Tom Nolan

Young Tommy Nolan was a familiar child star face on 50s and 60s TV and in a few films as well The name may not be as familiar but his adorable jugeared presence was a wellknown commodity throughout the Hollywood community at the time and he was considered a reliable and talented tyke who could easily turn on the waterworks on command He was FrenchCanadian born in Montreal on January 15 1948 His birth name was Bernard Girouard His family relocated to Los Angeles where the boy started dance classes at age 3 He made a reputable debut on TV playing Prince Edward of Wales the son of Henry VIII on a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation starring Sarah Churchill As one who could easily tug at the heartstrings he often played sympathetic young boys with afflictions such as his crippled youngster on an episode of My Friend Flicka or his wealthy asthmatic on Medic Tommy hit his TV peak at age 10 after being cast as Jody in the gentle nonviolent TV western  Buckskin 1958 opposite Sally Brophy who played his widowed mom Set in the frontier town of Buckskin Montana the show was seen from his young perspective narrating each episode sitting on his corral fence and playing his harmonica Although it only played for one full season Tommy had comic books out with his character and his autograph was well in demand at parades conventions and other public outings  After the series demise Tommy continued on other shows many of them westerns such as Rawhide The Rifleman Gunsmoke and Wagon Train not to mention recurring roles on Lassie Unable to find another regular series that could maintain the momentum he also was starting to move in his awkward teens stage and this pretty much signified that the end was not far away After years of scattered parts here and there including a role in the exploitation film Maryjane 1968 he ended his career with a small part in the movie The Moonshine War 1970 Later years were spent as a writer penning articles for a number of publications including Playboy the Los Angeles Times and the Village Voice He returned to acting as a young adult shortening his name to the grownupsounding Tom Nolan with a small part in the Richard Gere  film Yanks 1979 and has since given it the old college try appearing as a minor player in such films as Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1982Up the Creek 1984 School Spirit 1985 Pretty Woman 1990 The Thing Called Love1993 and White Mans Burden 1995 His most recent credit was as a valet in Batman Begins 2005 On TV he has been glimpsed in everything from waiters to courtroom deputies Now having entered his fifth decade of acting Tom continues to live in the San Fernando Valley area IMDb Mini Biography By Gary Brumburgh grhomepacbellnet