Don Sullivan – A Cartoon Tribute. 2016 by Stephen B. Whatley
Don Sullivan, who acted in Hollywood B-movies of the late 1950s – most notably the now cult monster picture, The Giant Gila monster (1959) – celebrated in a cartoon tribute by British artist Stephen B Whatley.
A classic Hollywood film buff since his teens, Stephen has liked whenever possible to locate survivors of the Golden Age of Hollywood and surprise them with such tribute cards as an expression of his admiration.
The cartoon was created in August 2016 (Whatley studied many photos; including freeze frames from his films, to capture his smile) – and it was only this year through contact with his daughter Eris Sullivan-Tayman, via social media, that he was able to send the original cartoon tribute to Don Sullivan in Los Angeles. Currently frail in health, his daughter reported he loved it – that his eyes ‘spoke loudly with joy’. Eris herself was overwhelmed…"You nailed it!…that is so awesome – the details are absolutely impeccable…the eyes – Wow! Thank you !"
According to Don Sullivan himself, in an interview he gave to the B-movie Podcast in 2007, he was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA in 1929 and soon after moved to Idaho where he was raised until 1948 – when he joined and spent 4 years in the Marine Corps. In the mid-1950s he went off to Los Angeles " with 3 dollars in my pocket…a young guy out looking for a fortune".
In Hollywood he began dating actress Judi Meredith (USA 1936-2014). After joining her acting class – and being handsome, tall (6′ 2") and a talented singer – he was quickly spotted by visiting film director Hugo Haas (Czech 1901-1968) who offered him the lead romantic role in his charming film, Paradise Alley ( filmed 1957/8 but not released to TV until 1962). Roles in at least 15 TV shows followed before his good looks and sensitive acting lead to lead roles in 3 B-movies that are today cult classics: The Giant Gila Monster (1959), The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959) & Teenage Zombies (1960) – the latter directed by Jerry Warren (USA 1925-1988) in 24 hours on a shoe-string budget – according to Don Sullivan, when he was 25 ( though the movie’s official release was 1960).
Despite appearing in other pictures and after a long actors’ strike, by 1960 Don Sullivan had had enough – and decided to use his chemistry degree, attained from the University of Idaho – and found great success as one of the top creative cosmetic chemists in the hair industry.
In later years, Don Sullivan has cherished the memories of his brief Hollywood career and delighted in hearing from film fans – and in 2008 made a well-received public appearance at the Monster Bash Convention in Pennsylvania.
In 2011 he made a return to acting in a remake of The Giant Gila Monster entitled GILA ! – though release of the film, scheduled for 2012, has been questionable.
Don Sullivan lives today in Los Angeles, California, USA.
To hear Don Sullivan’s interview on the B-Movie Podcast click the link: bmoviecast.com/podcasts/bmc13-interview-actor-don-sullivan/
Posted by Stephen B. Whatley on 2017-06-27 19:07:20
Tagged: , art , cartoon , Don Sullivan , The Giant Gila Monster , 1950s , Actor Don Sullivan , film cans , Teenage Zombies , drawing , Stephen B Whatley , artist Stephen B Whatley , Stephen Whatley , Whatley , Hollywood , stars , star , Paradise Alley , Salt Lake City , Idaho , Jerry Warren , Hugo Haas , fifties , GILA! , The Monster of Piedras Blancas , Paradise Alley 1962 , USA , US , American , America , film actor Don Sullivan , film actor , cinema , hollywood actor , Golden Age of Hollywood , B-movies , second features , drive-in , singer , Low budget movies , handsome , blue jeans , hotrods , Monster Bash , Monster Bash 2008 , ABigFave , BlueRibbonWinner , caricature , B-movie actor Don Sullivan , movies , Hollywood B-movies , Hollywood movies , Hollywood films