Charles Herbert Saperstein (December 23, 1948 â€" October 31, 2015),
known as Charles Herbert, was an American child actor of the 1950s and
1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation
of moviegoers for an on-screen broody, mature style and wit that
enabled him to go one-on-one with some of the biggest names in the
industry, and his appearances in a handful of films in the
sci-fi/horror genre garnered him an immortality there. In six years he
appeared in twenty Hollywood features.Herbert supported his family
from the age of five and went from being one of the most-desired and
highest-paid child actors of his time to one of the multitude of
performers Hollywood "discarded" upon reaching maturity. His situation
and the lifetime of damage it created for him only recently came to
light.Herbert was born Charles Herbert Saperstein in Culver City,
California, the son of Pearl (Diamond) and Louis Saperstein. According
to Herbert, his career began when he was discovered by an agent: "I
just happened to be riding on a bus while on a shopping trip with my
mother one day, and a gentleman who was a talent agent in Hollywood,
named Cosmo Morgan, saw me talking and must have thought I was cute or
something. He gave me his card, which I immediately tried to give to
the bus driver! That's basically how it started."Blue eyed and
freckle-faced, Herbert began his acting career at age four when he
appeared on the television series Half Pint Panel (1952). The Long,
Long Trailer (1954) would have been his first movie, just after he
appeared in the stage production of On Borrowed Time at the Rancho
Theatre. However, after auditioning with some 40 other kids and chosen
for a role, he was cut from the film.
known as Charles Herbert, was an American child actor of the 1950s and
1960s. Before reaching his teens, Herbert was renowned by a generation
of moviegoers for an on-screen broody, mature style and wit that
enabled him to go one-on-one with some of the biggest names in the
industry, and his appearances in a handful of films in the
sci-fi/horror genre garnered him an immortality there. In six years he
appeared in twenty Hollywood features.Herbert supported his family
from the age of five and went from being one of the most-desired and
highest-paid child actors of his time to one of the multitude of
performers Hollywood "discarded" upon reaching maturity. His situation
and the lifetime of damage it created for him only recently came to
light.Herbert was born Charles Herbert Saperstein in Culver City,
California, the son of Pearl (Diamond) and Louis Saperstein. According
to Herbert, his career began when he was discovered by an agent: "I
just happened to be riding on a bus while on a shopping trip with my
mother one day, and a gentleman who was a talent agent in Hollywood,
named Cosmo Morgan, saw me talking and must have thought I was cute or
something. He gave me his card, which I immediately tried to give to
the bus driver! That's basically how it started."Blue eyed and
freckle-faced, Herbert began his acting career at age four when he
appeared on the television series Half Pint Panel (1952). The Long,
Long Trailer (1954) would have been his first movie, just after he
appeared in the stage production of On Borrowed Time at the Rancho
Theatre. However, after auditioning with some 40 other kids and chosen
for a role, he was cut from the film.
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