NATION : Ex-Child Actor Hamer a Suicide
Rusty Hamer, the child actor in the television series “Make Room for Daddy” in the 1950s and ‘60s, shot himself to death at age 42, his brother said.
Hamer was found dead in his home Thursday.
“He was a very unhappy, very confused young man,” John Hamer said. “No one does something like that if they aren’t confused. I’ve heard of a lot of child actors who have become unhappy with their lives after they’ve left the industry.”
On the TV series, Rusty Hamer played the part of Rusty, and Danny Thomas played his father, a nightclub singer and comedian.
Hamer had his first movie role at the age of 5, and appeared in several Abbott and Costello films.
The Danny Thomas show was one of television’s most durable and popular situation comedies. Most of the cast, including Hamer, returned in 1970-71 with a sequel, “Make Room for Granddaddy,” in which Rusty was a married medical student.
Hamer returned to southwest Louisiana in 1976. He had held several different jobs since.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
