Earl Hammond
Encyclopedia
Earl Hammond was an American theater, radio, film and television actor, and, in his later years, a voice actor for several animated films and TV series.
. From 1979 to 1982, he acted on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater
, appearing in 189 episodes, over 12% of the entire run of the 1,399 episodes of that radio series.
Hammond started his television career in the early 1950s, his first major role being as a regular, Sergeant Lane, on the Dumont
police drama Inside Detective. At the same time, he was also 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.
Hammond was best remembered for providing the voices of Mumm-Ra, Jaga, and other characters on the 1980s animated TV series ThunderCats
, and for being the voice of villain Mon*Star on the 1980s animated TV series Silverhawks
. He was also the voice of the Transformers
villain Megatron in a series of children's read-along books.
In 1994, Hammond was selected from several hundred actors who auditioned to be the voice of Pope John Paul II on the audiotape version of the Random House book Crossing the Threshold of Hope
. The publisher said the pope personally selected Hammond.
and Alexis Smith
. He was drafted into the US Army for World War Two; when he was discharged, he moved to New York City to continue his acting career. He appeared in the New York City area in the late 1940s on radio dramas, in summer theater, and in off-Broadway productions.
He was drafted into the US Army during World War Two, learned Morse code, and served in communications. Once discharged, he moved to New York City.
In the late 1950s, as more and more television production moved from New York City to California, so did he, who, based on his television series credits, likely moved to the West Coast around 1960. He married sometime between 1950 and 1980, and had a son and a daughter, both still living at the time of his death by heart failure on May 1, 2002 in New York City.
Best known roles
Earl Hammond began acting in radio at the age of 7, and continued working in that venue throughout his life. In the 1940s, he had a regular role as a young lawyer on the radio soap opera Days of Our LivesDays of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
. From 1979 to 1982, he acted on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
, appearing in 189 episodes, over 12% of the entire run of the 1,399 episodes of that radio series.
Hammond started his television career in the early 1950s, his first major role being as a regular, Sergeant Lane, on the Dumont
Dumont
- People :Dumont or DuMont is a common family name in France that has spread to many other countries. It is the name of:* Dumont de Montigny , French explorer and author...
police drama Inside Detective. At the same time, he was also 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
Valiant Lady
Valiant Lady is an American soap opera which ran daily on CBS radio and television from October 12, 1953 through August 1957 at 12:00 PM . The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through life but is otherwise very different...
, as Hal Soames, the married love interest of the widowed title character.
Hammond was best remembered for providing the voices of Mumm-Ra, Jaga, and other characters on the 1980s animated TV series ThunderCats
ThunderCats
ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
, and for being the voice of villain Mon*Star on the 1980s animated TV series Silverhawks
Silverhawks
SilverHawks is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were made...
. He was also the voice of the Transformers
The Transformers (TV series)
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
villain Megatron in a series of children's read-along books.
In 1994, Hammond was selected from several hundred actors who auditioned to be the voice of Pope John Paul II on the audiotape version of the Random House book Crossing the Threshold of Hope
Crossing the Threshold of Hope
-Publishing Information:Crossing the Threshold of Hope was written in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. It was published originally in Italian by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore and in English by Alfrede A. Knopf, Inc. It is distributed by Random House, Inc., New York...
. The publisher said the pope personally selected Hammond.
Early acting career
In 1938, after graduating Bennet High School in Buffalo, NY, he 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, studying acting at Los Angeles City College, and graduating in 1941 with future stars Donna ReedDonna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
and Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith was a Canadian-born stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in several major Hollywood movies in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972.-Life and career:...
. He was drafted into the US Army for World War Two; when he was discharged, he moved to New York City to continue his acting career. He appeared in the New York City area in the late 1940s on radio dramas, in summer theater, and in off-Broadway productions.
Television career
- Inside Detective (aka Rocky King, Inside Detective) TV series .... Sergeant Lane (1950–1953)
- Buck RogersBuck RogersAnthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....
(1950) TV series .... Buck Rogers - The Ad-LibbersThe Ad-LibbersThe Ad-Libbers is a CBS comedy sketch game show that aired in 1951. A summer replacement for Mama, five live shows were broadcast before the series ended.-Format:...
(1951) TV game show .... Panelist - Robert Montgomery PresentsRobert Montgomery PresentsRobert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example,...
(1 episode) - Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1 episode)
- Valiant LadyValiant LadyValiant Lady is an American soap opera which ran daily on CBS radio and television from October 12, 1953 through August 1957 at 12:00 PM . The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through life but is otherwise very different...
(1953) TV series .... Hal Soames (1954–1955) - The Clear HorizonThe Clear HorizonThe Clear Horizon is a soap opera which ran on CBS Daytime from July 11, 1960 to March 10, 1961 and from February 26, 1962 to June 11, 1962. The show was created and head written by Manya Starr. -Premise:...
(1960) TV series .... Captain Sovine - BroncoBronco (TV series)Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...
(1 episode)- Moment of Doubt (1962) .... Mercer
- MaverickMaverick (TV series)Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
(1 episode)- Marshal Maverick (1962).... Billy Coe
- The Many Loves of Dobie GillisThe Many Loves of Dobie GillisThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
(1 episode)- There's a Broken Light for Every Heart on Broadway (1963) .... Nightclub manager
- 77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
(1 episode)- Walk Among Tigers (1963) .... Conley
- The Gallant MenThe Gallant MenThe Gallant Men is a 1962-1963 ABC television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II.-Description:...
(1 episode)- Operation Secret (1963) .... David Storm
- Directions (1 episode)
- Prologue to Christmas (1964) .... George
- The Space Giants (1967) (alternate language version of Japanese production "Space Avenger" (1966)) TV series .... Voices
- UltramanUltramanis Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...
(1972) (alternate language version of Japanese production "Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series" (1966)) TV series .... Voices - Star BlazersStar BlazersStar Blazers is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series, . Star Blazers was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. Significantly, it was the first popular English-translated anime that had an over-arching plot and storyline that required the episodes to...
(alternate language version of Japanese production "Space Cruiser Yamato") (1979–81) TV series .... Voices (25 episodes) - Thunderbirds 2086Thunderbirds 2086is a Japanese anime series loosely inspired by the original Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series Thunderbirds. The series was dubbed in English by ITC Entertainment, the original company who produced Thunderbirds, but is not officially recognised as part of Thunderbirds canon, due to the...
(1982) TV series .... Voices - ThundercatsThunderCatsThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
(130 episodes, 1985) .... Voices: Mumm-Ra / Tug-mug / Amok / Jaga - The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985) TV special .... Voice of Santa Claus
- The Adventures of the Galaxy RangersThe Adventures of the Galaxy RangersThe Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers was an American animated Space Western television series created by Robert Mandell and Gaylord Entertainment Company....
(4 episodes, 1986) .... Voices: Commander Joseph Walsh / Lazarus Slade / Captain Kidd / Wildfire Cody / King Spartos - SilverhawksSilverhawksSilverHawks is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were made...
(1986) TV series .... Voice of Mon*star - The Comic StripThe Comic Strip (TV series)The Comic Strip was an American animated series which featured four rotating cartoon segments. The 30-minute series ran in first-run syndication during the 1987-1988 season and was also seen on RPN-9 in the Philippines....
(aka "The Mini-Monsters") (1987) TV series .... Voices - Noel (1992) TV movie .... Voices
- The Twelve Days of Christmas (1993) TV movie .... Voices
Film career
- Satan in High HeelsSatan in High HeelsSatan in High Heels is a 1962 American sexploitation film starring Meg Myles and Grayson Hall. It was directed by Jerald Intrator.-Plot:Stacey Kane , a cunning and ambitious striptease dancer in a cheap carnival, tricks her heroin-addicted husband out of his money and leaves him clothed only in a...
(1962) .... Rudy - Tecnica di un omicidio (aka Hired Killer) (1966) .... Frank
- Hansu Kurushitan Anderusan no sekai (aka The World of Hans Christian Andersen) (1971) .... Voice
- Rupan sansei: Mamo karano chousen (aka Lupin the 3rd: The Movie - The Secret of Mamo) (1978) (voice: English version) .... Goemon Ishikawa
- Thundercats, Ho: The Movie (1985) (voice) .... Jaga / Mumm-Ra / Vultureman
- GandaharLight Years (film)Light Years is a 1988 French animated science fiction and fantasy film. The original version was directed by René Laloux, and was based on Jean-Pierre Andrevon's novel Les Hommes-machines contre Gandahar .An English version was directed by Harvey Weinstein and produced by Bob Weinstein, while noted...
(aka Light Years) (1988) (voice) .... Blaminhoe - The Secret of Anastasia (1997) .... Voice
- Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night (1998) .... Additional Voices
- Moses: Egypt's Great Prince (1998) .... Voices
Personal life
Earl Hammond was born Erwin Saul Hamburger on June 17, 1921 in New York City, NY — his family moved to Buffalo, NY while he was still a toddler. He began his acting career in radio at the age of 7, and continued all the way through high school. In the early 1940s, he moved to California, took acting classes at Los Angeles City College, and changed his name to Earl Hammond.He was drafted into the US Army during World War Two, learned Morse code, and served in communications. Once discharged, he moved to New York City.
In the late 1950s, as more and more television production moved from New York City to California, so did he, who, based on his television series credits, likely moved to the West Coast around 1960. He married sometime between 1950 and 1980, and had a son and a daughter, both still living at the time of his death by heart failure on May 1, 2002 in New York City.