Brett Halsey was born on June 20, 1933 in Santa Ana, California, United States, is Actor. Internationally known actor Brett Halsey, one of Hollywood's busiest and handsomest actors of the mid-to-late 50s and early 60s, was born Charles Oliver Hand to a builder/contractor in Santa Ana, California on June 20, 1933. Interested in performing from childhood (he appeared in local community and church plays), the young man found a modest "in" when he was hired as a teenage page at CBS Television studios. A chance meeting with the legendary Jack Benny and wife Mary Livingstone who taped "The Jack Benny Show" at CBS led to his being accepted to study at Universal-International's training school that also included at the time future Universal stars Clint Eastwood and David Janssen. These intense studies eventually led to a contract offered by the studio.Before deciding to pursue acting full time, the young teenager joined the Navy and enjoyed a brief stint as a deejay. Once signed with Universal, the studio decided to take advantage of Brett's esteemed ancestry (as the nephew of famed WWII Admiral William "Bull" Halsey) and changed the young nascent actor's stage name to the more marquee-friendly "Brett Halsey." He gained extensive experience apprenticing in a string of Universal bit parts, glimpsed in such standard filming as Walking My Baby Back Home (1953), The Man from the Alamo (1953), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), Ma and Pa Kettle at Home (1954) (as one of the young Kettle brood), Revenge of the Creature (1955) (as a victim) and _The Girl He Left Behind (1956). Eventually Brett's camera-worthy dark-haired good looks, penetrating blue eyes and earnest 'matinee idol' demeanor found their way front-and-center on TV drama ("Brave Eagle," "Mackenzie's Raiders," "Gunsmoke," "Perry Mason," "Highway Patrol," Harbor Command" and "Sea Hunt").In the late 1950s, Brett increased his cinematic visibility with the growing interest of lowbudget "juvenile delinquent" films. Several of Brett's features, such as _Hot Rod Rumble (1957) with 'Leigh Snowden', Roger Corman's cult classic The Cry Baby Killer (1958) with Jack Nicholson, High School Hellcats (1958) and _Speed Crazy (1959), the last two co-starring Yvonne Lime, have since attained camp and/or cult status. He ended that series of filming with The Girl in Lovers Lane (1960) with Joyce Meadows.Keeping in step with the then-popular trend of showcasing cool, hunky "beefcake" talent in TV adventure series with interesting or exotic locales, such as when Edd Byrnes combed his way to teen idol status on "77 Sunset Strip," Van Williams and Troy Donahue checked into "Surfside Six" and Robert Conrad spruced up "Hawaiian Eye," Brett fell into a co-starring role with Barry Coe, Gary Lockwood and former child star Gigi Perreau in the one-season adventure series Follow the Sun (1961), as a free-lance magazine writer looking for action in Honolulu. For his work, he earned a Golden Globe Award for "New Star of the Year".Following co-star/featured work in the war films To Hell and Back (1955), The Last Blitzkrieg (1958)_ and Jet Over the Atlantic (1959), the sci-fi thrillers Return of the Fly (1959) (with Vincent Price) and The Atomic Submarine (1959), the large-scale ensemble sudsers The Best of Everything (1959) and Return to Peyton Place (1961)_, the crime drama Desire in the Dust (1960) and the horror opus Twice-Told Tales (1963), the 28-year-old Brett decided to follow a number of other young vital and promising American actors who wished to take advantage of career opportunities opening up overseas in Italy. What was originally a one-time acting job in Italy led to a decade-long stay in films. Often billed as "Montgomery Ford," Brett starred as several sword-and-sandal type heroes in including the spectacles Le sette spade del vendicatore (1962) [The Seventh Sword], Il magnifico avventuriero (1963) [The Magnificent Adventurer] and Il ponte dei sospiri (1964) [The Avenger of Venice]. He also settled comfortably into the fashionable international spy, "spaghetti" western and giallo genres with a slew of work including Berlino appuntamento per le spie (Operazione Polifemo) (1965) [Spy in Your Eye], Misión Lisboa (1965) [Espionage in Lisbon], L'heure de la vérité (1965) [The Hour of Truth], Uccidete Johnny Ringo (1966) [Johnny Ringo], Der Kongreß amüsiert sich (1966) [Congress of Love], 3 notti violente (1966) [Web of Violence], Bang Bang (1967), Oggi a me... domani a te! (1968) [Today We Kill...Tomorrow We Die], Tutto sul rosso (1968) [All on the Red], L'ira di Dio (1968) [Wrath of God], Kidnapping! Paga o uccidiamo tuo figlio (1969) [Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven], Roy Colt & Winchester Jack (1970) and Quante volte... quella notte (1971) [Four Times That Night].In the early 1970s, Brett returned to the United States and planted himself squarely into TV work again, particularly in daytime drama. He appeared with regularity on General Hospital (1963), Search for Tomorrow (1951), Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1967), and, his last, a two-year stint (1980-82) on The Young and the Restless (1973). Halsey continued sporadically in films as well, such as the comedy Where Does It Hurt? (1972) starring Peter Sellers, Ratboy (1986), The Godfather: Part III (1990) and Beyond Justice (1992), while also finding steady work on the small screen - "Alias Smith and Jones," "Toma," "The Love Boat," "The Bionic Woman," "Charlie's Angels," "Fantasy Island," "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Columbo," "Matt Houston" and "Cagney & Lacey".At age 80+, the stalwart character actor continues to be seen from time to time with recent roles in the films Hierarchy (2009), The Scarlet Worm (2011), Club Utopia (2013) (in which he held a leading role), and Risk Factor (2015). Also known at one time as a film acting teacher, Halsey also writes novels ("The Magnificent Strangers") and screenplays while making occasional guest appearances at film festivals. One biography: "Brett Halsey: Art or Instinct in the Movies," which chronicles the actor's prolific career, was published in 2008. At various times, he has lived out of the country in Costa Rica, Canada and Italy.Brett is the father of five children. In 1954, he married imported Universal starlet Renate Hoy, an actress who won the "Miss Germany" beauty contest that same year. Together they had two children, the late Charles Oliver Hand, Jr. (a.k.a. punk rock performer "Rock Halsey" and/or "Rock Bottom") and Tracy Leigh. The couple divorced five years later. His second marriage (1960-1962) to exotic James Bond ("Thunderball") vixen Luciana Paluzzi, an Italian beauty, produced son Christian, who is a producer ("American Psycho"). Halsey and Paluzzi co-starred in Return to Peyton Place (1961) during their brief union. A third union (1964-1976) to German actress Heidi Brühl, best known here for her US role in the 1975 Clint Eastwood film "The Eiger Sanction," produced two more children: Clayton, a TV video editor ("Big Brother"), and Nicole. Halsey is presently wed to Victoria Korda, granddaughter of British filmmaker Alexander Korda.
Brett Halsey is a member of Actor
Age, Biography and Wiki
| Who is it? |
Actor |
| Birth Day |
June 20, 1933 |
| Birth Place |
Santa Ana, California, United States |
|
Age
|
90 YEARS OLD |
| Birth Sign |
Cancer |
| Other names |
Montgomery Ford |
| Occupation |
Actor |
| Years active |
1953-present |
| Spouse(s) |
Renate Hoy (1954–1959) 2 children
Luciana Paluzzi (1960-1962) 1 child
Heidi Brühl (1964-1976) 2 children
Victoria Korda (? - present) |
💰 Net worth
Brett Halsey, a celebrated actor in the United States, has attained significant recognition and success throughout his career. As of 2024, his net worth is estimated to fall in the range of $100K to $1M, showcasing his impressive financial achievements. With his talent and dedication, Halsey has undoubtedly made a name for himself in the entertainment industry, solidifying his place among the esteemed actors in the country.
Biography/Timeline
1954
In 1954, Halsey married Renate Hoy, an Actress who had won the Miss Germany contest that year, and who appeared in such films as The Sea Chase with John Wayne. They had two children, son Charles Oliver Hand, Jr. (a.k.a. Rock Halsey or Rock Bottom of the notorious Los Angeles punk rock band, Rock Bottom and the Spys) and daughter, Tracy Leigh. Halsey and Hoy divorced in 1959.
1956
Halsey appeared as Swift Otter, a Cheyenne Indian in the 1956 episodes "The Spirit of Hidden Valley" and "The Gentle Warrior" of the CBS western series, Brave Eagle, starring Keith Larsen as a young Indian chief.
1958
In 1958, Halsey guest-starred several times as Lieutenant Summers in Richard Carlson's syndicated western series, Mackenzie's Raiders, a fictional account of cavalry Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, set at Fort Clark, Texas. That same year, Halsey had the lead role of a life-saving Sailor in an episode of another syndicated series, Highway Patrol. He also appeared in Harbor Command, a military drama about the United States Coast Guard. He appeared as Robert Finchley in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Cautious Coquette", and starred in the Roger Corman teen flick The Cry Baby Killer. In 1959, he had a co-starring role in the science-fiction film The Atomic Submarine. Halsey appeared in the episode "Thin Ice" in 1959 of Five Fingers.
1959
Halsey played supporting and co-starring roles in Hollywood, having appeared in such films as Return of the Fly (1959), Jet Over the Atlantic (1959), The Best of Everything (1959), Return to Peyton Place (1961) and Twice-Told Tales (1963). By the early 1960s, he relocated to Italy where he found himself in demand in adventurous films such as Seven Swords for the King (1962) or The Avenger of Venice (1964), being often cast a swashbuckling hero. He also appeared in a few Spaghetti Westerns and Eurospy films, including Espionage in Lisbon (1965), Kill Johnny Ringo (1966), Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die! (1968), All on the Red (1968), Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1969) and Roy Colt and Winchester Jack (1970), often credited as Montgomery Ford.
1960
From 1960 to 1962, Halsey was married to Italian Actress Luciana Paluzzi. They had one son, Christian. In 1961, the two co-starred as a newlywed couple in the film, Return to Peyton Place. In 1964, Halsey married the popular German Actress and singer Heidi Brühl. They had two children, son Clayton Alexander Siegfried and daughter Nicole. They were divorced in 1976. Toward the end of the 1990s, Halsey moved to San José, Costa Rica, to teach film acting. He now resides in Laguna Hills with his fourth wife, Victoria (née Korda), granddaughter of Alexander Korda. He writes and makes occasional film appearances.
1961
In 1961, Halsey won the Golden Globe Award for "New Star of the Year". His Follow the Sun co-star, Barry Coe, had won the same honor in 1960. The award was discontinued in 1983.
1970
He returned to the United States in the early 1970s and worked in film and television. He appeared in the soap operas General Hospital and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and films such as Where Does It Hurt? (1972) with Peter Sellers. He had supporting roles in higher-profile films such as Ratboy (1986) and The Godfather Part III (1990), and worked with Italian horror Director Lucio Fulci on The Devil's Honey (1986), Touch of Death (1988), A Cat in the Brain (1990) and Demonia (1990). He also appeared as the captain of a luxury space liner in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars", and the Columbo episode "Death Lends a Hand". Other later roles include the 1992 film Beyond Justice, starring Rutger Hauer, the 1995 action film Expect No Mercy, and the 1999 TV movie Free Fall.
