Clifford Tatum Jr.

Date of Birth: 1st May 1937
Details of Death: 18th January 2013
Country of Birth: USA

Biography

Born in Florida, Clifford had roles in radio, television and on the stage after his parents moved to New York, before finally heading out to Hollywood in 1951 to play Jimmy, a bitter handicapped polio victim adopted by Cary Grant and Betsy Drake, in "Room for One More" (1952). It would be his only theatrical movie performance, but was one that left a lasting impression. In one memorable scene of the movie, Jimmy, who has decided to leave his new home for good, is told that if he does so then he is not to take with him anything that he's been given since he's been living there. A few moments later one of the other kids rushes indoors with the information that Jimmy's walking down the street completely naked! - his clothes were one of the things that were bought for him by his foster parents. After "Room for One More", Tatum continued to find roles in theatre and on television, and in 1953 became the first actor ever to portray Huckleberry Finn for a television broadcast. He quit acting after 1956, however, and instead pursued a career in the US Air Force, which would include flying combat missions over Vietnam and Laos, before retiring from the Force to enter the world of commercial aviation as an airline pilot, charter pilot and instructor. The last that was heard of him was in 2009, at which time he was living in Redondo Beach, California.