Rusty Hammer was the extremely talented young actor who played the young son of Danny Thomas, on the 1950's sitcom Make Room For Daddy. He was able to trade quips with Danny Thomas very smoothly, his excellent acting skills and comedic timing made it seem real.


Make Room for Daddy Pictures

I have posted a cute and humorous film clip, which showcases Rusty Hammer's skills. In the scene, his four year old TV sister is used as a sounding board for his "serious" (in his character's mind) mission of scanning the help wanted ads for a perfect job. Rusty was able to carry the entire 135 seconds of airtime almost all by himself. Angela Cartwright, his TV sister, does have a few cute lines. Rusty Gets A Job aired on Oct 11, 1955, which means that the young man was only eight years old when it aired. For an eight year old to be able to handle 2+ minutes of almost solo airtime is quite impressive.



Make Room for Daddy Pictures

It is truly sad that Rusty Hammer committed suicide in 1990, at the age of 42. He had a hard time finding roles after Make Room For Daddy went off the air. It was another example of TV eating away the life of a former child actor. For eleven years the kid had adults catering to his every need, and one day later - it was, Rusty Who?

In my opinion, the studios should be helping the former child actors. It might be a little rough for an adult, but it can be devastating for a child. The huge number of ex-child actors who commit suicide, or have depression related drug problems should be all the evidence the studios need. The trouble is - THEY PROBABLY DON'T CARE. The ex-child TV star is yesterday's news

The child actors make the shows seem like a real life situation. On occasion they are the true star of the show, and sometimes even the whole network. Gary Coleman literally saved NBC, and what did NBC do for Gary when he turned into an adult? They did nothing. Like I said, yesterday's news.

We are supposed to be sharing this planet as a group. You know, one hand helping the other. Corporate executives (rich Republi-CONS) seem to have never heard of the teachings of the bible. The almighty dollar is the only deity that they have heard of. 










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