Tom Pittman (March 16, 1932 â 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."
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 âÂÂJimmy McQueenâ a young affable yet smart herder who seeks revenge on a career horse-thief in the 1956 S1E32 entitled âÂÂDutch Georgeâ and in 1957 as âÂÂBudge GrilkâÂÂ, a psychotic step-son in S3E5âÂÂs âÂÂPotato RoadâÂÂ), Cheyenne, Have Gun â 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.
In the early 1950s, Porsche dealer and racer Walter and Helm Glöckler in Frankfurt, Germany privately modified rear-engine Porsche 356 for racing purposes, mostly with open top. By 1953, the factory decided to offer a race-ready car with similar styling, with mid-rear engine layout, the Porsche 550 Spyder. In 1955, actor James Dean crashed and died in a 550. Already in 1957 Porsche upgraded to the Porsche 718. Pittman not only had one of the few Glöckler-Porsche, but also one similar to the one that had been fitted in early 1954 with a significantly modified closed top, which did not race in the 1954 Mille Miglia, only in the LiègeâÂÂRomeâÂÂLiège. The car was with Pittman in the USA in 1957, still carrying the distinctive German oval-shaped export licence plate.
On October 31, 1958, Pittman was driving home after a Halloween party when his Porsche went off the road at a sharp curve in the Hollywood Hills. After he failed to return home, his father filed a missing persons report. Weeks later, 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.