Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor, who has 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 Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, 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 Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

, and graduated in 1941 with future stars

Donna Reed Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...

and

Alexis Smith Margaret Alexis Fitzsimmons-Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Awar ...

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. Secrest, Meryl (1994) "Leonard Bernstein: A Life" A.A. Knopf , page 151"Radio Actors Don Strawhats" Billboard Magazine (July 31, 1948) Nielsen Business Media Inc., ISSN 0006-2510, pp. 4 & 17 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 ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' (a.k.a. ''Radio Mystery Theater'' and ''Mystery Theater'', sometimes abbreviated as ''CBSRMT'') is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, an ...

'' from 1974 to 1982, appearing in 189 episodes -- more than 12% of the entire run of the 1,399 episodes of that radio series. CBS Radio Mystery Theater
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Old-Time Radio Database
website 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 Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

'', 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'' is an American soap opera which ran daily on CBS radio and television from October 12, 1953, to August 16, 1957, at 12:00 PM (EST). The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through ...

'' as Hal Soames, the married love interest of the widowed title character. Hammond was perhaps best remembered for providing the voices of

Mumm-Ra Mumm-Ra is a fictional supervillain and the main antagonist of the '' ThunderCats'' franchise. He is an undead evil sorcerer bound to the servitude of four malevolent, godlike entities known as the Ancient Spirits of Evil. Native to the planet ...

, 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 ''SilverHawks'' is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were ...

.'' He also was the voice of the ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' villain

Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, ...

in a series of children's read-along books. In 1994, Hammond was selected from among 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'' was written in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. It was published originally in Italian by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore and in English by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. It is distributed by Random House, Inc., New York City. By ...

.'' "Crossing the Threshold of Hope"
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Books On Tape
website The publisher said the pope personally selected Hammond."Earl Hammond, Noted for Voice Work" (obituary) "The Buffalo News" May 29, 2002 (available online a

webpage

Personal life and death

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 19, 2002, in New York City.

Filmography

Television

* ''Inside Detective'' ( ''Rocky King, Inside Detective'' TV series .... Sergeant Lane (1950–1953) * ''

'' (1950) TV series .... Buck Rogers * '' The Ad-Libbers'' (1951) TV game show .... Panelist * ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert 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 eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Our Hearts Were Young and Gay'' (1954) .... Henri * ''

Captain Video and His Video Rangers ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Tobor's Return'' (1954) .... Ranger Colt * ''

'' (1953) TV series .... Hal Soames (1954–1955) * ''

The Clear Horizon ''The Clear Horizon'' is an American soap opera which ran on CBS Daytime from July 11, 1960 to March 10, 1961 and February 26 to June 15, 1962. Manya Starr created the program and was its head writer. Premise ''The Clear Horizon'' (titled ''The ...

'' (1960) TV series .... Captain Sovine *

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Moment of Doubt'' (1962) .... Mercer * ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Marshal Maverick'' (1962).... Billy Coe * ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5 ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''There's a Broken Light for Every Heart on Broadway'' (1963) .... Nightclub manager * ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Walk Among Tigers'' (1963) .... Conley * ''

The Gallant Men ''The Gallant Men'' is a 1962–1963 ABC Warner Bros. Television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II. Description ''The Gallant Men'' dramatized the experiences of the ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Operation Secret'' (1963) .... David Storm * ''Directions'' (1 episode) *: ''Prologue to Christmas'' (1964) .... George * ''

The Space Giants is the title and protagonist of a manga and tokusatsu TV series created by Osamu Tezuka. The TV series, produced by P Productions, Norway Productions and Krantz Films, was aired on Fuji TV from July 4, 1966, to June 26, 1967, lasting a total ...

'' (1967) (alternate language version of Japanese production "Space Avenger" (1966)) TV series .... Voices * ''

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...

'' (1972) (alternate language version of Japanese production "Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series" (1966)) TV series .... Voices * ''

Star Blazers ''Star Blazers'' is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series . ''Star Blazers'' was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. It was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plo ...

(alternate language version of Japanese production "Space Battleship Yamato") (1979–81) TV series .... Voices (25 episodes) * ''

Thunderbirds 2086 ''Thunderbirds 2086'' is the English dubbed version of the Japanese anime series , loosely inspired by the original Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series '' Thunderbirds''. The English dub was produced by ITC Entertainment, the original produ ...

'' (1982) TV series .... Voices * '' ThunderCats'' (130 episodes, 1985) .... Voices:

/ Jaga * '' The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus'' (1985) TV special .... Voice of Santa Claus * ''

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ''The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' is an American animated space Western television series created by Robert Mandell and Gaylord Entertainment Company. It was broadcast in syndication between 1986 and 1989. The series combines sci-fi sto ...

'' (4 episodes, 1986) .... Voices: Commander Joseph Walsh / Lazarus Slade / Captain Kidd / Wildfire Cody / King Spartos * ''

'' (1986) TV series .... Voice of Mon*star *

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The ...

'' (1987) TV series .... Cawfield ("The Mini-Monsters" segment), Walro ("

TigerSharks ''TigerSharks'' is an American animated children's television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1987. The series involved a team of heroes that could transform into amalgams of human and marine animals and ...

" segment") * ''Noel'' (1992) TV movie .... Voices * ''The Twelve Days of Christmas'' (1993) TV movie .... Voices

Film

* ''

Satan in High Heels ''Satan in High Heels'' is a 1962 American sexploitation film directed by Jerald Intrator and starring Meg Myles and Grayson Hall. Plot Stacey Kane (Myles), a cunning and ambitious striptease dancer in a cheap carnival, tricks her heroin-addict ...

'' (1962) .... Rudy * '' Tecnica di un omicidio'' (a.k.a. ''Hired Killer'') (1966) .... Frank * '' Hansu Kurushitan Anderusan no sekai'' (a.k.a. ''The World of Hans Christian Andersen'') (1971) .... Ducks/Theater Manager * '' Sekai Mesaiku Douwa Hakucho no Ouji'' (a.k.a. ''

The Wild Swans The Wild Swans (Danish: ''De vilde svaner'') is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell cast by an evil queen. The tale was first published on 2 October 1838 in Andersen's '' ...

'') (1977) .... Voice * '' Sekai Mesaiku Douwa Mori wa Ikiteru'' (a.k.a. '' Twelve Months'') (1980) .... Capt. Rustov * '' Thundercats, Ho: The Movie'' (1985) (voice) .... Jaga / Mumm-Ra / Snarf / Slithe / Vultureman * '' Gandahar'' (a.k.a. ''Light Years'') (1988) (voice) .... Blaminhoe * '' The Secret of Anastasia'' (1997) ....

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

* '' Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night'' (1998) .... Additional Voices * ''Moses: Egypt's Great Prince'' (1998) .... Voices

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Earl 1921 births 2002 deaths American male voice actors Male actors from New York City Los Angeles City College alumni 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors United States Army personnel of World War II