Tim Hovey
Tim Hovey | |
|---|---|
 Hovey in a trailer for the 1958 film, Money, Women and Guns. | |
| Born | June 19, 1945 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | September 9, 1989 (aged 44) Watsonville, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by overdose |
| Other names | Timothy Hovey |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, musician, audio engineer and road manager |
| Years active | 1955–1989 |
Tim Hovey (June 19, 1945 – September 9, 1989) was a former American child actor during the 1950s. He later became a musician, road manager and an audio engineer for rock bands.
Acting career[edit]
Born in Los Angeles, California, Hovey was discovered by a talent agent who saw his photo in the window of a photography shop.[1] In 1955, he made his acting debut in an episode of Lassie. Later that year, he made his film debut as Tiger Flaherty opposite Charlton Heston in The Private War of Major Benson.[2]
From 1955 to 1959, Hovey worked steadily in films and television, often playing characters younger than his real age due to his small stature.[1] In 1957, he was signed to a film contract with Universal-International. While working at U-I, Hovey appeared in the Westerns Slim Carter and Money, Women and Guns, both opposite Jock Mahoney.[3]
Hovey's final onscreen appearance was in an episode of the anthology series Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars, in 1959. Despite receiving an offer to appear in a Broadway play produced and directed by Otto Preminger, Hovey chose to retire from acting.[1]
Later years[edit]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Hovey lived in Northern California and worked with computers. He was also the road manager for the rock band Grateful Dead.[1] Hovey later learned how to play the slide guitar and would play with the band on occasion.[4] From 1971 to 1977, Hovey served as the chief audio engineer for the Grateful Dead and Kingfish, the side project of Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir.[5] He is credited as co-writer of "Important Exportin' Man" (with Dave Torbert), on the album The Adventures of Panama Red, by the New Riders of the Purple Sage.[4]
Death[edit]
On September 9, 1989, Hovey died of an intentional drug overdose at his home in Watsonville, California.[1][6] Hovey's suicide, along with the suicides of fellow former child actors Trent Lehman and Rusty Hamer, prompted Paul Petersen to form the child actor advocacy group A Minor Consideration.[7]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Lassie | Malcolm | 2 episodes Credited as Timothy Hovey |
| 1955 | The Private War of Major Benson | Cadet Thomas "Tiger" Flaherty | |
| 1955 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Cadet Flaherty | Episode #5.38 |
| 1955 | Queen Bee | Ted Phillips | |
| 1956 | The Toy Tiger | Timmie Harkinson | |
| 1956 | Lux Video Theatre | Austin | Episode: "The Gay Sisters" |
| 1956 | Everything but the Truth | Willie Taylor | |
| 1956 | The Family Nobody Wanted | Donny | Playhouse 90 episode |
| 1957 | Man Afraid | Michael Collins | |
| 1957 | Slim Carter | Leo Gallaher | |
| 1957 | The Lux Show with Rosemary Clooney | Himself | Episode #1.11 |
| 1958 | General Electric Theatre | Frank Morgan | Episode: "Kid at the Stick" |
| 1958 | Kraft Television Theatre | Jeff Hillyer | Episode: "Material Witness" |
| 1958 | Money, Women and Guns | Davy Kingman | |
| 1958 | Cimarron City | Avery Wickham | Episode: "Cimarron Holiday" |
| 1959 | Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars | Timmy Parker | Episode: "Ivy League" |
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Tim Hovey, 44; Child Actor in the 1950s". Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1989. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Moppets In Movieland". The Miami News. Miami, Florida. August 25, 1957. p. 33. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ "Hovey-Mahoney Team". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. October 18, 1957. p. 52. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Talevski, Nick (2010). Rock Obituaries - Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-857-12117-2.
- ^ Lamparski, Richard (1982). Whatever Became Of-- ?: Eight Series: The Best (updated) and Newest of the Famous Lamparski Profiles of Personalities of Yesteryear. Crown Publishers. p. 285. ISBN 0-517-54346-X.
- ^ Brioux, Bill (2007). "Ward, I'm Worried About the Beaver: TV Rumors Involving Child Stars". Truth and Rumors: The Reality Behind TV's Most Famous Myths. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-275-99247-7.
- ^ Kubey, Robert William (2004). Creating Television: Conversations With the People Behind 50 Years Of American TV. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp. 387. ISBN 0-8058-1077-3.
Bibliography[edit]
- Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 253–254.
- Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen, South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 116–121.
External links[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1945 births
- 1989 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century American guitarists
- American audio engineers
- American male child actors
- American male film actors
- American male songwriters
- American male television actors
- American rock guitarists
- American male guitarists
- Drug-related suicides in California
- Male actors from Los Angeles
- Male Western (genre) film actors
- People from Watsonville, California
- Road crew
- American slide guitarists
- Songwriters from California
- Guitarists from Los Angeles
- Engineers from California
- 20th-century American engineers
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 1989 suicides
- 20th-century American songwriters