1. Russell Craig "Rusty" Hamer was an American stage, film, and television actor.
17 Facts About Rusty Hamer
1. 2.
Rusty Hamer reprised the role in three reunion specials and the sequel series, Make Room for Granddaddy, which aired on ABC from 1970 to 1971.
3.
Rusty Hamer suggested that Thomas audition Hamer for a role in his upcoming sitcom Make Room for Daddy.
4.
Rusty Hamer first performed a song in a 1956 episode of Danny Thomas entitled "The Talented Kid".
5.
In 1959, Rusty Hamer released his only single, a "rockaballad" called "Two-of-a-Kind" written by Wally Gold and Aaron Schroeder, through Mercury Records.
6.
The single was a commercial failure and Rusty Hamer never released another single.
7.
Shortly before graduating in June 1964, Rusty Hamer was interviewed by reporter Bob Thomas and stated that he intended to continue his acting career and hoped to branch out into dramatic roles.
8.
Rusty Hamer said that he was under consideration for roles in several television series including Mr Novak, Arrest and Trial and Ben Casey.
9.
Rusty Hamer said that he planned to attend college on the advice of Danny Thomas, whom he considered a second father, since his own father had died in 1953.
10.
About a year after The Danny Thomas Show ended, Hamer reprised the role of Rusty Williams in three episodes of The Joey Bishop Show, in which Rusty was a university student staying with the family of Joey Barnes.
11.
Rusty Hamer appeared in the reunion special The Danny Thomas TV Family Reunion, which aired on NBC.
12.
Rusty Hamer was carrying the gun having just returned from an overnight hunting trip.
13.
In October 1981, Rusty Hamer reunited with former co-stars Danny Thomas and Angela Cartwright.
14.
John Rusty Hamer later said he believed that his brother had remained bitter over his inability to transition into acting as an adult.
15.
Rusty Hamer's ashes were scattered at sea, three miles off Marina del Rey, California, with the ashes of Tommy Rettig in a combined ceremony after the latter's death in 1996.
16.
On February 8,1960, Rusty Hamer was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.
17.
Rusty Hamer's suicide raised awareness of the potential mental fragility of child performers and inspired fellow former child actor Paul Petersen, formerly of ABC's The Donna Reed Show, to establish the support group A Minor Consideration.