Peter Helm
Encyclopedia
Peter J. Helm is an actor
originally from Toronto, Canada
, who appeared on American
television
from 1960-1971.
. Their father, a banker, died about 1950, and Mrs. Helm remarried. Peter and Anne have a half-brother born in 1952 from their mother's second marriage. Helm was known for driving numerous Ferrari
automobiles.
Peter Helm's first television role was in September 1960, the same month that his inheritance was announced. He played an unnamed 19-year-old delivery boy on the CBS
situation comedy
Pete and Gladys
, starring Harry Morgan
and Cara Williams
in “Crime of Passion”, the second episode of the series. In 1961, young Helm appeared in Richard Chamberlain
's medical drama, Dr. Kildare
on NBC
, in the role of Tommy Rainey in the segment “For the Living” and in the NBC police drama 87th Precinct
in the role of Andy Cornell, son of a used car dealer, played by Tom Greenway
, who is found dead, in the episode “Very Hard Sell”.
In 1962, he appeared as a young GI in the war picture The Longest Day
. That same year he was cast with Dale Robertson
in “To Save a Town”, an episode of the western
series Tales of Wells Fargo
. That same year he was also cast as Ted Hailey in “Rendezvous in Washington’’ on CBS
's drama Checkmate
with Anthony George
, Doug McClure
, and Sebastian Cabot
, and as Frank Murphy in “A Matter of Principle” on ABC
’s drama about the Roman Catholic priesthood, Going My Way
. In 1963, Helm guest starred as Orin Prentice in “The Wings of the Morning” on the NBC drama about psychiatry
, The Eleventh Hour
. His sister Anne appeared in another The Eleventh Hour episode.
In 1962-1963, Helm appeared three times on the NBC western Wagon Train
in episodes entitled “The Daniel Clay Story”, “The Wagon Train Mutiny”, and “The Tom O’Neal Story”, in the lead guest-starring role in the latter appearance, with Myron Healey
as his father. In 1963 he was cast as Todd in “A Girl Named Amy” of the modern ABC western series Stoney Burke
, with Jack Lord
, and in the role of the character “Grover” in the episode “Incident in Paradise” of the CBS western Rawhide
with Eric Fleming
and Clint Eastwood
. In 1963, he played a young reporter named Johnny Peters in the episode “Smoke Screen” of the ABC drama The Fugitive
, starring David Janssen
as the fictitious Dr. Richard Kimble.
, a drama about college
life starring Jason Evers
, and as Laslo in “The Glory Among Men” of Combat!, a World War II
drama. He appeared three times on the NBC drama Mr. Novak
, starring James Franciscus
.He appeared five years apart on ABC’s The Donna Reed Show
as Danny in “The Love Letter” (1960) and as Walter Gordon in “The Unheroic Hero” (1965). He appeared also in 1965 as Norman Quigley in “The Leopard’s Spots” episode of My Three Sons
, starring Fred MacMurray
, in one of the last episodes while the series was still aired on ABC.
Other Helm roles in 1965 were as Bob Hyatt in “The Case of the Cheating Chancellor” of CBS’s Perry Mason
starring Raymond Burr
. He played a character called “Gwylem” of NBC's Bonanza
in the episode “Devil on Her Shoulder”. He was Milton Hopwood in the film
Inside Daisy Clover
starring Natalie Wood
. In 1966, he guest starred on ABC’s short-lived western, The Legend of Jesse James
as Zeb Hicks in the episode “The Cave”. That same year, he was Sheldon Carp in “At Home with the Family” of the NBC series Please Don't Eat the Daisies
. His final appearances were on NBC's Ironside
in 1967 as Alfred Dunne in “A Very Cool Hot Car”, as Richard in “The Arrangement” in 1970 of ABC’s Make Room for Granddaddy, a Danny Thomas
series, and in the episode “Rookie” of Henry Fonda
's 1971 series, The Smith Family
. He also appeared as Sergeant Crane in the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain
.
In 1965, Helm starred in an unsold pilot for a television series called See Here Private Hargrove, based on producer Marion Hargrove
's experiences adjusting to military life during World War II
.
Helm thereafter worked in film production in such later pictures as Bring It On
, All or Nothing, and the horror story, Drag Me to Hell
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
originally from Toronto, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, who appeared on American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
from 1960-1971.
Early years
Helm was born to John F. and Isabel Helm. He has an older sister, actress Anne I. HelmAnne Helm
Anne Helm is a retired actress, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and currently resides in Pasadena, CA.Living in New York City, she began pursuing a career as an actress which eventually led to Hollywood. Beginning in the 1950s, she made guest appearances on different television series and made...
. Their father, a banker, died about 1950, and Mrs. Helm remarried. Peter and Anne have a half-brother born in 1952 from their mother's second marriage. Helm was known for driving numerous Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
automobiles.
Peter Helm's first television role was in September 1960, the same month that his inheritance was announced. He played an unnamed 19-year-old delivery boy on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Pete and Gladys
Pete and Gladys
Pete and Gladys is an American situation comedy broadcast by CBS on Monday night at 8:00pm Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960...
, starring Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
and Cara Williams
Cara Williams
Cara Williams is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Born as Bernice Kamiat to an Austrian emigrant father and a mother of Romanian descent, she began her screen acting career in 1941, and was initially billed as Bernice Kay...
in “Crime of Passion”, the second episode of the series. In 1961, young Helm appeared in Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
's medical drama, Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, in the role of Tommy Rainey in the segment “For the Living” and in the NBC police drama 87th Precinct
87th Precinct (TV series)
87th Precinct is an American crime drama starring Robert Lansing, Gena Rowlands, and Ron Harper, which aired on NBC on Monday evenings during the 1961–1962 television season.-Synopsis:...
in the role of Andy Cornell, son of a used car dealer, played by Tom Greenway
Tom Greenway
Tom Greenway was an American character actor of film and television, whose career, primarily in television westerns, extended from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...
, who is found dead, in the episode “Very Hard Sell”.
In 1962, he appeared as a young GI in the war picture The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
. That same year he was cast with Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson
Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...
in “To Save a Town”, an episode of the western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo is an American Western television series that ran from March 18, 1957 to June 2, 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season when it expanded to an hour.-Synopsis:...
. That same year he was also cast as Ted Hailey in “Rendezvous in Washington’’ on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's drama Checkmate
Checkmate (TV series)
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...
with Anthony George
Anthony George
Anthony George was an American actor mostly seen on television. He is best known for roles of Don Corley in Checkmate, Burke Devlin and Jeremiah Collins on Dark Shadows, and Dr. Will Vernon on One Life to Live....
, Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
, and Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (actor)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
, and as Frank Murphy in “A Matter of Principle” on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
’s drama about the Roman Catholic priesthood, Going My Way
Going My Way (TV series)
Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series starring dancer and actor Gene Kelly. Based on the 1944 film of the same name starring Bing Crosby, the series aired on ABC with new episodes from October 3, 1962 to April 24, 1963. The program was Kelly's first and only attempt at a weekly television...
. In 1963, Helm guest starred as Orin Prentice in “The Wings of the Morning” on the NBC drama about psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
. His sister Anne appeared in another The Eleventh Hour episode.
In 1962-1963, Helm appeared three times on the NBC western Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
in episodes entitled “The Daniel Clay Story”, “The Wagon Train Mutiny”, and “The Tom O’Neal Story”, in the lead guest-starring role in the latter appearance, with Myron Healey
Myron Healey
Myron Daniel Healey was an American actor. He began his Hollywood, California, career during the early 1940s in bit parts and minor supporting roles at various studios.-Early years:...
as his father. In 1963 he was cast as Todd in “A Girl Named Amy” of the modern ABC western series Stoney Burke
Stoney Burke (TV series)
Stoney Burke is a short-lived Western television series broadcast on the ABC television network from October 1, 1962 until May 20, 1963. The series starred Jack Lord, who would later go on to star in the popular television series, Hawaii Five-O....
, with Jack Lord
Jack Lord
John Joseph Patrick Ryan , best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord appeared in feature films earlier in his career,...
, and in the role of the character “Grover” in the episode “Incident in Paradise” of the CBS western Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
with Eric Fleming
Eric Fleming
Eric Fleming was an American actor, known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the long running CBS television series Rawhide.-Early life:...
and Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
. In 1963, he played a young reporter named Johnny Peters in the episode “Smoke Screen” of the ABC drama The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
, starring David Janssen
David Janssen
David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
as the fictitious Dr. Richard Kimble.
Later roles
In 1964, Helm appeared in two ABC series: as Paul in “A Rich, Famous, Glamorous Folk Singer Like Me” of ChanningChanning (TV series)
Channing is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 18, 1963 to April 8, 1964...
, a drama about college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
life starring Jason Evers
Jason Evers
Jason Evers was an American actor.Evers was born Herb Evers in New York City, New York. After quitting high school to join the United States Army, Evers was so inspired by stars like John Wayne that he decided to try acting...
, and as Laslo in “The Glory Among Men” of Combat!, a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
drama. He appeared three times on the NBC drama Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.-Overview:...
, starring James Franciscus
James Franciscus
James Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
.He appeared five years apart on ABC’s The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
as Danny in “The Love Letter” (1960) and as Walter Gordon in “The Unheroic Hero” (1965). He appeared also in 1965 as Norman Quigley in “The Leopard’s Spots” episode of My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
, starring Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
, in one of the last episodes while the series was still aired on ABC.
Other Helm roles in 1965 were as Bob Hyatt in “The Case of the Cheating Chancellor” of CBS’s Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
starring Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
. He played a character called “Gwylem” of NBC's Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
in the episode “Devil on Her Shoulder”. He was Milton Hopwood in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Inside Daisy Clover
Inside Daisy Clover
Inside Daisy Clover is a 1965 American drama film based on the 1963 novel by Gavin Lambert. It stars Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy McDowall and Ruth Gordon in her Academy Award nominated role.- Plot :...
starring Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. In 1966, he guest starred on ABC’s short-lived western, The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James is a 1980 country music concept album by various artists singing songs by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James....
as Zeb Hicks in the episode “The Cave”. That same year, he was Sheldon Carp in “At Home with the Family” of the NBC series Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (TV series)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 14, 1965 to April 22, 1967. The series was based upon the 1957 book by Jean Kerr and 1960 film starring Doris Day and David Niven....
. His final appearances were on NBC's Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
in 1967 as Alfred Dunne in “A Very Cool Hot Car”, as Richard in “The Arrangement” in 1970 of ABC’s Make Room for Granddaddy, a Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
series, and in the episode “Rookie” of Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
's 1971 series, The Smith Family
The Smith Family (TV series)
The Smith Family is an American comedy-drama television series produced by Don Fedderson Productions. The series aired on ABC from October 20, 1971 to June 7, 1972, for 39 episodes.-Cast:...
. He also appeared as Sergeant Crane in the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain , by Michael Crichton, is a techno-thriller novel documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that rapidly and fatally clots human blood, while in other people inducing insanity...
.
In 1965, Helm starred in an unsold pilot for a television series called See Here Private Hargrove, based on producer Marion Hargrove
Marion Hargrove
Marion Hargrove was an American writer noted for the World War II bestselling book See Here, Private Hargrove, a collection of humorous newspaper columns written mostly before the United States entered the war...
's experiences adjusting to military life during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Helm thereafter worked in film production in such later pictures as Bring It On
Bring It On (film)
Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
, All or Nothing, and the horror story, Drag Me to Hell
Drag Me to Hell
Drag Me to Hell is a 2009 American horror film, directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Sam and Ivan Raimi. The plot focuses on loan officer Christine Brown , who tries to impress her boss by refusing to extend a loan to a gypsy woman by the name of Mrs. Ganush...
.