Dwayne Hickman

Blond, boyishly handsome 'Dwayne Hickman' (qv), the younger brother of 'Darryl Hickman' (qv), followed in his sibling's tiny footsteps as a moppet film actor himself. Born Dwayne Bernard Hickman in Los Angeles on May 18, 1934, the brothers had a younger sister as well, Deidre (born 1940). Dwayne had minor roles in such films as _Captain Eddie (1945)_ (qv) (Darryl had a major role in this), _The Secret Heart (1946)_ (qv), _The Boy with Green Hair (1948)_ (qv), _Mighty Joe Young (1949)_ (qv), _The Happy Years (1950)_ (qv) (again with Darryl in a major role), and topped his youthful film career playing the part of "Nip Worden" in the canine "Rusty" movie series that began with _The Son of Rusty (1947)_ (qv) and ended with _Rusty's Birthday (1949)_ (qv).Graduating from Cathedral High School in 1952 (Darryl graduated from the same school in 1948), Dwayne enrolled at Loyola Marymount University. He returned to Hollywood following college studies and, unlike his brother, focused strongly on television work, making appearances on such series as "Public Defender," "The Loretta Young Show," "The Lone Ranger" and "Ozzie and Harriet." He also appeared in the 'Paul Newman' (qv)/'Joanne Woodward' (qv) comedy film _Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958)_ (qv) playing the secondary teen couple with 'Tuesday Weld' (qv).Dwayne grabbed major comedy attention, especially from young female baby-boomers, as Chuck, the girl-hungry nephew, in _The Bob Cummings Show (1955)_ (qv) (Cummings became his mentor). From there he earned even more female attention (and eventual cult status) as the lovesick title high school teen in _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959)_ (qv), in which he was reunited for a couple of seasons with 'Tuesday Weld' (qv) as a major object of his obsession. The role of Dobie was an exceptional blessing but also an added curse after the fact for it became an inescapable typecast.Laying low for a few years, Dwayne returned to the screen, making a strong impression in the western film _Cat Ballou (1965)_ (qv), and then began hanging out with the young beach crowd in several AIP movies including _Ski Party (1965)_ (qv), _How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)_ (qv) and _Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)_ (qv), and a few slapstick comedies such as _Sergeant Dead Head (1965)_ (qv) and _Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967)_ (qv). He also guested on a mix of light and dramatic TV shows including "Combat!," "The Flying Nun," "The Mod Squad," "Karen," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and "Ellery Queen."In the 1970's, Dwayne began working behind the scenes as a publicist, a Las Vegas entertainment director and, most successfully, as a programming executive for CBS. He would return only occasionally to acting. He revisited his Dobie character a couple of times as a grown-up with the TV movies _Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis? (1977)_ (qv) and _Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988)_ (qv). In addition to guest appearances on "Murder, She Wrote" and "Hi, Honey, I'm Home," he appeared in glorified cameos in the TV movie _High School U.S.A. (1983)_ (qv), had a recurring role in the TV sitcom _Clueless (1996)_ (qv), and was glimpsed in the films _Cops n Roberts (1995)_ (qv), _A Night at the Roxbury (1998)_ (qv) and _Angels with Angles (2005)_ (qv). ] Behind the scenes, Dwayne began episodic directing chores in the 1980's, working on such episodes as "Charles in Charge," "Designing Women," "Head of the Class," "Harry and the Hendersons" and "Sister, Sister." In 1994, Dwayne wrote his biography, aptly titled "Forever Dobie." Wed three times, Dwayne has two children -- one by his first wife, actress/model/beauty pageant winner 'Carol Christensen' (qv) (1963-1972) who appeared a few times on his "Dobie Gillis" show, and one by his present wife, actress/voiceover artist 'Joan Roberts' (qv) (since 1983).::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net