![]() The talented kid had become an awkward teen and offers dried up immediately. ![]() In 1964, and with the end of the TV series, 17-year-old Rusty Hamer, at age 17, found himself out of work for the first time. Performing in 300 plus episodes, Rusty was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his TV work in 1960. Rusty's stepmother and little stepsister, played by Marjorie Lord and Angela Cartwright, respectively, were a delightful addition to the show and contributed greatly to the show's enduring popularity. A major cast change in the series erupted when Hagen asked to leave the show (her character dies) and Jackson grew up and left home for college. Rusty also appeared on various variety shows ("The Red Skelton Show," "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show," "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show") usually in tandem with his beloved TV family. Seen in an episode of "Four Star Playhouse," he played, alongside the equally delightful young Gigi Perreau, orphan kids under the wing of mushy-hearted Lou Costello in Abbott & Costello's last film together Dance with Me, Henry (1956). During the long run, Rusty appeared only occasionally elsewhere. Playing a 'second banana' scamp to the well-loved comedy star was no easy task, yet this boy showed an incredibly sharp comedy sense far beyond his years and the show ran a very healthy eleven seasons. Rusty's first on-camera role was a tiny part in the western Fort Ti (1953) as George Montgomery's young nephew and was given a role in an episode of the TV anthology "Fireside Theatre." While spotted in one of his theatre stage shows, Rusty was brought in to test for the Thomas series and won the role of "Rusty Williams." His mother and older brother John Hamer would appear briefly on Rusty's TV show. ![]() Rusty learned to recited stories and perform skits at various community for service club and church functions. Moving to Los Angeles in 1951, Rusty and his brothers, John and Walter, were prodded by the parents to perform in local theatre productions. Born Russell Craig Hamer on February 15, 1947, in Tenafly, New Jersey, he was the youngest of three sons born to shirt salesman Arthur Walter (who died when Rusty was 6) and former silent screen actress Dorothy Hamer (nee Chretin). The popular sitcom co-starred Jean Hagen as Rusty's level-headed mother, and pretty, pig-tailed Sherry Jackson as his older sister. The very next year, trading clever quips with volatile top comedianÄanny Thomas as his smart-alecky son, Rusty Williams, on the hit sitcom, Rusty Hamer entered films and TV at age 5 and became a precocious TV celebrity A deadpan, freckle-faced, curly red-haired, highly talented child actor of the late 50s,
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