# Tom Pittman (actor)

Tom Pittman (March 16, 1932 – October 31, 1958) was an American film and television actor. After his death at the age of 26, the Los Angeles Times called him "one of Hollywood's most promising young actors."

## Career

Pittman was born Jerry Lee Alten in Phoenix, Arizona. His father was television and radio actor Frank Alten. Pittman began his career in acting in 1956 with a guest starring role on Science Fiction Theatre. He made his film debut that same year in D-Day the Sixth of June. Pittman went on to roles in numerous television Westerns including Gunsmoke (playing “Jimmy McQueen” a young affable yet smart herder who seeks revenge on a career horse-thief in the 1956 S1E32 entitled “Dutch George” and in 1957 as “Budge Grilk”, a psychotic step-son in S3E5’s “Potato Road”), Cheyenne, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Restless Gun, and Cimarron City. He also appeared in the 1957 drama The Young Stranger (1957) and the musical comedy Bernardine (1957). His final two roles were in the films Verboten! and High School Big Shot, both released in 1959, the year following his death.

## Death

On October 31, 1958, Pittman was driving home after a Halloween party when he ran his Porsche Spyder off the road at a sharp curve in the Hollywood Hills. After he failed to return home, his father filed a missing persons report. On November 19, Los Angeles police officer Roy Kerton retraced the roads Pittman's father said his son liked to drive and found the wreckage of Pittman's Porsche at the bottom of a 150-foot ravine. Pittman died after crashing through the guard rail, his car landing at the bottom of the ravine where it remained out of sight.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | D-Day the Sixth of June | Air Force Officer | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Between Heaven and Hell | Replacement | Uncredited |
| 1957 | The Young Stranger | Lynn Spears | |
| 1957 | The True Story of Jesse James | Hughie | Uncredited |
| 1957 | The Way to the Gold | Sid Songster, Jr. | |
| 1957 | Bernardine | George Olsen | Uncredited |
| 1957 | No Time to Be Young | Stu Bradley | |
| 1957 | Black Patch | Flytrap (Carl) | |
| 1958 | The Proud Rebel | Tom Burleigh | Credited as Thomas Pittman |
| 1958 | Apache Territory | Lonnie Foreman | Credited as Thomas Pittman |
| 1959 | Verboten! | Bruno Eckart | Released posthumously |
| 1959 | High School Big Shot | Marvin "Marv" Grant | Filmed in 1958. Released posthumously (final film role) |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | Science Fiction Theatre | Willis | Episode: "Who Is This Man?" |
| 1956 | Climax! | | Episode: "Sit Down With Death" |
| 1956 | Highway Patrol | Carjack Victim | Episode: "Taxi" |
| 1956 | Gunsmoke | Jimmy McQueen | Episode: "Dutch George" |
| 1956 | Cheyenne | Bushrod | Episode: "The Long Winter" |
| 1956 | West Point | | Episode: "The Mystery of Cadet Layton" |
| 1956 | The Man Called X | | Episode: "Underground" |
| 1956 | The Ford Television Theatre | | Episode: "The Women Who Dared" |
| 1957 | Navy Log | Lieutenant Cal Radin | Episode: "Operation Golden Rule" |
| 1957 | Suspicion | Joe | Episode: "Four O'Clock" |
| 1957 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | John Harris | Episode: "The Deserters" |
| 1957 | Trackdown | Tom Sladen | Episode: "The Marple Brothers" |
| 1957 | The Restless Gun | Lex Harcourt | Episode: "Revenge at Harness Creek" |
| 1957 | Gunsmoke | Budge Grilk | Episode: "Potato Road" |
| 1957 | Wagon Train | Tom "Tommy" Nichols | Episode: "The Mary Halstead Story" |
| 1957 | General Electric Theater | | Episode: "The Trail to Christmas" |
| 1958 | Have Gun – Will Travel' | Grady Stewart | Episode: "The Reasonable Man" Credited as Geoff Parish |
| 1958 | Studio 57 | | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | The Walter Winchell File | Woody | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Telephone Time | Wes Sheek | Episode: "Trail Blazer" |
| 1958 | Trackdown | Red Bolton | Episode: "The Winter Boys" |
| 1958 | Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre | Hank | Episode: "The Last Test" |
| 1958 | M Squad | Burt Kennedy | Episode: "Day of Terror" |
| 1958 | Tombstone Territory | Billy Clanton | Episode: "Pick Up the Gun" Credited as Thomas Pittman |
| 1958 | The Restless Gun | Jason Leaf | Episode: "The Manhunters" |
| 1958 | Buckskin | Dan Pruitt | Episode: "The Ballad of Gabe Pruitt" |
| 1958 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Bill Dowd | Episode: "The Gambler" |
| 1958 | M Squad | Alvin Jessop | Episode: "Dead or Alive" |
| 1958 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | Herold | Episode: "The Case of Dr. Mudd" |
| 1958 | Man with a Camera | Terry Killeen | Episode: "Profile of a Killer" |
| 1959 | Zorro | Romualdo | Episode: "The Runaways" |
| 1959 | Cimarron City | Jesse Stainback | Episode: "Child of Fear" |