Larry Haines | |
|---|---|
 Haines in 1956 | |
| Born | Larry Hecht August 3, 1918 (1918-08-03) Mount Vernon, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 2008(2008-07-17) (aged 89) Delray Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Gertrude Haines (1943 - 1982 died) Jean Pearlman Haines |
| Children | 1 |
Larry Haines (bornLarry Hecht; August 3, 1918 – July 17, 2008) was an American actor.[1]
Haines was born on August 3, 1918, inMount Vernon, New York. (Some sources say August 18, 1918, in the same city).[2] He had been active in dramatics in high school,[3] and while he was in college, he was advised to try acting. After a few months of instruction in dramatics, he passed an audition withCBS.[4] He dropped out during his sophomore year of college and "went right into radio working on little stations all around New York City,"[3] beginning atWWRL.[5]
Haines first became known in the 1930s as an actor on the radio crime seriesGangbusters.[6] Playing Joe Lincoln, he was the star ofTreasury Agent on theMutual Broadcasting System in 1947–48,[7] and he had the title role of Mike Hammer inThat Hammer Guy on Mutual in 1953–54.[8] He also was featured inThe Chase,[9]Cloak and Dagger,[10]Inner Sanctum Mystery,[11]The Man Behind the Gun,[12] andThis Is Nora Drake.[13] It was estimated that he acted in more than 15,000 radio programs in the 1940s and 1950s.[14]Four decades later, he would return to radio, starring in 82 episodes of theCBS Radio Mystery Theater.[2]
His best known role was that of next door neighborStu Bergman on thesoap operaSearch for Tomorrow. Haines joined the show for its eleventh episode in 1951, and remained on the serial for the show's duration. He wonDaytime Emmy Awards in 1976 and 1981,[15] and wasFirst LadyPat Nixon's favorite soap opera actor.[2] Haines was reunited with longtimeSearch for Tomorrow costarMary Stuart on the prime-time special which saluted 50 years of the soaps in 1994.
In the 1980s, he co-starred with one of hisSearch for Tomorrow co-stars, Rick Lohman (who had played his grandson, Gary Walton) in a short-lived sitcom, calledPhyl & Mikhy. Larry played Max Wilson, the father of Phyllis Wilson Orloff (Murphy Cross), who was married to Mikhy Orloff.
In 1989, several years after the cancellation ofSearch for Tomorrow, he briefly joined the cast of another NBC/Procter and Gamble serial,Another World. Haines played the role of Sid Sugarman, Ada Hobson's old boyfriend who escorted her to a gala honoring the show's 25th anniversary. He was later in the cast of Agnes Nixon'sLoving, playing Neal Warren, the biological father of Gwyneth Alden with whom he was reunited right before she was identified as the serial killer in the slaying of the Alden family and several other characters. In the last episodes of the show, his character proposed to old girlfriend Kate Rescott.
Haines'Broadway debut came in 1962, when he played inA Thousand Clowns.[4]He earnedTony nominations for his work inGeneration (1965) andPromises, Promises (1968).[2] His other Broadway appearances were inLast of the Red Hot Lovers,Twigs,No Hard Feelings, andTribute.[16]
Haines died inDelray Beach, Florida,[2] on July 17, 2008. He was predeceased by his former wives, Gertrude Haines and Jean Pearlman Haines as well as by his only daughter, Debora Haines.[17] He was survived by one niece.[2]
Haines appeared in the role of Speed in the film version ofThe Odd Couple (1968). He also appeared in the filmsThe Seven-Ups (1973)[3] andTank (1984).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Odd Couple | Speed | |
| 1973 | The Seven-Ups | Max Kalish | |
| 1984 | Tank | Biker #1 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
