
Luke's talent in water sports made him a natural to play the adventurous Sandy Ricks:
"I loved water sports even before I started the Flipper series...When I got to Florida I was in heaven."
(TV Times, Australia, Dec 1966 issue) |
As an expert swimmer and diver, Luke added credibility to his role by doing many of 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 actors in early color television history. (see The Remarkable Body of Luke Halpin)
Trademark: Known for his tanned ripped swimmer's torso as he did many
scenes in Flipper shirtless.
(www.IMDb.com)
"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)
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Luke Halpin's films and TV series can be found on DVD and the
internet. Certain episodes of the TV series can be found on YouTube.
In 2017, Olive Films released the TV series on Blu-ray (Seasons 1, 2,
3) and DVD (Seasons 2 & 3 only) (read) |
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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 seeks to promote 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 arranged in over 600 galleries. In addition, an extensive 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/Blu-ray |
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Flipper (1963), Flipper's New Adventure (1964): dbl feature DVD, released Jan 31, 2006; purchase (Amazon) |
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Flipper Season 1 (released Apr 27, 2007): 30 episodes on 4 dbl-sided discs, Flipper Trivia Game; purchase (Amazon) |
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Flipper Season 2 (released June 3, 2010): 30 episodes on 8 discs, no extras; purchase (Amazon) |
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Flipper TV series is now on Blu-Ray
(read) |
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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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Orlando Sentinel: Flipper's Pal Still Splashing (May 3, 1998) |
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People Magazine: In the Wake of the Dolphin (July 1993) |
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Catholic Youth Magazine (Nov 1965) |
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TV Times: I Want To Be A Baddie (Dec 21, 1966) |
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Bild am Sonntag: Without Flipper I Would Be Dead (Sep 8, 1968) |
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[Title unknown] Two Japanese publications |
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50 Years of Film Debuts, Vol. 14 (article on Luke Halpin) |
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The Moving Picture Boy (article on Luke Halpin) |
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Chicago Tribune: Vintage 'Flipper' Dives Into Video Market (1996) |
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DVDVerdict.com - Flipper Orig Series Season 1 review |
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DVDVerdict.com - Flipper's New Adventure review |
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16 Magazine: Which Is The One For You? (Jan 65) |
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16 Magazine: The Things I Hate & The Things I Love (Dec 64) |
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16 Magazine: Luke Halpin Answers 40 Intimate Question (Feb 65)
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16 Magazine: All About Me (Mar 1965) |
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16 Magazine: Luke Halpin's Most Secret Secrets (May 1965) |
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16 Magazine: My Life In 50 Pix (June 1965) |
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16 Magazine: A Love Letter From Luke Halpin (July 1965) |
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16 Magazine: If You Had A Date With LUKE HALPIN (Aug 1965) |
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16 Magazine: A Day With Luke Halpin (Oct 1965) |
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16 Magazine: Luke Halpin Singing Star! (Apr 1966) |
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16 Magazine: Ten Things You Never Knew about ME (Dec 1966) |
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Teen Life: This is me - (pt 1 & 2) I Live Dangerously! (Nov 1965) |
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Teen Life: This is me - (pt 3) (Jan 1966) |
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Tiger Beat: The Things That Flip "Flipper's Friend" Luke Halpin
(Sep 65) |
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Bravo Magazine (unknown date) |
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Bravo Magazine - Filmroman (1969) |
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Flipper and Thunderbird (1969 brochure) |
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(Unknown
publication) (circa 1964-1968) |
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The
House That Flipper Built (Biscayne Times, Mar
2012) |
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Flipper TV Series
On Blu-ray (Nov 10, 2017) |
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Other site features |
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Galleries
- Guide to all the website galleries |
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Flipper, TV Series - Information about the TV series |
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Email
cpps90 |
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