David Hartman

Tall (6'5"), genial, toothsome actor and multimedia host David Downs Hartman was born in Rhode Island on May 19, 1935, the son of Fannie Rodman (Downs) and Cyril Baldwin Hartman. His father was at one time a Methodist minister who left the ministry to become a salesman. His parents later divorced, which deeply affected him. David grew up learning to play a number of musical instruments and studied choral singing as well. He was actually geared towards a professional baseball career in high school, but turned down an athletic scholarship to attend Duke University, majoring instead in economics. While at Duke he found himself dallying in radio, commercials and TV spots, which drew his interest.Military service (Air Force, Strategic Air Command) interrupted his fledgling career, but he eventually got back on track following his discharge with roles on the musical summer stock stage, including Oklahoma! (starring as Curly), South Pacific and Kismet, plus a few television parts. David ma... [Details Intro]