Earl Hammond

Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor who appeared in several films and television series. Career Earl Hammond began acting in radio at the age of 7, and continued working in that venue throughout his life. In 1938, after graduating from Bennet High School in Buffalo, New York, Hammond began acting in Fred and Ethel Dampier's radio skits on WGR, one of the city's major radio stations. He moved on to California, studied acting at Los Angeles City College, and graduated in 1941 with future stars Donna Reed and Alexis Smith among his classmates. He was drafted into the U.S. Army for World War II. After he was discharged, he moved to New York City, where he performed in the late 1940s on radio dramas, in summer theater, and in off-Broadway theater productions. In the 1940s, he had a regular role as a young lawyer on a radio soap opera. He acted on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, appearing in many episodes episodes, including The Red Badge of Courage (5/1/77), The Man Without a Country (5/8/77), Three Tales of Hans Anderson (5/18/77) and They Called Him Slim (5/21/77). Hammond started his television career in the early 1950s, his first major role being as a regular called Sergeant Lane on the DuMont police drama Inside Detective (aka Rocky King Detective). At the same time, he also was the first of three actors to portray the title character in the short-lived ABC TV science-fiction adventure series Buck Rogers, which ran from April 15, 1950, to January 30, 1951. In the mid-1950s, he had a major role in the daily/noontime CBS television soap opera Valiant Lady as Hal Soames, the married love interest of the widowed title character.