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Charles Hallahan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Hallahan
Hallahan as LAPD Captain Charlie Devane on TV series Hunter.
Born
Charles John Hallahan

(1943-07-29)July 29, 1943
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 25, 1997(1997-11-25) (aged 54)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education
OccupationActor
Years active1972–1997
Spouses
Elizabeth Widmann
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1974)​
Barbara Gryboski
​
​
(m. 1983)​
Children2

Charles John Hallahan (July 29, 1943 – November 25, 1997)[1] was an American film, television, and stage actor. His films include Going in Style and Nightwing (both 1979), The Thing (1982), Silkwood and Twilight Zone: The Movie (both 1983), Vision Quest and Pale Rider (both 1985), P.K. and the Kid (1987), Cast a Deadly Spell (1991), Executive Decision (1996), Dante's Peak (1997), and Mind Rage (2001). On television, he appeared in guest turns on The Rockford Files, Happy Days, Hawaii Five-O, Dallas, All in the Family, Soap, Good Times, The Waltons, Hart to Hart, Trapper John, M.D., M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, Lou Grant, The Equalizer, Wings, Picket Fences, In the Heat of the Night, Law & Order, Mad About You, Murder, She Wrote, JAG, NYPD Blue, and Coach, among many others. He is, perhaps, best known for his role as Capt. Charles "Charlie" Devane in the NBC cop action-drama Hunter from 1986 to 1991. Hallahan also appeared as a series regular in both CBS' The Paper Chase, as Ernie, from 1978 to 1979, and ABC's Grace Under Fire, as Bill Davis, from 1993 to 1994, as well as a recurring performer providing various characters' voices on the ABC children's animated series Gargoyles, from 1995 to 1996.

Biography

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Hallahan was born in Philadelphia to Charles John Hallahan Jr. and Margaret Catherine (née Sweeney), both of Irish Catholic descent.[1] He grew up in Harrisburg and then Green Ridge, Delaware County.[2] He was a student at St. James High School in Chester, leaving in 1961.[2] He attended Rutgers University-Camden,[1] graduating with a BA degree in 1968.[2] He then continued for a masters degree earning an MFA from Temple University in 1971.[3][2]

He served three years in the US Navy in the early 1960s,[2] including time as a Navy hospital corpsman.[2] He moved to Los Angeles in 1977.[1]

Career

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Hallalhan was a member of the American Conservatory Theater and appeared in many productions there such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Equus, and The Threepenny Opera.[3] In 1977, Hallahan was a founding member of The Matrix Theatre Company in Los Angeles.[3] performing in plays like Endgame (play) and The Seagull,[3] and Robert Schenkkan's play, The Kentucky Cycle.[2]

On screen, Hallahan has played Chet Wilke in Lou Grant (1979–1982).[1] In 1982, he portrayed geologist Vance Norris in the remake of The Thing alongside Kurt Russell.[3] He starred as LAPD Captain Charlie Devane on Hunter.[1] He portrayed the nameless "Coach" in Vision Quest, opposite Matthew Modine.[1] Hallahan also co-starred as a regular cast member in two popular television series, Grace Under Fire[2] and the long-running The Paper Chase.[3]

One of his final film roles--and arguably among his best remembered--was his portrayal of volcanologist Dr. Paul Dreyfus in the 1997 disaster-thriller film Dante's Peak, which also starred Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton.[1] His final screen turn--and his lone big-screen leading role--was as corrupt Los Angeles homicide detective Jack Stillman in the 2001 independent Hitchcockian noir-thriller Mind Rage, a film eventually released, posthumously, four years after his untimely death. In 1997, Hallahan was cast as Liam Bilby for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Honor Among Thieves", but was replaced after having passed away.

Death

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On November 25, 1997, he died of an apparent heart attack while driving his car in Los Angeles.[3] He left behind his wife, Barbara; two sons, Seamus and Liam; and four brothers, Michael, Kenneth, Lawrence and Thomas.[3] His brother, Fr. Kenneth Hallahan, was a Roman Catholic priest in Camden, New Jersey. He was predeceased by his sister, Regina Macrina, an educator from Collingswood, New Jersey.[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Television series

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Accolades

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  • Endgame — Winner — Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for Best Lead Performance (1995)
  • The Kentucky Cycle — Winner — Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Performance (1992)
  • Rat in the Skull — Winner — Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Performance (1986)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Brennan, Sandra (April 11, 2013). "Charles Hallahan - Full Biography". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hagenmayer, Joseph.S (December 1, 1997). "Charles Hallahan, 54, An Actor From Phila". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Charles Hallahan; Stage and TV Actor Starred in 'Hunter'". Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1997.
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