Peter Helm obit

Peter Helm, Actor in ‘Inside Daisy Clover’ and ‘The Andromeda Strain,’ Dies at 84

He appeared on Broadway with Jane Fonda and Joey Heatherton and was busy on TV in the 1960s, with turns in ‘Wagon Train,’ ‘The Donna Reed Show,’ ‘The Fugitive’ and more.

 He was not on the list.

Peter Helm, the actor from Toronto who appeared on such 1960 shows as Naked City, Wagon Train and Ironside and in films including The Longest Day, Inside Daisy Clover and The Andromeda Strain, has died. He was 84.

Helm died Thursday in his sleep at his home in West Hills, his friend David Timmerman told The Hollywood Reporter.

Survivors include his sister, actress Anne Helm (Follow That Dream, The Magic Sword, The Iron Maiden), and a daughter, actress Tiffany Helm (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning).

The colorful Helm appeared alongside Jane Fonda, Dean Jones and Joey Heatherton on Broadway in 1960 in the Josh Logan-directed There Was a Little Girl, a drama about rape, then acted onstage with Myrna Loy in a 1962 production of James Kirkwood’s There Must Be a Pony that aimed for Broadway but missed.

He and Heatherton would enjoy a great friendship while traveling the world together over the years, and she told THR that he was “a great actor and a great person, top of the world.” The pair also worked with George Carlin at the start of his career, and the comedian once called Helm one of the funniest men he had ever met.

On the big screen, Helm portrayed an ill-fated G.I. in the Darryl F. Zanuck-produced The Longest Day (1962) and the social climber Milton Hopwood opposite Natalie Wood in Robert Mulligan’s Inside Daisy Clover (1965), then sent the sci-fi plot in motion as one of the two Air Force officers who spot a U.S. satellite going down in Robert Wise’s The Andromeda Strain (1971).

Peter John Helm Jr. was born on Dec. 22, 1941. After the death of his banker father, John, his mother, Isabel, brought his older sister to New York in 1952 to support her ballet ambitions, and he and his half-brother, David, came along.

Helm made his onscreen debut on a 1959 episode of the NBC sitcom Too Young to Go Steady, then showed up as fresh-faced types on such series as Dr. Kildare, The Donna Reed Show, Tales of Wells Fargo, Naked City, Rawhide, The Fugitive, Combat!, Mr. Novak, The Farmer’s Daughter, Perry Mason and Bonanza through the mid-1960s.

His final onscreen credit came on a 1971 episode of The Smith Family.

In 1991, Helm founded Vancouver-based GeoMediapro, working as a director and producer, and he taught at the Vancouver Film School and was a Teamster for more than 20 years. Away from show business, he was an enthusiastic aviation photographer and the founder of a Ferrari club in L.A. who liked to drive fast.

His first wife was actress Brooke Bundy (two Nightmare on Elm Street films); they were married from 1962 until their 1966 divorce. His survivors include another daughter, Brandee, and seven grandchildren. His son, Dustin, died of complications from a motorcycle accident in 2014.

Actor

"The Smith Family" Janet Blair, Henry Fonda, Darleen Carr, Ron Howard, Michael-James Wixted

The Smith Family

6.7

TV Series

Dennis Clary

1971

1 episode

 

James Olson and Robert Soto in The Andromeda Strain (1971)

The Andromeda Strain

7.2

Sgt. Crane (Piedmont team)

1971

 

"Make Room for Granddaddy" Sid Melton, Roosevelt Grier, Angela Cartwright, Marjorie Lord, Danny Thomas, Michael Hughes

Make Room for Granddaddy

5.9

TV Series

Richard

1970

1 episode

 

Raymond Burr and Barbara Sigel in Ironside (1967)

Ironside

6.9

TV Series

Alfred Dunne (as Peter J. Helm)

1967

1 episode

 

Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1965)

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

7.0

TV Series

Sheldon Carp

1966

1 episode

 

The Legend of Jesse James (1965)

The Legend of Jesse James

7.1

TV Series

Zeb Hicks

1966

1 episode

 

Private Hargrove

TV Movie

1965

 

Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

Inside Daisy Clover

6.1

Milton Hopwood

1965

 

Bonanza (1959)

Bonanza

7.3

TV Series

Gwylem

1965

1 episode

 

Raymond Burr in Perry Mason (1957)

Perry Mason

8.3

TV Series

Bob Hyatt

1965

1 episode

 

William Demarest, Don Grady, Barry Livingston, Stanley Livingston, and Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons (1960)

My Three Sons

7.1

TV Series

Norman Quigley

1965

1 episode

 

The Donna Reed Show (1958)

The Donna Reed Show

7.4

TV Series

DannyWalter Gordon

1960–1965

2 episodes

 

James Franciscus in Mr. Novak (1963)

Mr. Novak

7.4

TV Series

President - United Nations AssemblyVerneDouglas Morgan Jr.

1964–1965

3 episodes

 

Zina Bethune and Shirl Conway in The Nurses (1962)

The Nurses

7.4

TV Series

Peter Ross

1964

1 episode

 

Inger Stevens and William Windom in The Farmer's Daughter (1963)

The Farmer's Daughter

7.5

TV Series

Jeffrey

1964

1 episode

 

Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963)

Kraft Suspense Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Willis MaudryPrivate Cutler

1963–1964

2 episodes

 

Combat! (1962)

Combat!

8.4

TV Series

Laslo

1964

1 episode

 

Channing (1963)

Channing

7.0

TV Series

Paul Hamlin

1964

1 episode

 

Ripcord (1961)

Ripcord

7.4

TV Series

Denny Collins

1963

1 episode

 

David Janssen in The Fugitive (1963)

The Fugitive

8.1

TV Series

Johnny Peters - Reporter

1963

1 episode

 

Rawhide (1959)

Rawhide

7.9

TV Series

Grover

1963

1 episode

 

Stoney Burke (1962)

Stoney Burke

7.8

TV Series

Todd Purvis

1963

1 episode

 

John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)

Wagon Train

7.6

TV Series

Leland BarberEthan ClayTom O'Neal

1962–1963

3 episodes

 

Angela Lansbury and Tuesday Weld in The Eleventh Hour (1962)

The Eleventh Hour

7.7

TV Series

Orin Prentice

1963

1 episode

 

Naked City (1958)

Naked City

8.2

TV Series

Ken Elson

1962

1 episode

 

Going My Way (1962)

Going My Way

7.6

TV Series

Frank Murphy

1962

1 episode

 

Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, Sean Connery, Sal Mineo, Eddie Albert, Richard Beymer, Red Buttons, Jeffrey Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Rod Steiger, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka, Arletty, Mel Ferrer, Steve Forrest, Gert Fröbe, Fabian, Jean-Louis Barrault, Bourvil, Ray Danton, Irina Demick, Leo Genn, Henry Grace, John Gregson, Paul Hartmann, Werner Hinz, Curd Jürgens, Alexander Knox, Peter Lawford, Christian Marquand, Kenneth More, Edmond O'Brien, Ron Randell, Madeleine Renaud, Robert Ryan, Tommy Sands, Richard Todd, Tom Tryon, Peter van Eyck, and Stuart Whitman in The Longest Day (1962)

The Longest Day

7.7

Young GI

1962

 

Fred Astaire in Alcoa Premiere (1961)

Alcoa Premiere

7.1

TV Series

TomJimmy McKittrick

1962

2 episodes

 

Checkmate (1960)

Checkmate

7.4

TV Series

Ted Haley

1962

1 episode

 

Dale Robertson in Tales of Wells Fargo (1957)

Tales of Wells Fargo

7.9

TV Series

Jason Moore

1962

1 episode

 

The New Breed (1961)

The New Breed

7.5

TV Series

Lennie Rath

1962

1 episode

 

87th Precinct (1961)

87th Precinct

8.0

TV Series

Andy Cornell

1961

1 episode

 

Dr. Kildare (1961)

Dr. Kildare

7.0

TV Series

Tommy Rainey

1961

1 episode

 

Robert Young in Window on Main Street (1961)

Window on Main Street

7.2

TV Series

Roy

1961

1 episode

 

Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, and Dorothy Malone in The Last Sunset (1961)

The Last Sunset

6.7

Man at Saloon (uncredited)

1961

 

Our American Heritage (1959)

Our American Heritage

5.2

TV Series

Ben

1960

1 episode

 

Harry Morgan and Cara Williams in Pete and Gladys (1960)

Pete and Gladys

7.3

TV Series

Delivery Boy

1960

1 episode

 

Holiday for Lovers (1959)

Holiday for Lovers

5.6

Tragic Young Man (uncredited)

1959

 

Too Young to Go Steady

TV Series

1959

1 episode

 

Director

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs (2009)

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs

Short

Director

2009

 

Cinematographer

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs (2009)

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs

Short

Cinematographer

2009

 

Producer

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs (2009)

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs

Short

producer

2009

 

Self

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs (2009)

Ferrari GTOs at Willow Springs

Short

Self

2009