Douglas Croft (born Douglas Malcolm Wheatcroft, August 12, 1926 â€"
October 24, 1963) was an American child actor and a soldier who is
best remembered for being the first person to portray the DC Comics
character Robin, the Boy Wonder, as well as his secret identity Dick
Grayson, in the 1943 serial Batman when he was 16 years old.Croft was
born Douglas Malcolm Wheatcroft on August 12, 1926, in Seattle,
Washington, in the United States. His mother, Beatrice
Hayden,(1901-1950) married the silent film actor Stanhope Nelson
Wheatcroft. They divorced in 1922, and his mother relocated to San
Francisco. His parents' divorce was a bitter one, and about the time
he was born in August 1926, Stanhope Wheatcroft attempted to have
Beatrice declared dead so that he could stop paying alimony. The name
of Douglas Croft's biological father is not known.Croft was living
with his mother in Los Angeles, California, in 1941. Fascinated by
movie stars, a talent agent spotted him loitering near a studio and
signed him up. About September 1941, he began using the stage name
"Douglas Croft". He also shaved several years off his age, claiming in
July 1941 and again in March 1942 that he was 11 years old. A December
1941 newspaper report listed his age as 12, when he was by then
actually 15.His first role was a bit part in Remember The Day. His
second role was a small part in the 1942 film Kings Row, with his
first major part and notable performance coming the same year in Not A
Ladies Man.
October 24, 1963) was an American child actor and a soldier who is
best remembered for being the first person to portray the DC Comics
character Robin, the Boy Wonder, as well as his secret identity Dick
Grayson, in the 1943 serial Batman when he was 16 years old.Croft was
born Douglas Malcolm Wheatcroft on August 12, 1926, in Seattle,
Washington, in the United States. His mother, Beatrice
Hayden,(1901-1950) married the silent film actor Stanhope Nelson
Wheatcroft. They divorced in 1922, and his mother relocated to San
Francisco. His parents' divorce was a bitter one, and about the time
he was born in August 1926, Stanhope Wheatcroft attempted to have
Beatrice declared dead so that he could stop paying alimony. The name
of Douglas Croft's biological father is not known.Croft was living
with his mother in Los Angeles, California, in 1941. Fascinated by
movie stars, a talent agent spotted him loitering near a studio and
signed him up. About September 1941, he began using the stage name
"Douglas Croft". He also shaved several years off his age, claiming in
July 1941 and again in March 1942 that he was 11 years old. A December
1941 newspaper report listed his age as 12, when he was by then
actually 15.His first role was a bit part in Remember The Day. His
second role was a small part in the 1942 film Kings Row, with his
first major part and notable performance coming the same year in Not A
Ladies Man.
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